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Blue Man Group shocks audience with bizarre music acts By Claire Dunderman ASST. FEATURE EDITOR
The Blue Man looked bewildered. He had already stuffed five marshmallows into his mouth, but his fellow Blue Man was still tossing marshmallows to him — and he was still catching them. His mouth grew wider and wider. Finally, he grabbed a plate, pressed his face onto it, and the marshmallow blob exited his mouth in a strange, confectionary sculpture. With a flourish, the Blue Man put a sign on the table that read: “$5,000.” “It was not what I expected,” said Ryan Zlomek, media arts teacher at Manlius Pebble Hill School, who attended the Thursday night performance. “I came into it thinking it was more like a hybrid of STOMP and Jackson Pollack. It ended up being more like an iPhone commercial and awkward comedy and avant-garde.” The marshmallow act was only the beginning of The Blue Man Group’s bizarre performance Thursday evening at The Landmark Theatre. Running through Feb. 3, the extravaganza features multicolored light shows, musical performances with PVC pipes and deadpan audience interaction performed by three men dressed and painted entirely in blue. The Blue Man Group shows off a variety of musical and comedic acts, but the show is also a satire of current societal phenomena, such as the obsession
with texting and smartphone apps. The Blue Man Group interact with one another throughout the show without any vocalizations or expressions while playing music with strange and impressive instruments, such as xylophones made out of pipes. A rock band plays in the background, amidst a variety of screens. Sometimes the screens are interactive, such as The Blue Man Group pretending to use them as
“This show seems to be categorically loved. It’s a gigantic show, which is challenging with a small cast, but it’s one of the more fun shows I’ve put on.”
Tyler Soltis
COMPANY MANAGER OF THE BLUE MAN GROUP
“GiPhones” — ginormous iPhones. With a show this extensive, the management team made sure to act efficiently, realizing the enthusiasm from the cast and crew, and the value of the entertainment that they were providing. “We love working with the producers of the
show. Tyler Soltis, the company manager, is very excited about coming here,” said Deb Ricciardi, a Famous Artists presenter who helped set up the show at the theatre. “And one of the band members, Randy Wooten, was very excited about being home.” Tyler Soltis, company manager of The Blue Man Group, also realized the attraction to a show this eclectic, mentioning the expansive work involved in putting it on. “This show seems to be categorically loved,” Soltis said. “It’s a gigantic show, which is challenging with a small cast, but it’s one of the more fun shows I’ve put on.” The show had improvised elements as well that warmed the audience. Some of these improvised moments included audience participation: A young woman was brought on stage and ate Twinkies with the group in a surreal dinner scene. Another audience member picked to participate was Matt Rimualdo, West Genesee High School junior. Once onstage, The Blue Man Group dressed Rimualdo in a helmet and painter’s suit and escorted him backstage. Then, as seen on a screen set up onstage, the audience watched as he was hosed down in blue paint, hooked up and suspended by his feet, and swung against a canvas. A pink hose guzzled paint along the outline of his body. Rimualdo and his artwork were shown
onstage and after the show. “It was, well, kind of exhilarating, and kind of scary,” Rimualdo said. “They had told me what was going on beforehand, so I was OK with it. They really did hang me and used the paint.” The final act of the show caught everyone’s excitement. It featured a light show of giant inflatable balls, which the group first played beats on, then released them into the audience. The crowd bounced around the flashing, colored air balloons while psychedelic lights and music played onstage. Finally, a voice came on overhead that said, “Ladies and gentlemen, can we have your attention please? Ladies and gentlemen, can we please have your attention? We’d like to have our balls back.” The show ended with an encore of the group’s most recognizable performance: drumming on barrels of paint. In a peak of percussion and paint, the audience stood up, cheering. The audience left perplexed yet intrigued, and one audience member in particular was fascinated by the performance. Said Zlomek, the media arts teacher: “It was really interesting how they incorporated the aspects of the technical and the performance, as well as how they used the stage. I’m still processing what I just saw.” cmdunder@syr.edu @ClaireDunderman
Q&A with Tyler Soltis, SU alumnus, Blue Man Group company manager By Claire Dunderman ASST. FEATURE EDITOR
The Blue Man Group performed at The Landmark Theatre this weekend from Jan. 31-Feb. 3. The show is an ebullient collection of sights, sounds and musical performances with paint and surreal comedic sketches. The Daily Orange talked to Tyler Soltis, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumnus and company manager of the Blue Man Group.
The Daily Orange: What is it like being company manager of the Blue Man Group? Tyler Soltis: It’s pretty fun… the guys are great and there’s so much energy around
TWO TRAINS F R O M P A G E 11
performances was by G. Valmont Thomas as Memphis, the diner’s stubborn-yet-hard-working owner. After a difficult past as a victim of racist business practices, Memphis’ biggest goal now is
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them. It’s not hard to like it… this show seems to be categorically loved… there are hard days and it’s more technical than other shows since it’s so specific. It’s a gigantic show, which is challenging with a small cast and it’s just me [as company manager]. I don’t have an assistant.
it seems logical that when we book the shows, that everything would be linear. In reality, it’s not like that. We come back through cities and sometimes travel in circles.
more worthwhile.
How is it watching the crowd’s reactions to the shows? Soltis: It’s very rewarding. I don’t get to go
What is the process for traveling to and setting up shows in each venue? Soltis: We always need to make sure we
into the audience all that much, but when I do, it’s fun being able to cheer your head off, and it’s sold out and everyone’s screaming. It’s a thrill. It erases whatever hardship you were going through that day. It’s so much fun. I wish I could do it more often, but I’m too busy backstage. People have to stay positive, and it makes it all
going to be doing. I went to Newhouse and I was a broadcast journalism major. I didn’t take any theatre classes. But I took a different path, and somehow I’m doing this! It’s great. I’m glad I did. I sometimes wonder if I stuck to journalism since I still love it. Evidently, though, I had a different calling, and I never would change this in a million years.
have time for setting up each show. If we add 30 seconds of video content for a show, we need to reconfigure the rest of the system and we need eight hours to do that. As far as traveling,
to get the price he’s setting for his diner. While Thomas’ character is somewhat loud, he makes up for it with his enthusiasm and defiant desire to control his own life, a relatable desire still present in many people trying to get by in today’s world. The other standout character was Risa, played by Erika LaVonn, the diner’s strong and silent waitress. As an African-American woman and waitress, Risa struggled with subjugation all her life and even cut her legs to appear less attractive to men. However, her quiet and resistant personality captures a subtle, growing feeling of empowerment, arguably making her the play’s most significant character. Sterling, a young man recently released from prison with a passion for the Black Power movement (and Risa), is played strongly by Robert Manning Jr., another notable role. His character appears naïve and foolish at times, such as randomly selling a tank of gas he found. But in the end, he’s shown to have a great heart within his recklessness. Directed by Producing Artistic Director Timothy Bond, the playfully serious script and sharp acting are very strong points of “Two Trains Running,” but most other elements of the performance are good, but not great.
The stage direction was simple and rarely creative, as the story was driven almost completely by dialogue. There were only fleeting moments where lighting and sound highlighted the play’s emotion. Even though the play offers incredible food for thought, people looking for plays to overwhelm them with flashiness should look elsewhere. Audiences won’t see any settings other than the diner, though the one location was created with incredible attention to the details of a 1960s restaurant. From the table accessories to the small glimpses of the world outside the diner, the stage design is impeccable and engrossing. “Two Trains Running” may, at first, seem uncomfortable due to the focus on racism and struggles African-Americans faced in an increasingly segregated nation. However, it still brings enjoyment with sharp political humor and a cast that refuses to be anything but charming. While it isn’t quite as good as it should be, it still takes a sensitive part of history and turns it into entertainment all theatergoers can enjoy, and contains important messages about where we are as a nation and where we were before. meantonu@syr.edu
Did you see yourself ever becoming Blue Man Group’s company manager? Soltis: I had no idea that this is what I was
cmdunder@syr.edu @ClaireDunderman
charlotte horton | staff photographer (FROM LEFT) GODFREY SIMMONS JR. AND ROBERT MANNING JR. perform in “Two Trains Running” at Syracuse Stage.