Men Paint Downtown Cleveland Blue
CSU Cauldron
Blue Man Group
I was fortunate enough to attend the opening night
performance, and almost be included in one of the skits. Having seen them
previously, I had some idea of what to expect, yet I was still blown away. This
show had a little bit of everything; lots of rock music, lots of blue men
beating on drums and PVC piping, more laughs than I have ever had while in a
theatre, some audience participation, and a great night out in Downtown
Cleveland. If you have any inkling towards such an experience, I would
recommend in the strongest possible way to go see Blue Man Group while they are
in town; it truly is their best show yet.
It really is hard to define the show Blue Man Group puts on.
They feature more of a concert than a theatrical show, filled with short form
improv comedy and a splash zone. While most shows feature the actors rather
than the set or the costumes or the music, this show melds each of these parts
of a successful performance to create an experience unlike any other.
The music is awesome, plain and simple. In addition to the
three blue men beating on various sized drums and PVC piping, they are backed
up by a full band, featuring two drummers, a guitarist, and a bassist. The band
is used more often as a backup while the set pieces are moved in and out and
while the blue men are preparing and breaking down a skit.
Even being used in such a capacity, they are very skilled
and have very well practiced timing. The use of PVC pipes for percussive
instruments is something the Blue Man Group has made famous, and there is a
good reason why; they still know how to do it with innovation.
The skits are
hilariously funny. They tackle the new smartphone trend in a satirical way,
using different apps to produce a beat (done by the band) while using another
app to change the outfits of each blue man on screen, only to find the blue man
come out from behind the screen in that outfit, the most entertaining of which
was Flava Flav’s signature clock and Viking helmet. They also featured a short
skit about multitasking, reading three different books simultaneously. One skit ended abruptly at the
(entirely planned) late arrival of two audience members.
Without giving too
much away, they also have skits involving a chorus consisting of Cap’n Crunch
being ingested and an impromptu date with twinkies.
They also included audience participation in a number of
skits. The couple arriving late was completely planned, and has been present on
each of their shows. The twinkie date also included a rather attractive, newly
engaged young woman in the audience on stage with the three men. I was almost
invited to be a part of yet another skit including audience member, this time
as a human paint brush. They dressed him in a white bodysuit and black
motorcycle helmet, covered him in blue paint, hung him up by his feet, and
tossed him at a blank canvas a number of times, holding him there to paint
around him.
After this, they brought out a huge chest with a big jello
mold jiggling on top. They started digging at the mold only to reveal the man’s
head, with the rest of him resting comfortable in the chest. The last skit felt
a little lengthy, only because they used it as a background for the big finale
instead of featuring the blue man and band.
This particular brand of irreverence is hard to find on
stage these days. Sure, comics have to deal with hecklers, and people clap at
theatrical events and bands, but there are very few acts that involve and
encourage the audience to get involved on their own in such a way.
There are plenty of ways to have fun in Cleveland from the
various restaurants and markets to bar scenes to museums to enjoying our less-than-stunningly-clean
lake, but all of those are here year round. I would certainly promote enjoying
each and every one of those as often as possible, but when such an amazing
touring show comes to town once a year, they should win out over both the
natural and man-made splendor Cleveland has to offer.
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