Episode 23: Wax Museums

This week we got to wax poetic about the world’s fascination with wax museums with Jed Reitler, Director of Sales for Dreamland Wax Museum in Boston.

Dreamland is located in the heart of Boston, a stone’s throw from the Freedom Trail and features an array of celebrities and historical figures immortalized in wax just waiting for visitors to take wacky photos with them. It also includes a cutting-edge augmented reality experience that brings the figures even more to life.

Being us, Luke and Heidi had to explore why someone would pursue a career in the wax figure business. What celebrities think about their depictions and most importantly, what is it like to be in the museum when it’s closed with no one around? Does Gandhi come to life when the lights go out? You’ll have to listen in to find out.

We explored why each figure is depicted in the manner that they are, with Former President Barack Obama looking joyful and President Donald Trump looking less than amused. Is it a statement on the job vs. being ‘retired’ or something else?

We also found out who the most popular figures for photo opps are and unsurprisingly, Snoop Dogg is totally a fan favorite. So, get ready to dust off your pimp chalice and gear up for the bow to the wow creeping and crawling.

The painstaking care the artists take to create each figure is beyond impressive. Each one can take 6 months to masterfully create and often requires up to 20 sculptors. Can you imagine being the person assigned just to eyeballs?

Many of the figures are crafted at Dreamland’s home office in Brazil and shipped to Boston. We couldn’t help but think about opening up those crates at customs. Pretty sure it’d cause a near heart attack finding Ben Affleck in a box.

As Jed hilariously pointed out, Why? touts talking to the likes of Brazilian waxers, but now we’ve managed to score a Brazilian Wax Museum. Will the wonders never cease?

The family who owns Dreamland has had numerous museums across Latin-America for generations. Their Boston location has a gallery dedicated to celebrating famous Bostonians. First and foremost in the gallery is Brazil to Boston transplant the beloved Super Model Gisele Bündchen. The living and breathing Gisele made an appearance to meet her wax clone at the recent unveiling.

The Bostonians gallery was also recently featured on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, as everyone’s beloved Coco launched a campaign as to why he hadn’t been included as one of the famous locals. Did he succeed? You’ll have to listen in to find out.

Please note that we interviewed the same wax museum folks that Conan featured on his podcast. That has to mean Why? has made it to the big time, right? With that in mind, Luke is already plotting a way to get his own figure put into Dreamland. Heidi, being ever the coattail rider to celebrity, has convinced him that there should be a whole display set up like they’re recording the show. She may not be from New England, but she’ll find a way to get in there too. Of course, our friends at Dreamland have respectfully taken the idea “into consideration” for the future. We’re assuming the very, very, far off future.

For more information and to plan a visit to Dreamland click here.