Review: Blue Man Group Chicago
Blue Man Group has been in Chicago for over ten years now. I finally got around to seeing them.
My tickets were free so I didn’t have to worry about the pinch of $64.00. If I didn’t see the show for free, I’m not sure I would have thought that the show equaled the price of admission.
Granted, I am seeing the production almost two decades too late. (It started in New York in 1991.) Back then, performance art, especially an entire stage show of it, was new and exciting. Last week, the show felt strangely dated. The tech elements felt quaint. And I’ve encountered the social commentary points in other more clever presentations.
My favorite part of the show had to do with an especially adept audience member who got pulled up onstage. She made the segment work. I think I may have enjoyed that part the best because she was an unpredictable element. This was the only part of the show that felt fresh and current.
The whole production works hard to make you feel as if you are a part of an artistic experience. But at the same time, they don’t bother to hide their preshow prep from you. When “random” and “spontaneous” moments happen during the show, it’s hard to go along when you know that the entire thing was engineered and meant to be that way.
It’s kind of like professional wrestling.
The legendary finale of the show never made much sense to me. Now that I finally got to be in the midst of it, it still doesn’t make sense to me.
But then—I’m a square. At least I know that.
Still, it is an entertaining and family-friendly production. If your child is ok with noise and flashing lights, you can bring them to this show. Chicago is a very family-friendly town in the daytime, but it can be hard to find activities that are enjoyable to both parents and kids after dinner is done. At the Briar Street Theatre, there is no swearing, no violence, and no inappropriate sexual content.
What there is are feats of physical prowess, rock music, and funny non-speaking Blue Men. The kids will love it.
As a whole, the Blue Man Group experience is not bad at all. I just don’t think it’s worth $64.00.