In 1988, three friends, Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink, painted their faces blue and led a procession through Central Park. They wanted to perform a “Funeral for The 80’s,” a symbolic burial of the decade two years early. Included in the coffin were Postmodern and Deconstructionist art theory. The next day, artists all over the world agreed to stop making art based on these misguided concepts. What seemed to be a fun day for an acting student, a magazine researcher, and a software producer, turned into something much, much larger than even they could imagine. Blue Man Group was conceived and opened their show in an Off-Broadway theater, New York City’s Astor Place Theater three years later in 1991.

Making all the props themselves, they found PVC pipes and turned them into musical instruments. The Jell-O they were using in the show was costing $880 each show to make. During the early days, Phil and Chris were working for Glorious Foods and the co-owner, Jean-Claude Nédélec, told them that the company would provide the Jell-O. For three years they got their giant Jell-O molds for free. They started adding on shows until they were performing eight shows a week and selling out eight weeks in advance. After 1,285 consecutive shows, without ever canceling a show, Phil cut his hand and Chris Bowen, an extra, jumped in and performed for the first time. Phil went on to become the senior performing director.

Seeing now that they could expand the show, they locked themselves in a room and began writing the Blue Man Manual. Blue Man is said to be part innocent, hero, scientist, shaman, group member, and trickster. They decided to always keep the show with three men. Two guys can win the third over, or the other way around. The show is interactive, with music, lights, and lots of colorful liquids that get sprayed on the stage and into the audience. It’s all about connecting with the audience.

In 2000, they debuted in Las Vegas at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in a 1,200 seat theater. They performed ten shows a week, but only to half-filled rooms for the first six months. Intel approached them and said, “We want to get across that Intel is innovative, intelligent and fun.” After signing with Intel that same year, The Blue Man Group appeared in ads everywhere: the Grammy Awards, the basketball playoffs, and the World Series. Blue Man Group went from 10 shows a week to 14 shows at 100 percent capacity. Soon thereafter, the Blue Man Group was worldwide, opening shows in Germany, Amsterdam, London, Stuttgart and Tokyo, as well as New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Orlando.

In 2005, they moved to the Venetian Hotel and Casino into a 1,760-seat theater built especially for their show. Continuing their expansion of shows across the world, they have now played to an amazing 17 million+ people. They have around 100 Blue Men on the payroll. Blue Men are trained in New York and then sent to perform in other cities. There are eight Blue Men that rotate through the shows at the Venetian in Vegas alone.

What does it take to be a Blue Man? He is 5’ 10” - 6’ 1” tall with an athletic build. He needs to have solid percussion/drum skills or a strong musical background, excellent acting skills and the ability to express emotions and communicate non-verbally. He needs to be open to exploring an alternative acting style, able to let go of his own ego and embrace a collaborative working environment, and be willing to travel and/or relocate while being open-minded. And, last but not least, he must have a dynamic, charismatic personality. To be a Blue Man, you must also be able to catch things in your mouth. Marshmallows and paint balls are shot from across the stage and they are expected to catch them in their mouths—everytime. A half-hour of practice every day for six weeks is what it usually takes to master the feat. The cast at the Venetian is all male, but in Boston, there is a woman appearing. Women are allowed to become Blue Men if they meet all the requirements.

“Blue Man is not an alien in the sense that he’s from another planet, but alien in the sense that he’s very different than what we’ve all become,” said Matthew Banks, a director and performer who has been with the show for eight years.

In the show, they are simply three blue-hued men dressed in black with blue heads and faces. The process to preparing for the show starts with a custom-made suit along with a skullcap to cover their hair and ears. Then comes the brilliant blue-colored grease paint that is specially made for Blue Man Group. The grease paint never dries. This effect allows the Blue Men to maintain that wet gooey look throughout the show. It takes a Blue Man approximately one hour to get into full makeup and costume for the show.

Thunderously loud, the show is spirited, colorful, exuberantly messy and full of surprises. Blue Man Group is performance art with a percussion-driven soundtrack. The Blue Men use their eyes, facial expressions and gestures, instead of verbally communicating with the audience. They even have their own hand gesture, called the “Blue Man Salute”, which is made by raising both arms in the air. Blue Men have an enormous desire to create rhythms. They are a musical group that delights in producing music out of percussion instruments that you wouldn’t normally consider musical. Their trademark primitive, tribal percussive sound is made from their own invention of using PVC to design instruments. Items like pipes and telescoping cylinders become the instruments the Blue Man Group uses to create their perfect percussive song.

Poncho seating is in the first few rows of seats closest to the stage, and it is the most interactive seating section in the theater. Guests who sit there are provided with ponchos because the performers work with some materials that might splash and get on you during the show.

So what does the future hold for The Blue Man Group? David Russo is going to direct a Blue Man Group movie for Imax 3-D picture. It will be the first movie to star the Blue Man Group, which has been seen onstage in hundreds of cities around the world and in commercials. The original Blue Men will star. Also the Norwegian Cruise Line’s next ship will feature performances by the Blue Man Group. In New York, they’ve formed a school with an arts-based Creativity Center for 2, 3, and 4 year-olds. They had only 30 spaces available, yet received over 200 applications. They have also made several albums: Audio, made in 1999, was nominated for a Grammy and The Complex. Live at the Venetian – Las Vegas is available exclusively on iTunes. They also collaborated on the score for the animated movie “Robots.” They created more than 25 new percussion instruments for the cinematic music score. SLV

The Venetian Hotel and Casino, Blue Man Theater, Las Vegas, NV
Showtime is 7 & 10pm nightly. Must be age 3+ due to the percussive music.

Issue 46 featuring: Jeska Vardinski, Jana Cova & the "Happy" Feature