StageSceneLA

BLUE MAN GROUP ON TOUR

The quirky trio of pseudo-extraterrestrials known round the world as Blue Man Group have arrived at the Segerstrom Center For The Arts with their 2020 Speechless Tour to dazzle and delight with their patented brand of quirky physical comedy, seemingly superhuman feats, and audience interaction for kids of all ages.

Indeed, in my ten years of reviewing National Tours at the Segerstrom, I’ve never seen as many twelve-and-unders in attendance, not even for Beauty And The Beast, Lion King, or the recent Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, and no wonder.

Blue Man Group perform with the joyful innocence and playful imagination of a child that’s so contagious, even octogenarians will feel eight years old again.

And just exactly do these Blue Men do?

Well, for a start, they play all sorts of supremely inventive sound-making instruments while ensuring that you’ll never look at paintballs or marshmallows the same way again, or confetti, or PCV piping, or a game of rock, paper, scissors for that matter.

Adding to the fun throughout is abundant audience interaction, and if you’re lucky enough, you just might find yourself invited up on stage. (Those unlucky enough to arrive late will get their own surprise.)

A face-recognition segment proves a particular hoot, and if you’’ve purchased seats in the first few rows (i.e. the splash zone), expect to be given protective smocks to wear for your own protection.

The Blue Men in question are Meridian, Mike Brown, Steven Wendt, and Adam Zuick, presumably taking turns as there are never more than three of them onstage at once, and since all four sport Men In Black-style trenchcoats (designed by Patricia Murphy) that reveal only blue faces and hands, it’s anyone’s guess who’s who.

One thing’s for certain, under Jenny Koons’ ingenious direction, these are some of the most multi-talented chaps ever to grace the Segerstrom Center stage in a series of skits written by Jonathan Knight, Michael Dahlen, and Blue Man Group themselves.

Jason Ardizzone-West’s scenic design makes ingenious, ever-changing use of multicolored flashing lights and a plethora of TV screens of assorted sizes projecting a dazzling array of images (including live shots of the Blue Men interacting with the audience), computer terminals, ladders, and everyday objects that just might turn into musical instruments.

Jen Schreiver’s lighting dazzles throughout as do Crest Factor’s sound design, Lucy MacKinnon’s video design, and Bill Swartz’s SFX design.

Oh, and lest I forget, musicians Corky Gainsford, Robert Gomez, and Jerry Kops (costumed by Emilio Sosa) provide a hard-rock soundtrack (composed by Andrew Schneider and Jeff Turlik) from start to finish under Byron Estep’s expert music direction.

Richard Herrick and Anna K. Rains are production stage managers. Stacy Myers is company manager.