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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Theatre review: Blue Man Group is like nothing you have experienced before

Part concert, part theatre, part art, part technological wonder the Broadway Across Canada presentation of the Blue Man Group, currently on stage at Vancouver’s QE Theatre, defies description.

[pullquote]Even though there is tremendous talent on stage, the Blue Man Group is still also about spectacle and this touring show delivers. [/pullquote]At first glance as you are bombarded by the sounds and visuals that make these Men in Blue who they are, the feeling is that what you are witnessing contains an overwhelming lack of subtlety.  If you watch closely though, between the loud music and equally loud sight gags, you will discover there is a talented group behind the trademark blue.

A quick smile, a knowing nod, an appreciation when a gag is landing solidly, the real stars of any Blue Man Group are the performers that don the make-up each night.  While lesser performers could easily hide behind all the “squirrels” that this show delivers, the group of eight that make up the Blue Men on this tour are not only top-notch musicians and physical comedians, but mighty fine actors as well.

Even though there is tremendous talent on stage, the Blue Man Group is still also about spectacle and this touring show delivers.  A liberal use of digital screens, lighting effects, and props (which includes three massive iPhone like devices in one particularly funny and insightful segment on our reliance on technology), work together in a harmonious cacophony of visual treats.

My third visit with the Blue Men over the years, this touring show is a combination of classic and new (at least to me) material.  And even 20 years after their first show opened in New York, the Blue Man Group continues to reinvent itself, all the while knowing what parts to keep.

I said it after the first Blue Man show I saw in Vegas and I’ll say it again now: Blue Man Group is like nothing you have experienced before.

Created, written and directed by Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink.  Blue Man Group continues at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre through March 30.  Tickets are available online at Ticketmaster.

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