The Blue Man Group

Having seen the original Blue Man Group in New York more than 15 years ago and a second performance in Las Vegas in 2000, we decided to check out the local performance at Universal Orlando Resort.

The show is housed at The Sharp Aquos Theatre which is situated between the 2 Universal theme parks, adjacent to the Hard Rock Cafe.

Having purchased our tickets online we collected them on the morning of the performance. ( If you do this remember to take the card you used for purchase and some photo ID en you collect them) We then spent the day in the parks and had an early dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe before arriving at the theatre in good time for the 8pm performance. A word to the wise . . . . . . . don't be late unless you wish to become part of the show!

I had selected seats from the online seating plan and we were seated centrally about four or five rows from the front, having had plenty of seating choice when booking three to four weeks in advance I had not expected the theatre to be full, but it was.

The fact that I had selected seats in the poncho area did not strike any warning bells with me sat at my computer thousands of miles away in the UK on a dark, rainy evening, I was not in " Florida Mode". However, when we took our places we found plastic ponchos placed on our seats! Our 2 friends who were Blue Man "virgins" looked at us in horror, having had to dry out several times already today following trips on Ripsaw Falls, Pluto’s Bilge Barges and a final soaking on Twister! I must admit, my husband and I were also slightly bemused as we did not remember getting wet in previous performances. When I later researched The Blue Man Group I read that the poncho area provides guests with "plastic ponchos in order to protect them from various, food, substances, paint and so on which get thrown, ejected or sprayed from the stage". . . . . . . . . are you beginning to get the picture?

We donned said ponchos and then our friends asked what the long strips of white, crepe paper were for? We had been handed this paper, resembling toilet roll only much stronger as we entered the theatre. Having seen it all before, we told them to get creative, bandannas, pussy cat bows, hair ribbons, tie belts and ties around wrist are all acceptable forms of usage for the paper. There was much giggling as we all looked pretty stupid but so did everyone else in the theatre so it wasn't a problem. The white crepe paper, reams and reams of it, is heavily featured in the show's finale.

The Blue Man Group consists of three performers dressed entirely in shapeless black outfits and wearing latex bald caps. Their head, neck and face are covered in shiny, blue grease paint. They say nothing throughout the show, their expression never changes and everything is conveyed through the eyes!

I could not begin to describe the performance for you, it is unique. A totally bizarre combination of music, mainly percussion, mime, comedy and visual effects, and to describe some of the highlights would only spoil it for the uninitiated.

My husband spent the whole evening rolling around with laughter and as soon as our friends lost their inhibitions they too were hysterical beyond words in places.

The finale, as I mentioned before, is just amazing, but a word of caution - it is not suitable for anyone who suffers from epilepsy or seizures brought about by strobe lighting or flashing lights.

The shows content is suitable for the whole family although I personally would not take very young children as I do not think they would find much to entertain them. Older children would love the mess and teenagers would appreciate the humor.

There will people who don't enjoy the show and do not appreciate the unique "off the wall" performance. It is a definite Love it or Hate it show.

PS We didn't need the ponchos!