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04/03/2005: The Blue Man Group
It's been 6-7 years since we first saw the Blue Man Group.
The Blue Man Group for those who haven't seen it, is a visual "mime" type comedy of creatively silly humor gags. One good skit was a 3-D special effect of making 2-D become 3-D onstage...very well done and "cool."
The girls loved it and we got them each a Blue Man Tee-Shirt and a Video CD (kissed in Blue grease paint by a Blue Man in the Lobby after the show.)
It actually reminded me of Mummenshanz, a Swiss Masking Mime troupe, which originated some 25 yrs or so ago. Mummenshanz had these visual weird mime things with *faces* made of prepared drawing booklets (torn off during the show to express the *feelings* of the characters) and headsets of toilet paper rolls pulled, draped and flung about in a ballet of burlesque humor. It appears to have had several re-runs of performances over the past few years. Very entertaining.
I was also reminded of a long running play during the early 1970's, Warp! 1, 2, & 3. It was a creation to simulate a "live action comic book story" done here in Chicago at this small theatre called The Organic Theatre... probably you never heard of it.
But Warp! 1, 2, & 3 was a stage play done in three parts (three separate showings on different nights.) It used special effects in the production to create a comic book story as a musical stage play. To the best of my memory -- The basic story was about a mild mannered bank clerk engaged to his shy fiance (Mary-Louise.) He is transported one day to the 5th dimension where he discovers that he is really Lord Cumulus, a Superhero and Super-powers kind of guy. It is Lord Cumulus who must save the 5th dimension and the Earthly dimension - and Mary Louise - from the evil Lord Chaos. The effect was to have the "look and feel" of being in a comic book...it was great! I saw all three parts...and a few parts more than once...cause it was so well done (and weirdly fun for those days.) Plus, the Organic Theatre was "tiny" so the action literally took place at your feet with the stage and actors just barely inches from the audience.
Here is a bio credit for one of the actors in WARP!; Keith Szarabajka.
Karen on 04.03.05 @ 08:13 AM CST
