Blue has emerged as a theatrical phenomenon.
Not red. Not yellow, violet or green.
Just three mute mimes with blue heads, blue hands, brown overalls and mind-boggling talents.
Launched in 1987 in New York by three theater buddies–Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink–Blue Man Group revolutionized the concepts of mime and interactive theater.
Today the Blue Man business is big.
With shows running in Boston, Las Vegas, Chicago and New York, there are lots of Blue Men, blue bands and blue staff members–about 500 blue folk altogether.
In 1997, Blue Man Group packed Chicago’s Briar Street Theatre when the show opened, and audiences just keep on filling the house, sometimes twice a day.
Last weekend, Blue Man unveiled some new additions to the show,all Zap, Boom, Thwomp on target.
But first, a bit about Blue Man Group for the inexperienced.
The lobby is filled with Blue Man Group shtick. Tubes to talk into. Yes, someone of the other end answers.
Sculptures. Copies of master art works, such as Toulouse-Lautrec’s Moulin Rouge, with Blue Man Group added.
OK.
Imagine walking into an auditorium, watching an electronic scroll on the wall provide continuous funny stuff, such as “Attention Don Snider, You left your gym bag in the men’s room. Please pick it up before we have to throw it out.”
Yup, made-up stuff like that, but with names of real people in the audience.
Before the show begins, ushers hand each person a strip of white crepe paper with which to adorn the hair in some fashion.
More shenanigans rev up the crowd so, by the time Blue Man Group enters the stage, the fun is well under way.
Now, the actual feats that follow will be difficult for anyone who has not gone blue to visualize. But try.
Under “black lights” and accompanied by original Blue Man music, each Blue Man pours a different color paint onto a drum while playing that drum.
(Oh, I forgot to mention, the first few rows are called the poncho section for obvious reasons.)
Anyway, the rainbow drumming evolves into a variety of antics and silent competitions, leaving the audience amazed and laughing.
Though many of the pieces start with Blue Men coming out into the audience to bring someone on stage, one such sequence has gained legendary status among Blue fans.
Seated behind a table, the three Blues and someone drafted form the crowd begin to dine with knife and fork–on Twinkies.
Obviously, chowing down Twinkies is not what this is all about. Just tearing the wrappers requires several minutes of antics. Then there’s the entire process of eating the Twinkies. As the absurdity of all this grows, and the laughter follows. Charlie Chaplin would have loved this skit.
Except at the end, everyone is grossed out. Well not really.
I can’t tell more. Either you know the sequence, or you’re missing out on tons of fun.
Blue Men also perform music, on complex combinations of glow-in-the-dark light plastic plumbing pipes.
Performers play these twisted pipe constructions like drums, marimba, and even a slide trombone–called a drumbone.
While totally unlike any other sounds, the music is more than listenable. It’s award-winning.
Thee riotous new material takes Blue Man and audiences into the world of rock music.
One sequence occurs in a coffee shop where the performers, accompanied by nifty graphics, demonstrate how people can communicate via computer to others in distant places, while no one interacts with people who are right there.
Very strange. Very insightful.
Yet another rock scene has the audience lip-synching to an Eminem rap number as it scrolls across an electronic screen.
Young folks pulled this off with gusto and kept the momentum going. Older folks, myself and husband included, couldn’t follow, even with lyrics smack dab in front of us.
My favorite in the rock sequence was an ongoing cartoon stick figure demonstrating a variety of movements, purportedly needed to dance to rock music.
Everyone stood for this and started with Rock Movement No. 1. That’s moving the pelvis back and forth.
Other actions included pumping the right hand up and down, bobbing the head and so on.
I didn’t see one person seated while we were getting our official Blue Man dance lesson.
The grand finale is an interactive grabber involving more paper rolls than anyone could imagine.
We’ll leave it at that.
Oh, even if you don’t have to go, check out the bathroom. Listen carefully to what will probably be the first bathroom song you’ve ever heard.
What’s new, Blue? The group shows some fresh addition
