Photo credit: Courtesy of Production
Is Blue the new Black? That’s the question that Hollywood on the Potomac posed to Mike Brown of BLUE MAN GROUP. “No, it’s just kind of a color that they went with because it sort of represents an earthy tone without having to be green which can represent aliens. Blue has a really calm, still connection to Earth and everything. And it’s also bright and creative and it’s a welcoming color.”
“I wasn’t around for the inception of the characters,” he added, “but I believe that the BLUE MEN are art come to life. So, it’s almost like if you would see a human being step out of a painting; and I believe that’s the color that they picked up when they stepped out of the canvas.”
BLUE MAN GROUP is a high-octane theatrical experience opening May 6th through May 11th at The National Theatre in Washington, D.C. “Escape the ordinary and surround yourself in an explosion of comedy, music, and technology,” says the release, “an intensely exciting and wildly outrageous show that leaves the entire audience in a blissful, euphoric state. With no spoken language, BLUE MAN GROUP is perfect for people of all ages, languages, and cultures. BLUE MAN GROUP is now on the road for its first U.S. theatrical tour. This unique experience is a form of entertainment like nothing else; guaranteed to be an outing you will never forget.”
We hear that BLUE MAN GROUP spares no expense and uses the following by the numbers: 9 crew members run the show that includes wardrobe, props, video, sound, electrics, deck and stage management; roughly 40 drum heads used in the show, including both the band loft and stage; approximately 20 cymbals used with the drum kit; 45 drumsticks are used each week; 550 feet worth of PVC piping makes up the PVC tubed instruments; 10 gallons of paint are used each week (paint used is regular egg-based Temper watered down a bit); 12 five-gallon and 12 16-oz containers of Jell-O are made each week (that’s approximately 360 pounds of Jell-O a week – It is made with 200-degree water, powder gelatin and orange food color. This Jell-O would not be good to eat, in that it has no flavoring); 15 pounds of Cap’n Crunch cereal are used per week; 36 pieces of white chocolate Toblerone candy are used per week; 45 marshmallows are used per show – that’s 640 per week; 910 bananas are used per week; 30 boxes of Twinkie Lights are used every week; 100 cakes of blue makeup and 36 bald caps are used each week; and all of this adds up to 75 loads of laundry done weekly.
We’re practical so of course we were curious about some items used in production.
Take the jello for example: 12 five-gallon and 12 16-ounce containers with jello. What is the jello for? 360 pounds of jello?
“THE BLUE MEN love interacting with everything in their environment,” responded Brown, “or in what’s connected to the culture around them. And, they also really like investigating things that are lifeless but have a life of their own. And they use the jello to interact with people who represent this thing that may be sitting here and have no energy; but if you interact with it, it can have an energy and give off life. Plus it’s fun, it’s bright, it has really cool colors and you can do a lot with it.”
Ok then, what about 15 pounds of Captain ‘n Crunch cereal? “Again, the BLUE MEN love interacting with things that are connected to the culture around them and this cereal that really has no nutritional value to see what can they make out of that and if they take it into their world and into their own experiment, what can they build with it?”
What do you with the white chocolate and the marshmallows? Do you eat this stuff on stage?
“BLUE MEN take it and give it is own life and its own energy and we make art out of it and we make music out of it. Or again, we use it to bridge the gap between us and who we’re interacting with whether that be the entire audience or it be one audience participant who we’ve brought up on stage. We use it to interact with them and show them again that even though something may not have any energy into it, if we all put some focus into it, we can make it come alive.”
Okay, so you don’t eat it I guess? “We do, like the Crunch, we put it in our mouths to make music with it and they do ingest some things but I think it’s not to just eat, it’s to experience what that energy is.”
Of course we were most interested in the dry cleaning. How much do you spend a week on that we asked. “I have no idea,” said Brown. “I’m not involved in that part of the show. I’m sure it’s a pretty hefty sum but we love doing the shows so I think we’re happy to do whatever we have to do to be able to perform it every night.”
This is the first time that Mike Brown has been on the BLUE MAN tour, but he’s been a BLUE MAN for 11 years and usually performs in Boston at the Charles Playhouse where BLUE MEN has always been.
“it’s the thrill of a lifetime to be out here on the road. I’m working with wonderful people that I consider my family. And we’re also going to amazing cities and meeting awesome people. So it’s been completely wonderful and the audiences have been receiving the shows very well. People love the shows. While it might be hard to describe, it’s just good for people to say, “Hey, you’ve go to come see it.”
“We’re really excited to be in D.C., and we just really hope that everybody comes out. The show is about connecting with people and creating this larger sense of community, and the BLUE MAN can’t do that on their own. The most important part of the show is the audience, so the BLUE MAN are super excited to get out there and share everything with the audience.”
I play drums, and the BLUE MAN GROUP uses drums to communicate because they’re kind of a tribal communal instrument that can evoke a really visceral response in you. You can feel the rhythm of the drum so it’s tactful. It can provide a punch that you feel inside you. Since I play the drums, it helped me land this amazing job.”
Photo credit: Rich Kessler
