The drumming is primordial. Darkness yields to bluish light as water swirls in giant glass test tubes. Darkness prevails again and the beats intensify. A silhouette emerges from the void revealing a drummer, frantically pounding. The tension increases as a second silhouette appears: drumming energetically: louder and faster. A taut audience watches the third shadow never expecting the cheap but funny sight gag
that follows.

Welcome to Blue Man Group where performance art meets vaudeville. Watch the monitor, stage right, as a double helix heralds the arrival of a new life form: anthropomorphic aliens with blue skin and hairless heads wearing general issue black jumpsuits. Peering tentatively and quizzically at the audience and at one another, these aliens initially seem baffled by their new surroundings. This confusion passes quickly, however, and they soon become silent funnymen: alternately taking the
piss out of modern art, pop musicians, internet isolation, and the information overload of their host community.

Never preachy or boring, the social messages are served up with original music (compliments of Larry Heinemann, Ian Pai, and a small group of talented musicians), shock-and-awe lighting techniques (designed by Matthew McCarthy), the clever use of video (thanks to Dennis Diamond), and lots of humor (writers Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink-who also provide triple-threat duty as the creators,
producers and aliens).

‘ Ever punctuated by sight gags, big-hammer messages, audience interaction, prop-abuse, seat walking, and continual media changes, the show is surprisingly smooth in its flow. With hints to progeny from
Thurber’s Carnival, Laurie Andersen’s Big Science, Philip Glass’s score to Koyaanisqatsi, and most everything by Brian Eno, the creators and all of their collaborators deliver an entertaining production that almost ends too soon.

The show is worth a road trip so borrow the Civic from the guy down the hall, pile in, and head out to experience Blue Man Group. Depending on the road trip budget you can catch this show in New York, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Toronto, London or Berlin. The cash-conscious will want to stick with the New York venue. Student rush tickets are usually available on the day of the show for $25.00: a great price considering the full ticket costs $74.00 plus fees. Tickets are sold subject to availability starting one hour before show time and
are one-to-a-customer with student ID card. If you go to an evening show you can park the rag for free right in front of the theater starting at 7:00 pm.

Sunday nights are usually good for getting a carload of tickets but they may not all be together. No worries, though, —when the theater goes dark and the drumming starts there won’t be any opportunity for socializing.