The Blue Man Group Review

When it comes to performance art, you can’t get much better than “The Blue Man Group”. This show came to the Buell Theater in downtown Denver October 10 to October 12, 2014. It’s was only in town for a few days, but it was worth seeing. Not only is this show entertaining for everyone in attendance, but it is quite literally a work of art itself. Incorporating drums, paint, sculpting, technology, and dancing, this performance showcases nearly every type o art that one might think of. It is a performance art that is watched as well as an art which is interactive as it involves audience participation. There is truly something for everyone in this entertaining performance.

The blue men themselves do not speak, but entertain through their actions. The show opens with the three blue men playing trash cans as drums. As they play, one of the blue men pours yellow paint on his drum. This creates a splatter effect as he continues to play his drum. Another blue man pours red paint on his drum and the men act as though they are amazed by the effect of the paint as they drum, causing them to add more paint. The amazement that the blue men project is shared by the audience as they perform on their drums. Not only is the music considered to be art, but the paint adds another element which creates a spectacle. The art is no longer just music, but a performance of color and comedy as the blue men act as though they have never seen anything so amazing.

The blue men do not stop with just pain on the drums; they use the paint to create actual art. As one of the blue men holds what appears to be a bag of marshmallows, the other two blue men prepare to entertain the audience with their artistic ability. After some elements of performance and comedic tricks, one of the blue men creates a splatter art canvas while the other creates a sculpture out of the marshmallows that he catches on his mouth. They then recreate an art auction as the blue men place price tags on their works of art. Two lucky audience members get to leave with these crazy pieces of art created by the men. Later in the performance, another work of art is also given away as the blue men paint around an audience member.

While music and gallery art find their place in the Blue Man Group’s performance, technology also has an essential part in the show. As the blue men entertain, they use lights, projections, and even video technology to entertain the audience. In one of the more strange parts of the show, one of the blue men sticks a camera down the throat of an audience member and the footage is shown on a screen on the stage for the rest of the audience to observe. With the use of technology, footage which had been previously filmed of someone’s throat is timed perfectly so that there is the illusion that the footage of the throat belongs to the audience member present. The use of technology creates a sort of optical illusion for the audience, adding to the spectacle of the performance. Even more, lights are used on the stage with invisible screens to create fake people who dance on the stage with the blue men. The boundaries between reality and a technological fantasy are blended.

While “The Blue Man Group” show is abstract and unlike any other performance art that is out there, it cannot be denied that this performance qualifies as art. With the use of actual art forms such as music, painting, and even interactive technology, the show is riddled with art. The blue men themselves are even art as they art painted blue and act as something which is foreign to this world. This alien-like character that is embodied by the three blue men adds to the spectacle and amazing nature of the performance that creates an experience to remember for everyone in attendance.