Blue Man Group

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The idea of three men painted blue, bashing on a couple of up-turned barrels may not seem like nouveau comedy to some; but they have been doing exactly that for over a decade. To pigeon-hole this kooky stage curiosity is pretty much impossible, and many a Las Vegas Journal reviewer has tried, without avail. “Blue Man Group” encompasses objective comedy, spectacular art theatrics, experimental percussion bits and an obsession with Twinkies, plumbing and technology among the many vignettes that make up the 85-minute show – but guess what? Not a word is spoken throughout!

The “Blue Man” gig began upon the side-walks of Manhattan, involving three twenty-something friends with a zany concept for artistic expression. Covering themselves in neon blue paint, they would perform a number of skits that ranged from causing multiple hues of paint to fly artistically though the air, while drumming in a “Stomp-esque” fashion, to chewing upon Cap 'n' Crunch cereal in melodic harmony. Obviously such wacky behavior, that went against the social understanding of 80's conformists was bound to get them noticed – and if that didn't, their “Funeral to the 80's” in Central Park (1988) certainly did. The motion had a political undertone, but was basically devised as a two-finger stunt, aimed at post-modernism, repression and “yuppies”.

Having started life at the Astor Theater; “Blue Man” quickly moved up a notch when the limitation of space became an issue. From 2000, the production headlined at the wannabe-funky Luxor Resort, with a continuity that spanned five years, until premier Strip venues beckoned, and they honored an offer from “The Venetian” in 2005. The five diamond resort provided the ample stage space “Blue Man” had sought for some while, along with a repute that would see itself bolstered by the headlining of “Blue Man Group”. The purpose built 1,750 capacity theater for “Blue Man” demonstrates just how far the trio have advanced, from their sidewalk antics of yesteryear.

Brace yourself for a whole hour and forty minutes of mayhem, as “Blue Man Group” invite you to take your tissue covered seat within the Venetian's surprisingly intimate theater. In a few short moments, you'll be asked to adorn yourself in the crepe paper (just for the hell of it) as a precursory test of your patience, before the rock star tutorial gets underway. The tutorial involves a lot of head-bobbing, some air guitar, and feats of physical movement that seriously cannot be performed whilst in a seated position – but are hilarious to watch anyway. “Blue Man” delves deeper into weirdness with “Wink”, “Stanton” and “Goldman” emerging from the darkness wearing LCD screens depicting their faces – a scene which then morphs into something not dissimilar to a Ghostbusters still, with the guys wearing man-made pipe tanks. All becomes clear when they begin bashing and whistling down the tubes in unison, to create a surprisingly melodic five minutes of synthetic 'music'.

With an ever-changing schedule of proceedings, both first timers, and regulars to the “Blue Man Group” enter the theater apprehensive, yet childishly excited. There seems to be an obsession with predicting what possible feats of visual and audio craziness the “Blue Men” could have possibly come up with, that will make the latest running different to the last. Some of the vignettes (such as the paint-splattering drum number) are timeless, and are performed regardless of how 'done' they're thought to be, while other 'bits' involving the hurling of marshmallows, regurgitating of Twinkies and oral painting master-classes are revamped on an ad-hoc basis. If there is one piece of advice you should heed prior to attending a “Blue Man Group” show, it's to leave your expectations well and truly at the door!