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| - With years of "Arrested Development" jokes planted firmly in my head (thank you, Tobias Funke), I had the opportunity to see the Blue Man Group a few weeks back, and ended up sitting in the "Spatter Zone", or whatever it's called.
Quick Tip: Pull those ponchos tight.
In actuality, it's really not that bad, but I did end up with banana goop all over the sleeves of my jacket as one of the stunts does make a mess. There are 2-3 acts that are a little messy, but that was the only one that "got" me.
The show itself is clever and odd. It reminds me of those street performance people that I would see walking the beaches of California, just on a larger scale. And I'm sure that's the point. The act itself is quirky, funny, playful, and inventive in its ideas. The humor comes from the Blue Men themselves as, even though they represent the show's silent protagonists, their facial expressions tell volumes of what's on their minds.
The acts are diverse, and largely music-based in theme. There were two wonderfully animated bits with some statues and a neon theme that I found accurate and the most visually striking of the acts shown. The Blue Men themselves play with the audience constantly throughout the show. I'm a little convinced that their selected choices could be "plants", but it's still funny, and they still most definitely climb through the audience to make the search for their *ahem* "victims" still interactive. The ending was fun and got the whole audience involved.
For a major Strip show, I found them quirky and different enough from other offerings as it is humor based performance art. At the end of the show, the Blue Men will pose for photos. The night I went, they were mobbed by show-goers, and while I'm sure the performers were ready to call it a night, they graciously stayed out and accommodated every request, even coming back when a latecomer asked for that "one last photo". I always find things like that worth giving respect to, especially a more popular show like this.
A good show, especially if you like oddball performances.
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