Z Notes Blog by Jim Zumwalt
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Blue Man Group

Ann and I with the Blue Men of Blue Man Group fame. Ann has some of the blue paint on her hand, and it was quite a chore to clean it off.

Oct. 9 - When Ann and I visited New York City in 1991, everyone was buzzing about the "Blue Man Group" an off-Broadway production. The Blue Man Group presented a completely fresh and novel approach to the theater combining aspects of musical concerts, multimedia, mime and improvisational theater that involved the audience in each night's production. Unfortunately for us, we were unable to obtain tickets because this show was completely sold out.

Therefore, Ann and I were delighted to be invited by the Blue Man Group Production company to see their performance in Tokyo. We were impressed that the audience at their theater in Roppongi included young people on dates, married couples like us, and grandmothers treating their grandchildren.

After the performance, Ann and I met the musicians and the "Blue Men." The performers are from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan. They told me they love living and performing in Tokyo. When I asked them to compare the audience reaction between Japan, North America and Europe, they told me that audiences the world over react similarly. The three "Blue Men" have no hair, no ears and do not speak. They could be from anywhere, which may be part of their international appeal.

The musicians told us that their greatest challenge was to adjust their music to the performance on stage. Since the actors interacted differently with the audience each night, they needed to be creative and extemporaneous in providing musical accompaniment. Ann and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and hope that you will be able to see them too. Just don’t be late!

Note: The Tokyo production of The Blue Man Group runs through the end of November 2009. More information is available at http://blueman.jp.

Until next time,

Jim

Ann and I pose with other performers from the Blue Men Group.

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