American performance art company
Blue Man Group
is an American
performance art
company formed in 1987. It is known for its stage productions that incorporate many kinds of music and art, both popular and obscure.
[1]
Its performers, known as Blue Men, have their skin painted blue. They are
mute
during shows and always appear in groups of three.
The company has continuing shows in
Berlin
,
Boston
,
Chicago
,
Las Vegas
and
New York City
. A typical production employs seven to nine full-time Blue Men who are selected by audition. In addition to their stage shows, Blue Man Group has toured nationally and internationally, appeared on TV programs as characters and performers, released multiple studio albums, contributed to a number of
film scores
, and performed with orchestras around the United States.
History
[
edit
]
Blue Man Group grew out of a collaboration of three close friends,
Chris Wink
, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton, on
Manhattan
's
Lower East Side
in 1987. Its first public appearance was a celebration of the end of the 1980s. The three wore blue masks and led a street procession that included the burning of a
Rambo
doll and a piece of the
Berlin Wall
.
[2]
MTV's
Kurt Loder
covered the event, drawing attention to the group.
[3]
What began as creative "disturbances" on the city's streets became a series of small shows at downtown clubs, and eventually a full performance at the
Astor Place Theatre
in 1991.
[4]
In 1993, the group trained their first understudy.
[3]
To be in the group, a Blue Man had to "be between five-foot-ten and six-foot-one, skilled at drumming, and able to 'wordlessly emote'... [T]hey learn to embody six archetypes, which the group calls the 'innocent, hero, scientist, shaman, group member, and trickster.'"
[3]
The early Blue Man cast included Gideon Banner, Chris Bowen, Michael Dahlen, Isaac Eddy, Josh Elrod, Mark Frankel, Matt Goldman, Randall Jaynes and Pete Simpson.
[5]
[6]
As of 2023, they had performed 17,000 times at Astor Place.
[7]
Andrea Johnson was the first woman, and Black woman, to be a Blue Man. She worked with them from 1999 to 2001.
[3]
In 2000, the group opened at the
Luxor Theater
and became well-known in Las Vegas. They performed Moby’s song “Natural Blues” with Moby and Jill Scott at the Grammys in 2001. In 2010, Goldman sold his share in the group to a venture-capital firm and the group hired Willy Burkhardt who was president of the company from 2010 through 2013. In 2017, Wink and Stanton sold their shares to the Canadian company
Cirque du Soleil
.
[8]
[9]
[10]
Themes
[
edit
]
Blue Man performances have a number of themes, including
[11]
- Science and technology, especially the topics of
plumbing
,
fractals
, human
sight
,
DNA
, and the
Internet
- Information overload
and
information pollution
, such as when the audience is asked to choose one of three simultaneous streams of information to read
- Innocence
, as when the Blue Men appear to be surprised and perplexed by common artifacts of modern society or by audience reactions
- Self-conscious
and
naive
imitation of cultural norms, such as attempting to stage an elegant dinner of
Twinkies
for an audience member; or following the Rock Concert Instruction Manual with the expectation that following instructions is all it takes to put on a rock concert
- Rooftops, or climbing to the top, a metaphor for the directive that Stanton, Wink and Goldman drew from
Joseph Campbell
and
Bill Moyers
's
PBS
program
The Power of Myth
, namely "following your bliss".
[11]
Theatrical productions
[
edit
]
Current productions
[
edit
]
Germany
- Berlin
at the Bluemax Theater (2006?present)
United States
Touring shows
- World Tour (2016?present) ? a celebration of life in full color
- Speechless Tour (2019?present)
Previous productions
[
edit
]
Australia
- Sydney
at the Sydney Lyric Theatre (2013)
Austria
Canada
Germany
Japan
- Tokyo at the Roppongi
Invoice
Theatre (2007?2009)
- Tokyo at the
Roppongi
Blue Man Theatre (2010?2012)
Netherlands
Norwegian Cruise Line
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
- Live at Luxor in Las Vegas (2000?2005)
- "How to be a Megastar" national arena "rock concert" tour (2003)
- Las Vegas, Nevada at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino (2005?2012)
[17]
- "How to be a Megastar 2.0" (2006)
- Blue Man Group
at
Universal Orlando Resort
's
CityWalk
(2007?2021)
[18]
- North America (2010?2016)
- Las Vegas at the Blue Man Theatre at Park MGM (2012?2015)
Music and tours
[
edit
]
In 1999, the group released
Audio
, their first studio recording. Although it contained some of the music from their stage productions, it was chiefly a collection of full-length instrumentals featuring new instruments.
[
citation needed
]
In 2002, the group participated in
Moby
's
Area2
tour, giving a more rock-oriented performance than in the theatrical shows. Songs developed during this tour appeared on 2003's album
The Complex
.
[
citation needed
]
Unlike
Audio
,
The Complex
, released in 2003, featured a variety of vocalists and guests including
Tracy Bonham
,
Dave Matthews
,
Gavin Rossdale
and
Venus Hum
. The record spawned its own 2003 tour, "The Complex Rock Tour," the first headlined by Blue Man Group. The tour deconstructed the traditional
rock concert
experience into its often cliched parts and was chronicled in a 2004 DVD release. The tour featured Tracy Bonham and Venus Hum as supporting acts. The DVD included a
surround sound
mix of some of the studio recordings.
[
citation needed
]
Blue Man Group launched its second tour, "How to Be a Megastar Tour", on September 26, 2006. It featured some new material as well as material from the original Complex Rock Tour, and featured Tracy Bonham as opening act and vocalist. DJ/
VJ
Mike Relm
was the opening act for the tour's second leg, which ended April 22, 2007, in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
. The third leg of the tour began in May 2007 and included performances in
Mexico City
,
Guadalajara
, and
Monterrey
, Mexico;
Buenos Aires
, Argentina;
Sao Paulo
and
Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil; and
Santiago
, Chile. The fourth leg, using "2.1" in its title, included more U.S. and Canada dates. The tour visited France,
Korea
, Canada, Germany, and a few other European countries through 2008. From August 19?23, it visited Taipei, Taiwan to promote its
2009 Summer Deaflympics
, with most of the show's dialogue accompanied by subtitles. After
Typhoon Morakot
hit the island in mid-August, the group held an extra show to benefit flood victims.
[
citation needed
]
Blue Man Group performed with
Ricky Martin
at the
2007 Latin Grammy Awards
[19]
and again with
Michel Telo
at the 2012 Latin Grammy Awards.
[20]
In 2008, they collaborated on the track "No More Heroes" with Dutch DJ and producer
Tiesto
for the remixed version of the
Elements of Life
album.
[
citation needed
]
Announced in 2009, Blue Man Group began performing for the first time at sea on Norwegian Cruise Line's ship
Epic
. From July 2010 to March 2015,
Epic
alternated 7-Day Eastern and Western Caribbean sailings from Miami with nightly Blue Man Group shows.
[
citation needed
]
A Blue Man Group national tour in 2010 visited various cities in the United States, Canada and Latin America. The tour included elements from their then-current theatrical performances, and new elements created for the tour.
[21]
To celebrate their 20th anniversary, the group gave a special performance with
Dave Matthews
at the Astor Place Theatre in New York City, collaborating on the song "Sing Along."
[22]
To celebrate Blue Man Group's 25th anniversary, a global tour began in Singapore in March 2016. It continued through Asia and Oceania in 2016 and opened for the first time in South Africa in February 2017.
[23]
It was announced that the tour will continue on to Abu Dhabi and Switzerland later in 2017.
[24]
In April 2016, Blue Man Group released
Three
, their third studio album. Building on the group's previous albums,
Three
draws inspiration from the group's 25-year history.
[25]
Additionally that month, the Blue Man Group members are fans of viral video star
Jon Daker
and when they were playing a show in
Peoria, Illinois
they invited Daker backstage to meet with them and play music.
[26]
[27]
In May 2017, Blue Man Group collaborated with the
YouTube
channel
The Slow Mo Guys
for a video of several objects being destroyed with bowling balls, including
busts
of the Blue Men. A Blue Man "autographed"
Gavin Free
's lab coat (the cleaner of the hosts') by wiping his head on the right shoulder.
[28]
On April 27, 2019, Blue Man Group gave a special performance at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, during the Grand Opening Session of DECA's International Career Development Conference.
[29]
In February 2021, it was revealed that Blue Man Group had collaborated with American pop band
AJR
on the song "Ordinaryish People", included on their album
OK Orchestra
(2021).
[30]
A music video featuring Blue Man Group was released on February 9, 2022.
[31]
In April 2024, Blue Man collaborated with Canadian musician
Andrew Huang
on a song called "Desert Portal". They released joint videos on their YouTube channels: the former's of the song's music video, which depicts the group and Huang discovering a sound-activated tent that transports them to a desert, and the latter's of the music video's behind the scenes.
[32]
[33]
Discography
[
edit
]
Videography
[
edit
]
- The Complex Rock Tour Live
DVD (2003) ? live concert footage taken from shows in
Grand Prairie, Texas
- Scoring Reel
? a scoring DVD only available in 2004
- Robots
(2005) ? performed on soundtrack for movie
- Inside the Tube
(2006) ? one-hour documentary created for
PBS
. Features interviews with Stanton, Wink, and Goldman describing the Blue Men, and video clips from various theatrical performances. In "Inside the Tube," press notes state, "the three founders discuss the improbable journey they took from building drums and tube instruments in their living room to having one of the most popular shows in Las Vegas, a gold album, and a successful arena-sized rock tour. The program takes an intimate look inside Blue Man Group's unique creative process and provides never before revealed insight into some of the underlying themes of their work. The founders also cite some of their influences, including a public PBS program that impacted them at a pivotal moment in their career."
"Blue Man Group: Inside the Tube" Airs on PBS Dec. 6 | Playbill
Available through the PBS store and also as an extra on the
How To Be A Megastar Live!
DVD.
- How to Be a Megastar Live!
(2008) ? live concert footage from Blue Man Group's newest tour. It was released on DVD on April 1 and Blu-ray on November 4, 2008. The DVD version includes an additional audio CD of many of the show's songs.
- Space Chimps
(2008) ? performed several songs on the soundtrack for the movie
Books
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Advertising
[
edit
]
Programming
[
edit
]
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
(1992?94, 1997?2001, 2003?2005, 2007) Blue Man Group appeared on the premiere of Leno's version of
The Tonight Show
, prompting him to state, "This is not your father's Tonight Show." They appeared on the show 17 times, often involving audience members and celebrity guests, including
Robin Williams
and
Mel Gibson
. One Blue Man Group episode won an
Emmy
for
The Tonight Show
.
[36]
- The Drew Carey Show
(2001) ? During the episode "Drew Live III," the Blue Man Group experimented on Drew Carey as he slept on the train, making it look like he had sex with his nemesis, Mimi Bobeck. At the end of the show, it was revealed that their motive was for Drew to kill himself out of embarrassment so that they, along with
John Ratzenberger
, could take over the show.
[37]
- Arrested Development
(2004) ? The show approached Blue Man Group about appearing in an episode. The collaboration grew to a storyline where Tobias longed to be a part of Blue Man Group, and, ultimately, his father-in-law "hid from the law" performing as a Blue Man in Las Vegas.
[38]
- Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman
(2007)
- Scrubs
(2006)
- Space Pirates
(2007)
- Disney Channel
'
s
Shake It Up
(2012) ? Blue Man Group guest stars.
- NBC's
America's Got Talent
(2012) ? For the season finale, BMG performed "Shake Your Euphemism".
- NBC's
Today Show
(2015) ? Blue Man Group performed on a live broadcast from Universal CityWalk. At the end of the performance, Al Roker helped the Blue Men fire confetti from the stage.
- NBC's
I Can Do That
(June 2015) ? Alan Ritchson and Joe Jonas trained to become Blue Men.
- NBC's
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
(October 2015) ? During the "Telephone Booth" skit, a Blue Man was a celebrity from the "mystery bench" and was placed in the telephone booth with Hugh Jackman after his opponent, Shaq, answered a question correctly. The trapped Blue Man wrote "help" with blue paint from his head on the telephone booth wall. In another "Telephone Booth" skit, two members of the group joined Jimmy Fallon in his booth after Dwayne Johnson, aided by Romanio Golphin Jr, answered a question correctly. Only two members of the group entered the booth, while the other wandered around the stage, due to the booth also being occupied by WWE wrestler Big Show.
- Telemundo's
La Voz Kids
(July 2016) ? During the live finale, Blue Man Group performed alongside the show's top 6 finalists. The kids sang "Applause" by Lady Gaga and three Blue Men and Blue Man Group band members provided the music.
- NPR
's
Tiny Desk Concert
(September 2016) ? Blue Man Group performed tracks from their studio album
Three
during a Tiny Desk Takeover
[39]
- NBC's
Best Time Ever
with
Neil Patrick Harris
(October 2016) ? The Blue Men played instruments alongside Neil Patrick Harris, who got in on the drumming. By the end of the performance, Harris and episode co-host
Shaquille O'Neal
were doused in blue paint.
[40]
- AMC's
Halt and Catch Fire
(August 2017) ? In this drama about the first decade of personal computing, Blue Man Group performs at engineer and businessman Gordon Clark's 40th birthday party.
[41]
- Tru Tv's
Impractical Jokers
Season 8 episode 5 punishment in the episode "Blue Man Dupe". At a Blue Man Group Concert, Q is forced to rudely ask strangers to get out of their seat; because he thinks that the seat is his, where he later finds an error on his ticket. Later, Q must sit in the front row when the show starts in just his clothes, unlike in a poncho?like everyone else, and get disgusting substances all over him, and made a mess of with things like toilet paper.
[
citation needed
]
- CNBC's
Deal or No Deal
had them support Max Reynolds during his gameplay.
[42]
Blue Man Group has also performed on various shows such as an appearance on
The Grammy Awards
(with
Jill Scott
and
Moby
),
The Emmy Awards
, The Latin Grammy Awards,
The Royal Variety Show
(for
Queen Elizabeth II
),
Wetten, dass..?
(Germany),
The Voice
(Germany)
,
Regis and Kathie Lee
,
Regis and Kelly
and
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
.
[
citation needed
]
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
- 1991
Obie Award
(winner)
- 1992
Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience
(winner)
- 1992 Lucille Lortel Special Award
[43]
- 2000
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album
(nominee)
- 2000 Eddy Award (design)
[44]
- 2010 OBIE Advertising Award
[45]
- 2011 Off Broadway Alliance Awards'
Audience Choice Award for Best Long-Running Show
(winner)
[46]
- 2012 International Emmy Award nomination for Arts Programming (nominee)
[47]
- 2014
Drum!
Magazine Readers Choice Award ? Best Percussion Ensemble (winner)
- 2015
Drum!
Magazine Readers Choice Award ? Best Percussion Ensemble (winner)
- 2021 'Blue Man Group X Friends Anniversary' The Telly Awards - Silver Winner: Craft Branded Content
[48]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Theater: Long Running Shows".
The New York Times
. 2015.
- ^
Welch, Liz (2008).
"The Blue Man Group (Cover Story)"
.
Inc
.
30
(8): 110?112.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Langmuir, Molly (March 28, 2022).
"How Blue Man Group Blew Up"
.
Vulture
. Retrieved
May 14,
2024
.
- ^
Deb, Sopan (2017).
"Blue Man Group Is Bought by Cirque du Soleil, With Plans to Expand"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
Finkelstein, Gary (March 5, 2022).
"Blue Man Group (Off Broadway) Review"
.
The Gary on Broadway Blog
. Retrieved
May 14,
2024
.
- ^
"Blue Man Group Off-Broadway Performance Cast 2024 Off-Broadway World"
.
BroadwayWorld
. May 14, 2024
. Retrieved
May 14,
2024
.
- ^
Rabinowitz, Chloe (September 15, 2023).
"Photos: BLUE MAN GROUP Celebrates 17,000 Performances in New York City"
.
BroadwayWorld.com
. Retrieved
May 14,
2024
.
- ^
Flanders, Haley Lauren (2015).
Audience Participation in Blue Man Group: Success Through Authentic Character, Adaptable Narrative, and Accessible Space
(Thesis). Brigham Young University.
- ^
"Blue Man Group - Biography & History"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
March 17,
2018
.
- ^
Sickler, Linda.
"A close look inside the secret life of a Blue Man"
.
Savannah Morning News
. Retrieved
March 17,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Blue Man Group: Inside the Tube
.
PBS
. 2006.
- ^
"Blue Man Group / Show in Berlin"
. Archived from
the original
on June 27, 2008.
- ^
"Norwegian Introduces Norwegian Epic's Captains And Hotel Directors Unveils Inaugural Sailing Dates in Europe and U.S. Miami"
(Press release). Norwegian Cruise Line. October 15, 2009.
- ^
"Broadway musical 'Priscilla' heading to cruise ship"
.
USA Today
. Retrieved
January 25,
2017
.
- ^
"Blue Man Group ? 'Die Show Sensation'
"
. Bluemangroup.ch. Archived from
the original
on March 19, 2008
. Retrieved
November 23,
2009
.
- ^
"Blue men pack up bags"
.
OfficialLondonTheatre.com
. March 27, 2007
. Retrieved
October 31,
2017
.
- ^
Ogunnaike, Lola.
"For the Blue Man Army, Recruitment Is on the Rise"
,
The New York Times
, October 10, 2005.
- ^
"After 14 Years, Blue Man Group Leaves Universal Orlando"
.
News 13
. February 1, 2021
. Retrieved
February 1,
2021
.
- ^
"Ricky Martin e Blue Man Group"
.
Latin Grammys
. Archived from
the original
on February 21, 2023
. Retrieved
February 15,
2017
.
- ^
"Michel Telo y Blue Man Group"
.
Latin Grammys
. Archived from
the original
on February 21, 2023
. Retrieved
February 15,
2017
.
- ^
"Blue Man Group National Tour"
. January 21, 2010
. Retrieved
February 9,
2010
.
- ^
JaredB23 (August 18, 2009),
Blue Man Group (feat Dave Matthews) ? Sing Along
,
archived
from the original on November 14, 2021
, retrieved
February 15,
2017
{{
citation
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
"Blue Man Group"
.
www.bigconcerts.co.za Big Concerts
. Archived from
the original
on February 16, 2017
. Retrieved
February 15,
2017
.
- ^
"World Tour ? Official Site of Blue Man Group"
.
www.blueman.com
. Archived from
the original
on February 16, 2017
. Retrieved
February 15,
2017
.
- ^
"25 Years: New Vinyl 'Three'
"
.
blueman.com
. Archived from
the original
on April 22, 2016
. Retrieved
February 15,
2017
.
- ^
"Jon Daker performs with Blue Man Group"
.
Journal Star
. April 4, 2022
. Retrieved
November 11,
2023
.
- ^
Bruch, Thomas (April 20, 2016).
"
'My name is Jon Daker': Awkward performance immortalized Peoria singer with internet fame"
.
The Journal Star
.
- ^
"Bowling in Slow Motion with Blue Man Group - The Slow Mo Guys"
. May 16, 2017 – via
YouTube
.
- ^
"Blue Man Group to perform at #DECAICDC 2019"
.
DECA Direct
. March 29, 2019. Archived from
the original
on March 30, 2019
. Retrieved
March 30,
2019
.
- ^
"OK ORCHESTRA by AJR"
.
Genius
. Retrieved
February 4,
2021
.
- ^
ABC Audio (February 17, 2022).
"Watch AJR attempt to interview Blue Man Group ahead of upcoming tour"
.
AZ 93.3
. Retrieved
May 9,
2024
.
- ^
Blue Man Group & Andrew Huang ???? DESERT PORTAL Music Video
. Retrieved
April 15,
2024
– via www.youtube.com.
- ^
Getting weird with Blue Man Group
. Retrieved
April 15,
2024
– via www.youtube.com.
- ^
"Gold & Platinum"
.
RIAA
.
- ^
GoodReads.
"Blue Man World by Blue Man Group (contributor)"
. Retrieved
April 26,
2019
.
- ^
"Blue Man Group"
.
IMDb
. Retrieved
February 15,
2017
.
- ^
The Drew Carey Show (TV Series 1995?2004)
, retrieved
February 15,
2017
- ^
Bateman, Jason; Rossi, Portia de; Arnett, Will; Cera, Michael (November 7, 2004),
The One Where Michael Leaves
, retrieved
February 15,
2017
- ^
Boilen, Bob (September 26, 2016).
"Blue Man Group: Tiny Desk Concert"
.
NPR.org
. Retrieved
February 15,
2017
.
- ^
Carra, Mallory.
"Blue Man Group Performs On 'Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris' & It's So Fun"
. Retrieved
February 15,
2017
.
- ^
"
'Halt and Catch Fire' Season 4, Episode 1: So it Goes"
.
- ^
Blue Man Group.
"This contestant is going to need some reinforcement..."
Facebook
. Retrieved
March 13,
2019
.
- ^
"Other Resources"
. Archived from
the original
on March 4, 2016.
- ^
"2000 EDDY Awards"
.
- ^
"OBIE Awards 2010 Winners All awards, Amusement & Entertainment"
. Archived from
the original
on October 7, 2016.
- ^
"Off Broadway Alliance Awards"
. Retrieved
August 24,
2011
.
- ^
"Kodo, Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble ≫ WOWOW Program "Blue Man x Kodo - BLUE MAN MEETS WADAIKO!" Nominated for 2012 International Emmy® Award for Arts Programming"
.
- ^
"SILVER WINNER: VIDEOGRAPHY / CINEMATOGRAPHY ? BRANDED CONTENT"
.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Albums
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Singles
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Video releases
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Other
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Touring shows
| Arena
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Grand Chapiteau
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Retired
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Resident shows
| Las Vegas, NV
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Lake Buena Vista, FL
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Riviera Maya, MX
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Hamburg, Germany
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Hangzhou, China
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New York City, NY
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Retired
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Subsidiaries
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Special events
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Other media
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Related articles
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International
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National
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Artists
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