Blue Man GroupGRAND RAPIDS, MI - Thankfully, my interview with a Blue Man wasn’t in character, or this article would be over before I finish typing this sentence.
IF YOU GO
Blue Man Group
When: Sept. 25-30
Where: DeVos Performance Hall
Tickets: $32-$67 via Ticketmaster
Info.: broadwaygrandrapids.com, 616-235-6285
One of the key characteristics of the three Blue Man Group performers is verbal silence. Russell Rinker, a 10-year veteran of the performance-art group and one of the three Blue Men on the current theatrical tour, said group members are often asked why they don't speak, and the answer is simple: they don't have to.
“People talk and talk and talk, often when they don’t need to,” Rinker said, calling from a tour stop in Lafayette, La. “It’s made me a much better actor. I’m a schooled stage actor, and know how to make a performance big and expressive. But it’s amazing how much you can say without using your voice.”
Since coming to prominence in the 1990s, the Blue Men have become iconic. There are always three of them, they’re bald, their skin is painted bright blue, they don’t speak, they’re innocent and mischievous. The shows incorporate multimedia presentations and rock music with the physical performances of the Blue Men, who drum on plastic tubes and interact with each other and, sometimes, the audience.
Original Blue Men Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton started the group in New York City in the 1980s, eventually growing the institution, setting up in Chicago, Las Vegas, London, Boston and Toronto. The lack of dialogue and the universal nature of the physical performances made it easy for the show to be an international hit, and it expanded to Amsterdam, Tokyo, Stockholm, Vienna and other cities for lengthy performance runs during the past decade.
Blue Man Group grew into arena-rock-sized tours in 2003 and 2006, and began performing regularly on the Norwegian Cruise Line in 2010. The national theater tour also began last year, and will stop by Grand Rapids for eight shows from Sept. 25-30, presented by Broadway Grand Rapids.
According to Rinker, the new show will feature classic Blue Man bits, but mostly material created just for the tour. He said the central irony of the show is that it’s the most high-tech Blue Man Group presentation yet, but the overall theme is humorous, critical meta-commentary on the overabundance of technology in modern society.
“We overwhelm you, and as such, we (as a society) have a million things coming at us,” he said. “But on the other hand, a Blue Man will look at a marshmallow differently, and really explore it. There’s a very primal element to it.
“The Blue Men have always been about reflecting, turning a mirror on society and ourselves. It’s simultaneously high-tech and low-tech stuff…It’s our best, flashiest stuff ever, but we also poke fun at it a lot.”
The Blue Men have become ubiquitous, appearing in other media regularly. Perhaps most memorably, Blue Man Group was a regular plot element/punchline on the sitcom “Arrested Development,” where David Cross’ character was a Blue Man alternate; little smears of blue paint could often be found on the sets or on Cross’ body.
That was a recurring joke on the TV show, but it hews closely to the truth, according to Rinker.
“It does get everywhere,” he said matter-of-factly. “But we’re diligent about getting it off, otherwise you just brush up against something and it’s, ‘Oh, man!’ Sometimes you wake up in the morning and the little things in the corner of your eyes are blue. It’s a little disconcerting, because it’s in there somewhere and it makes its way out somehow.”
So it might be wise not to ask a Blue Man for a hug if you ever meet one.
“It’s grease paint, and it stays wet for a very long time,” Rinker said. “We do meet-and-greets with the audience after the show, where we’ll take pictures and sign autographs, which are thumb prints. We’ve had people say, ‘I met you last year, and the thumb print is still wet.’ So we suggest putting hairspray or a piece of tape over it.”
Rinker deadpanned that the elite cadre of Blue Man Group performers are “very mysterious, like ninjas.” But he does divulge a few tidbits: There are between 50 and 60 of them worldwide. The three personae on stage are the scientist, the trickster and the vulnerable leader, based on the original Blue Men; the actors will sometimes play different characters from show to show. During training, new Blue Men recruits are taught to think collectively, “three as one.”
He also admits that being a Blue Man is “a very weird way to make a living.”
“Before Blue Man Group, I was in musicals and community theater, and I’ve always been a very talkative person,” said Rinker, who’s also a classically trained singer and pianist. “My family can’t believe I can be quiet for an hour-and-a-half for a performance. People always ask, ‘Is it hard not to talk? How do you keep a straight face?’ It’s easy when you’re focused and in character.”
Email: jserba@mlive.com or follow John Serba on Twitter