Feeling Blue

On the second night of our Orlando trip, we went to see the Blue Man Group. I've long wanted to see one of their performances, but it just never quite worked out.

Which is not the entire truth. I've been on several trips to Las Vegas, and I've seen at least one show every time I've been there. There is a Blue Man Group performing there, and I could very easily have gone on many occasions. And yet, every time I'm in Vegas, I find myself thinking: "Blue Man Group has a touring company. It has come to Denver before and will again. Sooner or later, I will get to see it. While I'm in Las Vegas, doesn't it make more sense to see one of the dozens of shows that only plays there?" And so I've always decided to skip it, despite my great desire to go.

Orlando changed the equation. Yes, there are unique shows in Orlando too, not to mention all the theme parks you can find only there. But this time there just wasn't enough piled up on the other side of the scale to outweigh my desire to finally see Blue Man Group.

I was aware ahead of time just what an unusual melange of stuff you'll see in a Blue Man Group show. I knew it was part concert, part comedy, part improv show, part modern pop art exhibit. I even knew about some of the specific routines they do in every show, such as "paint on the drum heads," "heads in the TV," and of course, "PVC pipe music."

Even still, my experience was that you can know a lot about what Blue Man Group is and still be surprised by and unprepared for the actual reality of their performance. It's funny, inspirational, offbeat, energetic, and more -- sometimes in turns, sometimes all at once.

There are over a dozen different "segments" in the show, and I thought there was only one that didn't quite work. It involved taking a draftee from the audience backstage and slathering him with paint while the rest of us watched via an on-stage screen. It felt like it was more slow-paced than the bulk of the show, and lost the immediacy of being right there in front of our eyes. It was just plain less effective than other "let's make art right now" segments they'd already performed earlier in the show.

Still, that was just one misstep in a show that was otherwise rock solid. Highlights for me were an extended "dinner" segment that seemed to provide endless laughs, a critique of rock concert behavior that managed to be snarky and moving at the same time, and a wonderful finale that involved the entire audience.

I loved the show, and would rate it an A-. I would absolutely go to see it again. (Particularly since, according to my boyfriend -- who has seen a Blue Man Group show before -- about half the material was all-new and apparently unique to this particular production.) Perhaps next Las Vegas trip, that tired excuse about not going will finally break down.