Blue Man Group

I recently had the good fortune to see The Blue Man Group at the Charles Street Playhouse in Boston. This has been a desire of mine for several years and I am happy to report the show does not disappoint. At first, the idea of seeing the show was last minute, arriving at the theatre at 9:30, hoping there would still be tickets available. There were a couple of balcony seats with partially obstucted views. The women in the ticket booth kindly explained it was the wire railing that interfered with the sight of the stage and really wasn't that big of a deal. Okay, Fine. But at $50 bucks a head, you still purchase with slight hesitation.

Over the years, the television ads for this show have always promised a wild ride. An interactive carnival, a bigger than life production. And the promo sound bites and video clips supported this idea. But the reality is this is a very small venue, not actually on Charles Street and really just barely in the theatre district. (A couple strong storms might blow the whole deal into the South End.) I wouldn't use the phrase dive, but the theatre itself is quite small and rough around the edges. In a good way.

There is a bar to hang out in prior to actually taking your seat. This seemed like a wise idea at the time, as it would have taken too much time to make our way back to any established eatery or pub and still return in time for the 10pm show. So we sat among an eclectic group of individuals. It was a rather enjoyable, quiet time. By the time we made it upstairs to our seats, I was delighted to see there were waitresses serving drinks to audience members. That was a first for me. Regardless, it didn't turn the crowd crazy, but seemed like a fun idea.

As it turned out, the two-hour production is indeed a rollercoaster ride, but in between the insane visuals and complex drumming, there are small skits and videos that humorously dissect modern life. The three actors wear skin caps and blue face paint, and do not speak. While there is no concrete reasoning to why they exist or what purpose they serve, it is easy to accept them as space aliens who are attempting to learn our ways. This is a fast-paced, two-hour adventure, that has these Blue Men in the audience almost as much as they are on the stage. While I won't give specific details on the actual material, I will say there is also a small rock band that backs-up all the drumming these guys do, and at times it felt like you were witnessing a new musical art form. It was great fun and I would recommend this show for just about anybody, ages 9 to 99!!