Color your world with the Blues

Kids Stuff
By William Feldman

Welcome to Kids Stuff. Today’s column includes an overview of the Blue Man Group as well as an interview with Michael Rahhal, one of the performers. This column will hopefully have you literally singing for the Blues. I also have a cryptogram for you.
The Blue Man Group (BMG), received its name to fame from its New York inception as an off-Broadway show in the 1980s. The show was called Tubes. Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton are the founders of the show. They used to perform but do not perform anymore. Now, they have spread out.
Chris Wink is in research and development, Phil Stanton is in artistic directions and Matt Goldman is involved in the financial aspects. In the fall of 1991, Blue Man Group: Tubes opened at the Astor Place Theater using ‘Tubes.’
I had a chance to literally catch up with Michael Rahhal, one of the Blue Man Group members touring on the East Coast. I will not reveal how I knew which one he was.
Michael, an incredible professional actor and musician, has a master’s degree in acting from the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver. He was born in Ardmore, Okla. The greatest influence on him growing up was Buster Keaton — the silent film star. He described Keaton as performing amazing acrobatic stunts.
Michael auditioned for the Blue Man right after graduate school.
"I had a friend that was in the show and he would teach me drum patterns from the show over the phone," he said. "So, I practiced six months before I went in and auditioned for the show. I went in and got the gig. It was like a three-month audition process, totally insane."
There are four Blue Men on this tour, but only three perform. The other three men touring in Philadelphia were Marc Roberts, Kirk Massey and Mark Frankel. I surmise one is a floater in case someone cannot perform. However, there are 60 Blue Men altogether. The shows are performed in New York, Boston, Las Vegas, Chicago and Orlando. There are also three shows in Germany and a new show in Tokyo.
Keeping a straight face on stage is pretty hard and takes a lot of practice.
"To be honest, we spend a lot of time on stage trying to crack each other up," Michael said. "We get into these battles where we really try to make each other laugh. It works, because everyone is good at keeping it together. Sometimes one of the guys has to turn his back to the audience because he is laughing."
Besides music and laughter, their performances make statements about society.
"Some of the themes throughout the show are about urban isolation, the isolation you can feel living in a giant city," Michael said. "It is also about some of the isolation you can feel in your workplace, like a lack of connection to other people. One of the things we like to try to make happen during the show is to try to get people to look at each other. When you are on the subway or the metro, you really do not make eye contact with people. One of the objectives during the show is to try to break that wall down a little bit."
BMG members try to make eye contact with as many people as they can.
"We really try to get people to relax so that they are looking at each other again. There are also skits about art and pop-culture, making fun of pop artists who lip-sync," Michael said.
According to Michael, the show is always evolving and changing. It is a continuing editing process.
"It is a different show every year, especially the touring show," he said. "The theatrical shows in all of the cities also have evolved, maybe not as rapidly as the rock tour."
Chris, Matt and Phil write the shows with a staff of writers in New York. The performers have a lot of input, too.
"Things happen on stage in improvisational moments, and they will like it and want to keep it, and then it becomes a written part of the show," he said. "In essence, we are writing the script every time we go on stage."
The only way to test a show idea is by performing it in front of a crowd. Putting the tour together takes six semi-trucks full of gear and five buses full of people.
It takes about an hour to prepare for a show. The face, neck and head are painted blue. They put on a latex bald cap and a huge cake of blue grease paint that seems to never dry.
The production I saw was How to be a Mega Rock Star Tour 2.1. When you hear the words taciturn, voiceless and silent, you will think Blue Man Group. This is the amount of words coming out of their voice boxes. However, you understand everything they do. It also helps that they use a red scroll display that operates intermittently and a pre-recorded film to make comments, and they have a seven-member band.
By the way, the people seated in the front rows of the Wachovia Center were given clear ponchos for protection against anything that would be thrown from the stage. How cool!
Most of the communication with the audience is done through choreography using hand gestures. Prior to the start of the event, they showed a dentistry film that makes you feel like you are getting dental work done. Talk about chills down your back! Next, their opening act Mike Relm came out to entertain us for about 30 minutes with movie clips mashed together with music and his turntable mix.
First there was a fake infomercial, mentioning an offer to buy a rock concert instruction manual with a credit card, so they went into the audience, found themselves a victim and pretended to use that person’s credit card to buy the manual.
The jest is that the manual will create the perfect rock concert experience. The twist is they make fun of the rituals by the performers, as well as the audience, at a rock concert.
The show begins with a humongous white semi-opaque cloth over the stage. BMG’s silhouettes appeared. The cloth is removed, and you notice three men wearing identical clothing and painted blue. It’s the Blue Man Group. The three men are about the same height and build, which is intentional.
The instruction manual taught basic rock star moves that are numbered with lessons to the head bob, the one-armed fist pump, devil ears and a few more. Also the manual mentions the need to be respectful to the people seated in the "crappy seats," so they go off stage and mingle with the audience. This is where they find two audience members, have them come on stage and sit there while paint balls are pitched into one blue man’s mouth and then shoot out as artwork onto shirts worn by the two audience members.
Other performances throughout the night included BMG hitting drums that are lighted from below, which looks like paint flying in the air. They formed music that was made from hollow airpoles cut in various lengths, which made different pitches of a swoosh sound. Also, they made music from hitting a triangular-shaped bass with a large stick, which looked like a rubber mallet with a round ball at the end.
BMG mimicked various pieces of songs while playing the percussions on these large white PVC tubes. Also, at one point the band played Free Bird and one of the Blue Men held up a lighter, only to have another put it out with an extinguisher.
In my favorite skit, BMG wanted you to think they were putting working TVs on their heads. Somehow or somewhere, they also had a mini camera attached to them, because at one point it was a real picture from the stage. Anyway, their heads were actually behind the TV. I caught this from where I was sitting.
It ended with the entire audience standing and performing the basic rock star moves, along with a ton of white streamers shot into the air.
Michael’s advice to others who dream of being a rock star: "Never give up, keep practicing, and never give up no matter how many times you hear the word ‘no’ and ‘it is never going to work out.’"
Audiences of all ages seemed to like this, from 3-year-olds to the lady near me who was celebrating her 80th birthday.

CRYPTOGRAM
ACV ZKJV BDF ELNJM YNVT FNA XVDL ZKJV TJVYV TCNVT
Hints: T is S; V is E; F is N; X is W
Columnist William Feldman can be contacted by e-mail at wmkidscolumn@aol.com