February 21, 2007

'Blue Man' still going strong after all these years

Alexandra Farkas returns to NewYorkology today with a review of the long-running Off-Broadway downtown spectacle presented by the Blue Man Group. Farkas has directed Off-Off-Broadway productions of classic and contemporary plays, including at last fall's IGNITE Festival at the Ohio Theater in Soho.

"Blue Man Group: Tubes" might well be "The Fantastiks" of the post-modern generation.

When it first hit the Astor Place Theater in 1991, it was a performance art sleeper hit. People just kept coming, and they still do. Why? Because although not too much has changed, the show is still a total jolt from everyday life. It's an accessible, kid-friendly, if somewhat pricey, peek through the performance art looking glass.

If you spend any portion of your free time challenging your comfort zone, Blue Man will seem familiar, but if not, it’s a fun release that will put you in a great mood.

Before I go on too much further, full disclosure: I count members of the Blue Man family among my friends. I say “family” because with a 16-year history and shows currently in seven cities (including Las Vegas,) this isn’t just a show, it’s a way of life for those friends of mine.

It’s easy to see why someone would want to check out their show after seeing them in ads for Intel or on the "Tonight Show" or even on "Arrested Development." Emotionless, mute, blue creatures that have a way with percussion and making a mess, they are just as good as a main attraction as they are as a brief wacky distraction. But long before all that hype, they were banging on pvc pipes and paint, snacking on Cap’N Crunch, taking pot-shots at contemporary art, and spewing mysterious goo from their chests to live rock music and getting people to come back over and over again.

Two years ago they replaced the part of the show that played with fractals with some more computer/video game-related material, which is unfortunate. It’s the weakest part of the show, because it feels like they’re trying too hard. There are lots of multimedia parts of the show that are great, but the rocking-out tutorial and the history of animation don’t feel nearly as spontaneous as the rest of it. The waterfall of toilet paper, however, is still there and not to be missed!

Here in New York, "Blue Man Group: Tubes" plays at the Astor Place Theater at 434 Lafayette St., map, every night of the week, twice on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and three times on Saturdays.

Farkas' earlier theater reviews for NewYorkology:

'Spring Awakening': Rockin' with Victorian German kids
Bad Broadway: The Times They Are A-Bafflin'
'Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me' a comedic feast

February 21, 2007 11:28 AM in Broadway, Downtown, Kids

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