The Blue Man Group is Marcel Marceau on steroids times three! David and I saw their performance this afternoon at the Briar Street Theatre in Chicago. The show is an endlessly energetic ballet of movement, sight gags, percussion and hilarity. It was a part of my birthday present from David and I feel well feted!!None of the cast speaks a word throughout the hour and a half show but various screens send messages to the audience as the show progresses. The three men are expert percussionists, merrily banging away on various objects including plastic sewer pipes, a strange sort of xylophone, and anything else that comes in handy.
The various skits include getting members of the audience onstage, one of whom was clothed in a white jumpsuit, spray painted and hung by his heels. He was then swung at a white canvas producing an upside down painting of himself. He got to take it home with him.
At the finale, huge air balloons descended from on high, the three men blew rolls of toilet paper into the audience from wind machines, while strobe lights played on the whole scene. You had to be there.
And we were.
The Blue Man Group was created, written, and directed by Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, and Chris Wink. Chris's late father Walter Wink, a renown theologian and speaker, was a resident of Sandisfield and a friend of mine. He even took some voice lessons from me some years ago. He certainly produced a creative son.The Blue Man Group has been in action since 1987. It ran for 1000 performances in New York and now has companies performing in Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Orlando, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Oberhausen, as well as New York.
It should live forever!
PS Later we went to Giordano's for a fabulous pizza and salad. Perfect!
