Apr 02, 2012 | TAGS:
BLUE MAN GROUP MAKES AN EXPLOSIVE STUNT APPEARANCE ON NBC'S "THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE"
STUNT CAUSES CONTROVERSY IN THE BOARDROOM, HELPS SPUR MEN'S TEAM TO VICTORY
New York, NY — Blue Man Group made an explosive appearance last night during a special three-hour episode of NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice" entitled "Walking Papers." Emmy Award–winning contestant Penn Jillette invited the cultural phenomenon Blue Man Group to make a surprise stunt appearance during a task in which the contestants were to create and sell a limited edition New York City celebrity guidebook.
As the men's team scrambled to sell copies of their product at a kiosk in NYC's Madison Square Park, Blue Man Group arrived on the scene with nearly a thousand ten dollar bills hidden in two giant blue balloons. As Jillette, his teammates and hundreds of onlookers gathered around, the Blue Men inflated the balloons to the point of explosion, sending $8,000 bursting onto the streets of NYC in a spectacular flurry. Pandemonium ensued as the public immediately descended on the cash forcing the men's team to fight the crowd in order to salvage the donation. Perceived as a distraction to the task at hand, the men's team was furious with Jillette — leading to the most volatile boardroom exchange on this season of the popular reality program.
In a statement released at the time of airing, Jillette explained exactly why he requested Blue Man Group's presence and particularly appreciated its approach, saying, "After weeks on a TV boardroom set, doing TV boardroom stuff, I craved something beautiful. I called my friends at Blue Man Group and they delivered something as beautiful, profound, and compelling as anything I've seen since watching The Who smash their instruments when I was a child. Vissa D'arte."
During a tense 12 minute boardroom scene, the majority of Jillette's teammates criticized his decision to involve Blue Man Group in the task, assuming that that the stunt forced the team to lose precious funds that would ultimately lead to its defeat. Fellow contestant and "American Idol" star Clay Aiken was particularly irritated, saying "It was a disaster. It was literally blowing money," prompting Jillette to passionately defend Blue Man Group's participation. "The Blue Man Group is one of the greatest performance art groups we've ever had. They are New York. When you do something with Blue Man Group, it's an event. If you've ever seen their show, you know the intensity you're getting but it's very hard to know what the exact situation will be," said Jillette. He further argued that the $8,000 the Blue Men brought was not meant as a direct donation to the team's charity but "all part of the spectacle" to draw attention to their kiosk.
In the end, to the surprise of almost everyone in the boardroom, Blue Man Group's stunt actually help spur the men's team to beat the women's team by $14 — the closest margin in "The Celebrity Apprentice" history. The victory resulted in a $326,000 donation to the March of Dimes, Project Manager Dee Snider's charity of choice.
Willy Burkhardt, President of Blue Man Productions, said, "When you call on Blue Man Group to do something, you have to be prepared for something unexpected, creative, playful and perhaps outrageous. Penn is a great advocate for what I would call the 'Bluemanization' of life and we are delighted we were able to help his team win the challenge."
Blue Man Group (www.blueman.com) is a multinational media and entertainment company with theatrical and digital media operations across four continents, permanent live performance installations in seven cities, an ongoing theatrical tour of the USA and Canada, as well as a highly acclaimed show on Norwegian Cruise Line's Epic.
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