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Editor’s Note: Below you will find an earlier review of THE BLUE MAN GROUP SHOW published on 01-15-2018. NOW!! you can get discount tickets to this show.
The Blue Lobby at Briar Street Theatre
As you arrive at The Briar Street Theatre you will see people waiting in the lobby area taking pictures of the unusual aesthetics of the place. There are pipes and tubes decorating the ceiling and the walls. Some odd blue water tanks, with blue rubber ducks trapped inside, are connected and make water splash through some sort of sprinkler system. These activate every few minutes making the crowd turn to try and figure out what that is all about.
The Blue Man Group VIP Experience
You can tell the people who have seen this show before, as they find it funny to keep and even instigate the suspense for the newcomers. The people seated in the front rows are given plastic ponchos making the intrigue skyrocket for an even more immersive VIP experience. Why would you need that, you might wonder. Well, the show is really interactive and engages the audience, so it is a good idea to have these protections on for your clothes’ sake. There is nothing to be worried about, just prepare yourself for a good hearty laugh and a bunch of surprises.
Get ready, set, go
As we are all seated waiting for the show to start, there are two prompters with messages for the public and people actually start to read them out loud. If you celebrate your birthday, be sure the whole audience will find out about it. But the prompters also serve practical purposes. For instance, you are going to be asked not to use your phone and you will be told it is not allowed to take photos, but in a very original way.
On stage with the blue men
At one point, they invite a lady from the public on stage and she really plays along. It is one of the best moments of the show, she can´t stop laughing and neither can we. It is clearly improvised, but the way she mirrors their acting is hilarious. The expressive blue men need no words to make you react and understand their totally comprehensible nonverbal communication. She connects with them, and she is having a great time making it so much better for the rest of the audience.
Slider photos by: Lindsey Best
Pipes, paint and music
It is amazing how they create music with pipes and make drums out of barrels, all backed up by a live rock band that accompanies them throughout. The show is colorful, paint is splashed as music is being made in a spectacle of sound and image that awakens your senses. The members of The Blue Man Group are masters of mimic and words are not needed for them to connect with the audience from the stage. But the show is an immersive experience and they come down and mingle, connect with different people, in different areas of the theatre, so expect to have one of them staring at you with big eyes right in front of you.
Mixing art, music, comedy and state-of-the-art technology
You will not believe the things they do with every day objects. We are amazed to see marshmallows, candies and breakfast cereals as stars in this show and what they do with them will blow your mind. It is entertaining and funny to see how science, state-of-the-art technology, art, comedy and ordinary objects blend in a show that is made to make you laugh and have a great time from beginning till the end.
The Grand Finale
Slider photos courtesy of The Blue Man Group
The show finishes with engaging music and other surprises this writer will not reveal, but expect things to happen at all times in front of you and all around you. In this writer’s opinion, it is a very recommendable show that will make you laugh so hard it will make your belly hurt. Before you leave, be patient as they will come out in the lobby and you will get the chance to take some photos with The Blue Men.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Note: This is now added to the Picture this Post round up of BEST PLAYS IN CHICAGO, where it will remain until the end of the run. Click here to read – Top Picks for Theater in Chicago NOW – Chicago Plays PICTURE THIS POST Loves.
Note: An excerpt of this review appears in Theatre in Chicago
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Tickets:
Check for Half-Price Ticket from Hot Tix:
For more tickets information please visit Blue Man Group Website
About the Author
Laura Buciuman is currently a Marketing Assistant at the Tourist Office of Spain in Chicago. Open-minded and curious, with a major in journalism and philosophy (North University, Romania) and two Master Degrees, one in English and Spanish for specific and business purposes (Alicante University, Spain) and another in International Tourism (EOI Business School, Spain), Laura is passionate about writing, storytelling, traveling, arts and culture. She has already lived in four different countries and visited many others and enjoys discovering different cultures. Reading, gastronomy, latin dances and yoga are some of her hobbies.
Editor's Note: Click here to read more Picture this Post articles by Laura Buciuman
