BLUE MAN GROUP nothing but fun, fun and more fun at the Palace
Roy Berko
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland
Critics Circle)
Ian, my thirteen year old grandson, who I often bring along
to judge whether theatre productions are both appropriate and will be enjoyable
for kids, just kept repeating, “That was fun,” as we returned to our car for
the trip home.
He had seen the BLUE MAN GROUP when they appeared locally in
2010. I had assumed that the
present invention would be filled with new shticks and gimmicks. He was actually pleased that most of
the goings on were retreads of the old.
He was delighted that five of his favorite bits unfolded before his big
blue eyes and ever smiling face.
Yes, the Twinkies routine, where an unsuspecting audience
member is brought on stage and participates in an exercise in which the center
cream of the cake delicacy gets sprayed out into the first four or so rows of
the audience, was there.
(Fortunately, we were in row six.) And so was the painting created by hanging an audience member
up-side-down from a crane, and bouncing him against a blank canvas after he had
been covered with various shades of paint. (Ian’s only complaint was that he wasn’t the one being
body-slammed.)
And, of course, the Captain Crunch cereal eating, or rather
orally spraying of cereal into the audience, was enacted. What kid doesn’t want to participate in
a food fight?
Ian is still trying to figure out how one Blue Man stuffed
29 marshmallows into his mouth and then used them to create a sculpture
piece. He is now the possessor of
one of the marshmallows used in the routine and, I assume, now at home teaching
his older brothers how to perform the deed.
Also included was the presence of huge balls being thrown
out into the audience for eager participants to bounce them from floor to the
balcony to the ceiling of the massive Palace Theatre.
Is it possible to spend 90 minutes at the theatre, not hear
a single word spoken, and be totally and absolutely delighted? When you go to see the touring
production of BLUE MEN GROUP, and there is no doubt, no matter your age, that you should go, at the end of the
experience you’ll be standing on your feet, applauding and shouting for joy,
and trying to hit the big balls as they sail all around you, accompanied by
confetti and streams of ribbon.
BLUE MAN GROUP combines music, comedy and multimedia
theatrics to produce a unique form of entertainment. This isn’t a play.
It isn’t vaudeville. It
isn’t Cirque du Soleil. It is
unique!
To make it even more exciting, not only is the audience
entertained, but they also learn.
Did you know the eyes see a color and the brain translates it into
others? Do you know what 2 ½
dimensional space is all about? Do you know “the 7 rock concert moves?” Do you know the hysteria that texting
can create in a conversation between virtual texters?
Yes, through electronic gimmicks, flying colored paint,
filling their mouths with marshmallows, eating Twinkies, audience
participation, drumming (yes, it does get loud and the bass moves the theatre’s
floor under your feet), three on-stage performers, a band and seven Blue Men
hidden in the dark on-stage, teach and delight.
Be aware that this is a 90-minute show with no
intermission. In spite of the
warnings by the ushers, the pre-show speech, and visual clues on stage, as the
show went on the aisles were bustling with people exiting and entering. Several times the performers gave
anguished looks at the patrons. In
one instance, a stage spotlighting was pointed at several women. What a bad message these people gave
the cast about the manners of Clevelanders.
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: BLUE MAN GROUP is a total delight. Go, go, go and have a unique theatrical
experience!
Tickets for the show, which runs through February 17, can be
ordered by calling 216-241-6000 or going to http://www.playhousesquare.org
