{insight} Mötley Blüe

Bald-pated, taciturn icons take their show on the road

By Garth Bishop

It’s not easy being blue. It takes a lot of hard work on the part of directors, musicians, performers and all of the other crew members to put together a show for the Blue Man Group – but the effort pays off in a memorable performance like no other.

Blue Man Group will be in Columbus Feb. 7-12 at the Palace Theatre, courtesy of Broadway Across America. The bald-headed, black-clad, blueskinned Men and their brightly-colored musical accompanists have a reputation for showmanship, quality music and great comedic timing, and an arched LED curtain with a high-resolution screen will only add to the touring show’s visual flair.

The group is based in New York City and, in addition to its touring show, runs nightly shows in New York, Chicago, Boston, Orlando and Las Vegas. It also has international shows in Germany, Japan, Sweden and Austria, as well as a Norwegian Cruise Line show.

Though renowned for its live show, the Blue Man Group has also gained some recognition for its appearances in various media – whether it’s performing wacky stunts in commercials for Intel or being impersonated by David Cross’ character tions. Though he didn’t make it on the first try, the Dallas-Fort Worth native moved to New York, took some acting classes and was accepted after his second audition.