Blue Man Group at Briar Street Theatre

We heard you like fun. So we are bringing you first choice tickets to catch an upcoming Blue Man Group performance at the Briar Street Theatre. This show brings the long-running performance art company to Chicago Illinois for a limited-time-only event that you won’t want to miss. Ever since the companies formation in 1987, Blue Man Group has captured the imagination of theatre-goers worldwide and have been featured in everything from global tours, to ad campaigns, to even scores from famous hit films. When this performance company hits the stage, you know you are in for something special.

Blue Man Group Tickets

But don’t take our word for it. The Chicago Tribune writes about how this performance has been featured at Briar Street Theatre for over 20 years, which is nearly unprecedented in most theatrical productions. The timelessness of Blue Man Group cannot be denied, with Chicago Tribune’s Chris Jones writing “I’ve always considered this piece a brilliant blend of populism and cultural criticism and a fine gateway for the young not just into performance, but into visual art, that being a love of the co-founders.” Your visit to Briar Street Theatre isn’t just taking you to see something incredible and new, it is also a gateway into the timelessness of theatrical entertainment.

The show is hard to describe but easy to love and incorporates themes, musical instruments, new technologies, and audience participation in ways that you never thought possible. If you want to see something fresh for your theatre-going experience or want to enjoy one of the most popular experimental performance art companies in the world, then you can’t afford to let these tickets pass you by. So if you like fun and want to take a walk on the wild side, then order your tickets to an upcoming Blue Man Group performance at stylish and beautiful Briar Street Theatre.

Two Decades of Incredible Fun

Blue Man Group first formed in 1987 and hit the world by storm with their use of different categories of music and art in their performances. Unlike many performance art companies, Blue Man Group offers audience members an eclectic mix between the traditional and nouveau. It started as a collaboration between close friends, Chris Wink, Matt Goldman, and Phil Stanton on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Their first public appearance was themed as a celebration of the end of the 1980s and incorporated blue masks that incorporated pieces including the burning of a Rambo doll and a piece discussing the Berlin Wall. The production attracted instant media buzz when MTV’s Kurt Loder covered the event making the ‘strange Blue Men’ famous.

What started as a small one-time event, became a series of small scale shows at downtown clubs that eventually drew enough hype and buzz that the new “Blue Man Group” was invited for full performance at the Astor Place Theatre in 1991. The group then expanded and were invited to perform at Charles Playhouse (Stage I) in 1996 and later, in Briar Street Theatre in 1997. To this day, the company hosts auditions before every performance to find the right talent to bring to the Blue Man Group’s show goals of quirky fun, which has kept it in the public eye for over 20 years to date.

But even with the popularity of the show, no one could have been prepared when Cirque du Soleil bought the Blue Man Group in July 2017. The famous organization has announced their plans to expand the concept, which means audience members today can look forward to the best in stage showmanship, fresh entertainment, and the incredible fun that has served three friends in New York, back in 1987.

How PBS Inspires The Blue Man Group

The Blue Man Group tackles a wide variety of subjects that are not always discussed on-stage. These topics include the Internet, social confusion, information overload, and rooftops. The last one doesn’t seem to fit until you realize that rooftops aren’t just a part of a building, they also represent the high point in your life. Anyone who lives in a building with a rooftop you can go to knows that it can be the most relaxing spot to enjoy quiet time, conversation, or a safe indulgent vice.

In 1988, one year after the Blue Man Group formed, PBS put out a documentary called The Power of Myth, which discussed how the concept of myth drives human society. This series has remained one of PBS most memorable and famous series and is still viewed and reflected upon to this day. The Blue Man Group gleaned an important lesson from this series, and that was the concept of ‘following your bliss’.

Everyone has come across the choice of whether to take a risk to do what they love or to take the easier but less fulfilling option. It’s what makes us yearn for long-shot success stories in movies and stage productions as well as why we celebrate unlikely heroes and winners in life. The Blue Man Group is a direct example of this story’s theme since originally the three friends who started it all thought that the production would be a small one-off event that would only resonate with the downtown crowd. They never expected that this production would explode into long-time residencies and showings at some of the world’s best theatres or to become a part of Cirque du Soleil. Early on, the troop even hosted all their shows on their own without understudies until growth demanded that they train others in the Blue Man Group philosophy and performance style. The hard work that this took became a labor of love since the group enjoyed what they did and followed their bliss.

So in a way, audience members today can thank PBS for bringing some of the most powerful themes in myth and fiction to one of the most fun performance arts companies in the world.

Some of the Features You Might Get To See
The Blue Man Group has been a part of Briar Street Theatre for over two decades and has incorporated the audience through theatre, vaudeville, art, and science in ways that you don’t see in most productions. One of the famous features that are present is PVC pipes that cover the walls and ceilings and have been used to create PVC based instruments including a pipe horn that carries a distinctive sound. When you visit the theatre, you might notice digital screens and L.E.D. visuals that deliver unique messages and sights that add to the strange and fun mystique that has captured imaginations ever since the first “funeral for the eighties” performance that started it all. If you want to get involved in the act excitingly, then make sure that you get into the first five rows, which are known “the poncho seats” since the group provides ponchos so you can stay dry and protected from splash and elements erupting from the on-stage action.
But make sure you show up early for the production. Parking is tight around the theatre and you don’t want to miss out on the action. But more importantly, Blue Man Group also has a late alarm that blares and plays for all latecomers. The theatre recommends that if you arrive within 30 to 60 minutes before the show, then you should be able to find parking and get to your seat before the event.

So come and order your ticket to see one of the greatest shows in the country with Blue Man Group at Briar Street Theatre.