Review: BLUE MAN GROUP at Jacksonville Center For The Performing Arts

As you enter the theatre for “Blue Man Group” you’re met with pre-show announcements scrolling across an LED screen. My favorite show rules were “please refrain from being electronically annoying” and “no sexting”! Before the show began you could see the front row start to slip into blue ponchos. This area is known as the “poncho zone”! I’d say the ponchos are absolutely necessary because as soon as the show starts, vivid, colored paint starts to fly off of the paint drums, and the mess doesn’t stop there!

Since the Blue Men do not speak the show connects audiences with comedy, music, art and a high energy performance. It appeals to audiences of all ages, with no intermission and a run time of approximately 90 minutes, making it perfect for the kiddos too.

I was particularly mesmerized by all of the percussion in the show. The GIGANTIC “Big Drum” caught my eye in the wings before it even appeared on stage. When it was wheeled on and uncovered you could feel the vibrations as the Blue Man struck it with the oversized mallet. The use of PVC pipe to creative rhythmic sounds was also quite impressive. The “Drumbone” (half trombone/half drum) was an audience favorite. This instrument is held by two of the men and played by the third. However, their oversized Tubulum took up most of the playing space on the stage. What’s a Tubulum, you ask? It’s a custom built percussion instrument using varying sizes of PVC pipes, arranged to create different notes when struck with a rubber paddle.

The one female on stage also shines…or should I say…glows in her role as “The Rockstar”. For the majority of the show she towers above the Men playing percussion and drums. Toward the end of the show she joins the Men downstage and even has a solo moment to show off her impressive drumming skills.

Even when you find yourself asking, “What is happening?” you can’t help but to be entertained and wonder what will come next. Especially when you find yourself watching three blue men eating from boxes of Cap'n Crunch. That is often the moment that the group gets the audience involved. Raising the audience to their feet to dance like at a rock concert and, if you’re lucky, even pulling someone up on the stage! Cameras follow the Men into the audience and project a live feed onto the big screen. So you get a good look at the entire audience and some members even from the inside (open wide if you’re in the pit). One audience member even took home some life-sized wall art, created with lots of blue paint and revealed via a live feed from backstage.

The onstage cameras have quite a reach, so don’t be late or you may stop the show and be called out for being late as you race to your seat. By the end of the show you're on your feet and wrapped in (recycled paper) streamers and definitely not feeling blue!

Jacksonville, you have one more chance to catch the Blue Men while they’re in town. January 23 at 8pm at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts.

For More Information on Blue Man Group CLICK HERE