Its pulsing, pounding, circus-like alien invasion may not be as widespread as it once was, but Blue Man Group is still blowing minds around the world. The current North American tour brings its one-of-a-kind musical instruments, strange customs and riveting performance art routines to the Waterbury Palace for three shows on March 3 and March 4.
The long-running music/movement/fantasy/comedy/mime/percussion performance spectacle took a hit last year when its standing companies in New York, Boston and Chicago all thumped their last drum full of blue paint. But Blue Man Group’s Las Vegas company is still going strong, and the unique act continues to tour the world. A new resident company is opening soon in Orlando, Florida, and another troupe is heading to Tokyo.
“We are still in a growth mindset after a bit of a pause. We are exploring how to continue expanding again,” said Matt Ramsey, a former Blue Man who now works behind the scenes and has been with the organization for 26 years.
Martin Girard
Percussive music is at the core of all Blue Man Group shows. This tour features a separate character, a female musician called The Rock Star. (Martin Girard)
This tour features the accustomed three blue-skinned performers (drawn from the dozens of actors/musicians who’ve been trained to do the various shows) plus another character, The Rock Star, a female multi-instrumentalists who pumps the soundtrack for the Blue Men’s alien antics. The Rock Star is a variation on the live band that has been a major part of Blue Man Group since the beginning.
Ramsey said The Rock Star is the first female character that is also a drummer and musician. Female performers have been a part of Blue Man Group shows in the past, but as Blue Men or musicians and not a separate costumed character. “She has her own journey in the show,” Ramsey said.
The director is purposefully vague about what journeys the characters in Blue Man Group shows actually take.
“We never say the show is about anything,” he said. “There’s a theme of connectedness, but that’s a side effect of the Blue Man experience, a by-product. We cherish that. This show is a chance to laugh your ass off, have a ball with strangers and celebrate humanity.”
Martin Girard
Blue Man Group has been around since 1988. (Martin Girard)
Ramsey describes the Blue Men as “Other. They’re outsiders. They’re not alien in the sense of outer space. They’re alien in the sense that they are not part of our culture. Meeting these otherworldly beings isn’t threatening but can be uncomfortable at first. They’re curious about us and they want to communicate with us. The joy of the show is in the unique way these characters are defined that allow them to relate to anyone. The audience is drawn in to the experience. By the end, audiences realize they’re part of it. Everyone is connected. It’s such a unique experience. It’s more than a show.”
Bringing in new Blue Man Group members is a complex process, since the performers must be able to play musical instruments, some of which are built from tuned PVC plastic pipes during the show. They also do comedy, juggle, shoot marshmallows out of their mouths and much more while staying in character and not talking. Ramsey said that when casting new Blue Men, they note each candidate’s strengths then find performers whose skills complement them. “Some come in with more background in drumming,” the director said. “Others have done more acting.”
Blue Man Group has roots not in the cosmos but in New York and Connecticut. One of the founding members, Chris Wink, is a 1983 graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown. In interviews, he has credited the university with encouraging the type of creativity he needed to create the group in 1988 with his co-founders Phil Stanton, and Matt Goldman. One early Blue Man Group performance happened at Toad’s Place in New Haven, where the trio opened for Cyndi Lauper.
Martin Girard
Blue Man Group shows offer propulsive rock music, comedy, circus-type tricks and what the creators call “connectedness.” (Martin Girard)
Ramsey created this tour several years ago and has updated it for its return. The last Blue Man Group performance in Connecticut was at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven in 2023. He said the tour is different from the resident shows in Vegas (and, until recently, Boston and Chicago and New York) and also different from previous tours, which have ranged from stadium extravaganzas to club and theater shows. In learning how to adapt Blue Man Group for different venues, the company has become “a huge proponent of new technology, from lighting to video screens to sound equipment,” Ramsey said.
“For those who know what Blue Man Group is like, this will feel familiar but with new elements,” Ramsey added. “It’s a whole new iteration, but the core experience is the same. We see unique characters trying to connect.”
Blue Man Group performs March 3 at 7:30 p.m. and March 4 at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Palace Theatre, 100 East Main St., Waterbury. $49-$89. palacetheaterct.org.