…But they only want to play with it for a little while.
There is only one way to describe a Blue Man Group experience. It is a drug-free techno acid trip. Between the lights, sounds, movement and colors you experience moments of sensory overload that truly blows your mind. The aliens have landed and they are among us. The good news is that they are innocents who have somehow stumbled on stage in front of hundreds of people waiting to be entertained.
Each bit begins innocuously enough but soon, layer after layer is added until you have a full blown total cosmic experience on your hand. Early on you learn to watch for small subtle nods and movements and watch them develop into a production that sweeps you along for a wild ride.
It does not stop there. At random parts of the show, one two or three of the performing Blue Men will suddenly enter the audience in search of human life that they can take back to the stage and study as the rest of us watch on. Soon they have their captives mimicking their synchronized movements much to the delight of the rest of us safely ensconced in our seats.
The amazing thing is the amount of complexity that they take each piece to. The coordination and timing needed to pull off each gag is phenomenal. It takes split second coordination coupled with incredible hi-tech wizardry that simply takes your breath away. It is not hard to be swept away with the excitement of the moment as you find yourself yelling louder than you have ever yelled before and laughing harder than you have ever laughed. It’s like you would feel if the Browns won the Super Bowl except the Blue Man Group is less of a fantasy.
“Our theatrical productions take a humorous look at what we like to call 2.5-D space,” says Blue Man Group Co-Founder Philip Stanton. “An example of what we mean by this would be emailing or texting the person in the next office rather than walking over to talk to them face-to-face.”
“We say that no matter how high-tech things get, there’s still something human there. We’ll always need others, always need to collaborate. People still need to come together and look each other in the eye. Through the Blue Man’s connection with the audience, we hope to encourage this human-to-human interaction, while helping people reconnect with their own sense of wonder and discovery, with their own sense of what is possible in their lives.”
For those of you new to the Blue Man Group it is highly suggested you get seats on the main floor in front of the balcony in order to enjoy the total experience of sight and sound. If you are uncomfortable being in the line of fire then it may be prudent to choose balcony or the safe area on the main floor beyond the balcony overhang. I went into the show with no pre-conceived ideas and a totally open mind and left with a whole different slant on reality and a totally blown mind. I would recommend this show to everyone including children and adults who behave like children. You will find it to be one of the best spent 90 minutes of consciousness expansion that you will ever have. Check out 2.5D!
Tickets are on sale now for Blue Man Group through February17, 2013, at PlayhouseSquare’s Palace Theatre. Performance times are Wednesday through Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 1:30 pm and 7:30 pm, and Sunday at 1:00 pm and 6:30 pm. Tickets start at just $10 and are on sale now at playhousesquare.org, 216-241-6000 or the PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office. Groups of 15 or more call group sales at 216-664-6050.
BLUE MAN GROUP is part of the U.S. Bank Star Performance Series. For more information on U.S. Bank, visit www.usbank.com.
About NETWORKS Presentations
Since 1995, NETworks has produced and managed over 45 touring productions in the US, UK and internationally. Current productions include Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Billy Elliot The Musical, Blue Man Group National Tour, Elf The Musical, Flashdance the Musical, The New 25th Anniversary Production of Les Misérables, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins, Shrek The Musical and National Theatre of Great Britain’s production of War Horse touring the US.
About Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group (www.blueman.com) is a multinational media and entertainment company with theatrical and digital media operations across three continents, permanent live performance installations in six cities, an ongoing theatrical tour of the USA and Canada, as well as a highly acclaimed show on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Epic.
Audiences have multiple opportunities to discover Blue Man Group through the scope and variety of its creative projects, including:
• Blue Man Group’s headlining performance on the new Norwegian Epic by Norwegian Cruise Line—the Official Cruise Line of Blue Man Group
• Blue Man Group family-focused educational projects, including a touring Children’s Museum exhibit, “Making Waves”
• Blue Man Group’s original music, including the Grammy®-nominated “Audio”, as well as four additional albums, and numerous scoring projects for film, TV and commercials
• Blue Man Group’s multiple performances on popular television shows such as The Tonight Show, Ellen, and Regis & Kelly; and unique storylines in “Scrubs” and “Arrested Development”
As the company grows, it remains true to its vision of providing exciting experiences in a variety of media, appealing to a broad range of age groups and cultural backgrounds. Learn more at www.blueman.com.
This performance engagement is a part of the Smart Seats program at PlayhouseSquare that offers smart entertainment at a smart price. For more information on Smart Seats, visit playhousesquare.org/smartseats.
PlayhouseSquare encourages all guests to “Plan Your Visit” ahead of time by visiting playhousesquare.org and clicking the “Plan Your Visit” tab where directions, parking information, dining options, lodging, ticketing policies and other helpful information designed to enhance guest experiences at PlayhouseSquare exist. Whether their visit is the first or one hundred and first, PlayhouseSquare is committed to making guest experiences both as memorable and hassle free as possible.
PlayhouseSquare is a not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is presenting and producing a wide variety of quality performing arts, advancing arts education and creating a destination that is a superior location for entertainment, business and residential living, thereby strengthening the economic vitality of the region.
PlayhouseSquare receives public support with local tax dollars from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, to preserve and enrich our region’s artistic and cultural heritage.
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