IU turns blue

Freshman Nicole Silvernell has never seen the Blue Man Group live, but is a fan thanks to YouTube videos.

“There’s something about the way that they perform.” Silvernell said. “Visually appealing, the music, all of it is an environment of fun.”

As an usher for the IU Auditorium, Silvernell will finally be able to see the primarily percussion-influenced group when they stop at IU as part of their 21-city U.S.
national tour.

“It’s one of those events that has taken the entertainment industry by storm.” Doug Booher, director of the IU Auditorium, said of the group. “We are looking forward to bringing it to students who have asked for it in the past.”

The Blue Man Group is a sit-down engagement, meaning that they perform at certain venues for certain months, even years at a time.

So it’s not unusual that the first glimpse people get of the group is from online videos, like Silvernell or junior Jimmy Lewis, who has never seen the group perform live, either.

“I’ve heard they put on an amazing show,” Lewis said. “I have seen their online stuff and think that they are a very talented group. The way they combine music with comedy aspects in their shows makes it almost like a two-in-one deal with them.”

One venue that the Blue Man Group has called home in the past, the Briar Street Theatre in Chicago, has a seating capacity of 632 people, a small show compared to the IU Auditorium, which seats 3,200.

Booher saw them in New York, and said he is looking forward to seeing the enhanced production.

“We jumped at the chance to bring them here when we heard they decided to put on a tour,” Booher said. “We’ve seen an enormous response to the show. We know we’re going to have very excited full houses.”

Because of the national tour, and the increase in venue sizes, some modifications have been made to the regular set. One of them is the addition of an LED screen to make sure the whole audience can witness the spectacle.

“I think the fact that it’s an outside group, not from around here, makes it much more interesting as well as just the fact that they combine music, comedy and different multimedias makes them something that we don’t normally get around here,” Lewis said.