Reinventing the Musee-by Amanda Kazdoy Grévin et Cie makes dreams come true. The dreams of families who rely on parks to build memories, the dreams of those trying to sell an amusement facility after years of operation, and in the case of Musée Grévin, a wax museum in Paris, the dreams of those who want to get close to their idols. Revamped in 2002, Musée Grévin—which houses some 300 wax figures of the famous, the notorious, the revered, and the hated who have shaped French history and international popular culture—has been restored to its former glory of an “interactive” wax museum. A few of the figures that get top billing include Joan of Arc, Charlemagne, French revolutionary Marat (immortalized in the famous bathtub murder scene), musician Phil Collins, tenor Luciano Pavarotti, King Louis XIV, the Bonaparte clan, and legendary hunchback Quasimodo. In 1882, Arthur Meyer, a journalist and owner of the French newspaper Le Gaulois, conceived of the museum as a way for the public to “see” these news makers, as photographers had yet to become fixtures in newsrooms. Meyer eventually saw his idea become a reality. However, after many years, the wax museum, which had long been an attraction where guests could interact and get up close to the figures, was repurposed as a real museum. The figures were roped off or encased in glass; guests could no longer have their picture taken with Louis XIV or Jean-Paul Sartre. “There’s the playful confusion; are they real are they not real. I don’t know, maybe they are,” says Alexandre Gourevitch, director of communications at Grévin et Cie, a Paris-based park operator. “That’s now what the game is about, and that had been lost over the years. We relaunched that. We emptied out the whole place. We ripped everything out and we created the scenario and the course.” Grévin et Cie, whose modus operandi is to acquire and relaunch parks, saw an opportunity to bring back that interaction that guests enjoy at many other attractions. But like many takeovers, this one met with resistance. Many people felt this museum was part of the local culture and wanted to keep it as such, even though it was originally conceived as a source of amusement, not as a cold, stiff museum. The company wanted to bring all of these historical, pop culture, and political characters together, as if on a stage. “A wax museum is like a movie,” says Olivier de Bosredon, Grévin et Cie’s chair and CEO. “Before it was just about history, and a bit boring.” The company acquired the venue for 10 million euros (about $12 million) and vowed to offer some fun and interaction in its new incarnation. But it was no easy undertaking. Knowing there was some resistance to the company’s efforts, Grévin et Cie had to be delicate with the switch. “You have to be really careful,” Gourevitch says. “You may lose the spirit that was the drawing force.” But the Grévin et Cie recipe of identity preservation ultimately prevailed. Many of the statues were retouched, some were completely redone, and others were taken out because they didn’t achieve the level of quality the company required. Many of the wax figures were strategically placed in groups, so as to perpetuate the fantasy of being surrounded by fame. For example, the heads of state of several countries are standing together as if they are posing for a group shot, and in another scenario, Bruce Willis, Madonna, and Leonardo DiCaprio are hanging out in the same space. As a result of the facelift, Musée Grévin has enjoyed an increase in revenue and number of visitors, pushing it to 600,000 per year. Specifically, the musée has seen an increase in young visitors and foreigners. Grévin et Cie adds wax figures on a quarterly basis to keep up with current events and the entertainment industry. In keeping with Arthur Meyer’s vision, a panel of journalists is tasked with selecting the figures. “How do you decide if somebody is famous? It’s a complicated matter, really.”