Chastina ThamThey pour pink, yellow and red paint on drums, splattering them as they bang noisily on the skins and PVC pipes. They play with food: tossing marshmallows, stomping on cereal, squirting mashed bananas and smashing red Jell-O on the floor and at each other. Scream at them, but they don’t say a word.
You’d be tempted to smack any child that does these things. But somehow when it’s 3 bald men coated in brilliant shiny blue skin paint who are creating this kind of mayhem, you just feel compelled to applaud and cheer.
The good news is, you don’t need a shrink, because you won’t be the first ‘crazy’ one to do so. In fact, the Blue Man Group is a recipe of delinquent genius that’s been enjoyed for over 25 years and seen by an excess of 35 million people.
The better news is that Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, where they’re performing for the first time, is also the first stop of their world tour to commemorate this quarter-of-a-century-old act.
Founded by New York buddies Chris Wink, Phil Stanton and Matt Goldman in 1991, the characters are based on the concept of an innocent ‘blue man’, devoid of race or religion, discovering the wonderful aspects of humanity and music. It’s an idea you might recognise in a cappella group the Voca People, bald white-suited humanoid aliens who are more facially expressive and funny than their blue cousins.
Stanton explains to UrbanWire and other media, before the Mar 31 opening performance, that the blue man character developed from 3 basic things – “that people would always remain curious about the world, want to find moments to be creative wherever they can and want to be part of a community.”
No wonder these characteristics result in a show that is playfully childlike, surprising and entertaining and also invites interaction with the audience. The earlier mentioned experiments with food and colour fall into the first category.
What they do with music qualifies for the second. By hitting various PVC pipes, the blue man group performed classical pieces like “Overture” by William Tell and “Fur Elise” by Ludwig Beethoven. But a twist is ahead, as the pieces gradually get remixed into full-out rock tracks as a 4 member live band throws in fist-pumping beats that climax into a head-banging oldies rock tune. So how good are they musically? Their first album, Audio, released in 1999, was nominated for a Grammy. And readers of Drum! Magazine chose them for Best Percussion Ensemble both in 2014 and 2015.
Other acts such as spitting paint to create artwork and eating Cap’n Crunch to create beats left the audience impressed as they burst into applause after every segment. Even after 25 years, the Blue Man Group, no longer the original trio, who’d long moved backstage to manage the business after training many successors, stays in touch with what’s current. Segments where screens are designed as today’s ubiquitous handphone touch screens and music mixing apps make the show relevant and current.
The final component of interaction with the audience was surely the highlight of the show. We were made to read out hilarious greetings (from a simple hello, to singing birthday songs with unique introductions like “This is Adam, he’s just Adam. Say Hi Adam!”) that appeared on a LED screen before the show started. And volunteers were invited to be part of the performance on stage, eating Twinkies and creating art with the Blue Man Group.
When a couple arrived to their show late, the Blue Man Group had a camera zoom in on them while the words “you’re late” flashed across the screen along with an announcer. You may have hung your head in embarrassment if you were the offending latecomers, but everyone cheered and laughed our welcome. What can we say; your inner child can’t help but be called forth in a show like this.
That child within was captivated throughout the 95-minute-long show, which concluded fittingly with a party segment that had the audience dancing along with the 3 guys. Balls, larger than a gym ball, and party streamers were thrown into the crowd while a huge reflective silver puppet danced on stage to the beat. You may not remember him or her, but your younger self still exists, and will thank you for catching the show.
[xrr rating=3.5/5 display_as=textstars label=”Rating:”]
Information
Venue: Sands Theatre, MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands
Event Period: March 29 – April 24
Ticket Prices: (excludes booking fee) $90, $120 $135, $155
Show times: No shows on Monday, 8pm on Tuesday – Friday, varying times on Saturday – Sunday (Matinees available)
Duration: 90 – 100 mins
Photos courtesy of Base Entertainment Asia