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<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">BLUE MAN
GROUP nothing but fun, fun and more fun at the Palace</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Roy Berko</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">(Member,
American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Ian, my
thirteen year old grandson, who I often bring along to judge whether theatre
productions are both appropriate and will be enjoyable for kids, just kept
repeating, That was fun, as we returned to our car for the trip home.</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">He had seen
the BLUE MAN GROUP when they appeared locally in 2010.<span style> </span>I had assumed that the present
invention would be filled with new shticks and gimmicks.<span style> </span>He was actually pleased that most of
the goings on were retreads of the old.<span style>
</span>He was delighted that five of his favorite bits unfolded before his big
blue eyes and ever smiling face.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Yes, the
Twinkies routine, where an unsuspecting audience member is brought on stage and
participates in an exercise in which the center cream of the cake delicacy gets
sprayed out into the first four or so rows of the audience, was there.<span style> </span>(Fortunately, we were in row six.)<span style> </span>And so was the painting created by
hanging an audience member up-side-down from a crane, and bouncing him against
a blank canvas after he had been covered with various shades of paint.<span style> </span>(Ians only complaint was that he
wasnt the one being body-slammed.)</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">And, of
course, the Captain Crunch cereal eating, or rather orally spraying of cereal
into the audience, was enacted.<span style>
</span>What kid doesnt want to participate in a food fight?</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Ian is still
trying to figure out how one Blue Man stuffed 29 marshmallows into his mouth
and then used them to create a sculpture piece.<span style> </span>He is now the possessor of one of the marshmallows used in
the routine and, I assume, now at home teaching his older brothers how to
perform the deed.</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Also included
was the presence of huge balls being thrown out into the audience for eager
participants to bounce them from floor to the balcony to the ceiling of the
massive Palace Theatre. </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Is it
possible to spend 90 minutes at the theatre, not hear a single word spoken, and
be totally and absolutely delighted?<span style>
</span>When you go to see the touring production of BLUE MEN GROUP, and there
is no doubt, no matter your age, <span style> </span>that you should go, at the end of the experience youll be
standing on your feet, applauding and shouting for joy, and trying to hit the
big balls as they sail all around you, accompanied by confetti and streams of fiber.
</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">BLUE MAN
GROUP combines music, comedy and multimedia theatrics to produce a unique form
of entertainment.<span style> </span>This isnt a
play.<span style> </span>It isnt vaudeville.<span style> </span>It isnt Cirque du Soleil.<span style> </span>It is unique!</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">To make it
even more exciting, not only is the audience entertained, but they also
learn.<span style> </span>Did you know the eyes see a
color and the brain translates it into others?<span style> </span>Do you know what 2 ½ dimensional space is all about? Do you
know the 7 rock concert moves? <span style> </span>Do
you know the hysteria that texting can create in a conversation between virtual
texters? </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Yes, through
electronic gimmicks, flying colored paint, filling their mouths with
marshmallows, eating Twinkies, audience participation, drumming (yes, it does
get loud and the bass moves the theatres floor under your feet), three
on-stage performers, a band and seven Blue Men hidden in the dark on-stage,
teach and delight.</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Be aware that
this is a 90-minute show with no intermission.<span style> </span>In spite of the warnings by the ushers, the pre-show speech,
and visual clues on stage, as the show went on the aisles were bustling with
people exiting and entering.<span style>
</span>Several times the performers gave anguished looks at the patrons.<span style> </span>In one instance, a stage spotlighting
was pointed at several women.<span style> </span>What
a bad message these people gave the cast about the manners of Clevelanders.</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">CAPSULE
JUDGEMENT:<span style> </span>BLUE MAN GROUP is
a total delight.<span style> </span>Go, go, go and
have a unique theatrical experience!</span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black">Tickets for
the show, which runs through February 17, can be ordered by calling
216-241-6000 or going to <a href="http://www.playhousesquare.org">http://www.playhousesquare.org</a></span><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Palatino-Roman"></span></span></p><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">
</span><br></div>