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The Blue Man Group Reviewed
Ever since James Cameron’s highly acclaimed movie ' Avatar' was released, at least a few mentions of floating mountains, Pocahontas, and blue people are going to crop up.
So, naturally, as I was strolling through City Walk at Universal, Orlando on my way to see the Blue Man Group, I had aliens on my mind.
I was disappointed to find that these blue men do not come from Pandora and are not nine feet (ten feet? eleven feet? ) tall. Instead, their blueness comes from some sort of latex and paint film on their faces and hands while the rest of their bodies are conveniently covered in nondescript black clothing.
The Blue Man Group has been around far longer than Cameron spent filming ' Avatar, ' which is definitely saying something. The show is known throughout the States as family friendly and highly amusing entertainment. The advertisements always show men who are ostentatiously blue-skinned and staring wide-eyed at the viewers as though we should clearly have cobalt skin too.
So no one really knows what the show is about before going in. And from what I gather, the routines differ, perhaps not night to night (except when audience volunteers elicit different reactions in certain skits) but definitely from city to city. This is quite alright, because honestly I don’t think anyone knows what the show is about coming out, either.
The Blue Man Group involves excellent drumming by the Blue Men, a fantastic rock band playing back-up, strangely baffling stunts involving paint, lots of noise, and incredible lighting. It appears that in order to be a Blue Man, you must be highly musically inclined, have excellent hand-eye coordination, and be able to perform an entire two hour show without speaking a single word.
There was definitely something delightfully endearing about the silently sapphire men and their mute appeals for attention. Their silence was also highly amusing. The three men interacting in very strange situations without uttering a sound was simple, cute, and funny. It also brought about lulls in the show where small children (or exhausted adults) probably fell asleep, but the incredibly loud rock music was bound to wake everyone up every once in a while, so that was alright.
The show was also distinctly unique because all of the situations and comedy centered around very ordinary things that were vaguely scientific and at times simply amazing. Somehow, the Blue Men managed to make plumbing, ears, eating Twinkies, and the definition of animation both interesting and comical. Their inclusion of various audience members in their show was both adorable and personal, and usually highlighted by sarcastic, understated, or bizarre humor.
The lagging bits of the show notwithstanding, the Blue Man Group delivered just what it advertised - a mysterious hodgepodge of colorful paint, lights, comedy and music which was family friendly and at times awe-inspiring. The actors are no doubt exceedingly talented, managing to elicit delight and laughter from a very diverse crowd with only body language, accented by videos or scrolling words to set up their miming. Their performance is both one-of-a-kind and breathtaking.
Although I would have much rather been able to say that I watched looming aliens lope around the stage, I suppose that I can settle for the Blue Man Group being a show that is out of this world.
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