Blue Man Group, whose immersive show is a heady mix of music, technology, art, has come a long way from its street corner-performance art origins on New York’s Lower East Side in the 1980s.
Growing from their first stage production, Tubes, which filled the experimental art space at NYC’s La MaMa with miles of toilet paper in 1990, the bald, blue and black-suited characters have been cloned and multiplied, spreading their quirky, mute antics and rhythmic drumbeat in lavishly staged productions around the world.
Enjoyable in any language, the shows are now regularly staged in the U.S. and Berlin, with touring productions bringing the shows to South America, Singapore and elsewhere around the world. The show has ongoing performances at New York’s Astor Place Theatre, Boston’s Charles Playhouse, Chicago’s Briar Street Theater, and at Universal Orlando’s Citywalk in Florida.
In Las Vegas, the Blue Man Group first opened at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in 2000 and have since moved around the Strip, performing shows at the Venetian and Monte Carlo hotel/casinos before moving back to the Luxor last November. With the show now moving to a more intimate venue, it was an ideal opportunity to upgrade and change certain aspects of the lighting rig.
A Compact, Multifunctional Rig
With the move last fall from the Monte Carlo back to the Luxor, the production is now being staged in an 800-seat space, about 400 seats smaller in size. Accordingly, Tabitha Rodman, Blue Man Group’s associate LD, and Tony Award-winning LD Kevin
Adams made some tweaks to the lighting rig.
“I wanted fixtures that were very specific and would work well within the space limitations, but that also had the brightness and impact to hold their own alongside the video elements,” Rodman said, referring to the LED panels that appear on the new venue’s back wall, side stage legs and other scenic features.
After consulting with Brent Hageman, head of lighting for the Las Vegas show, who joined Blue Man Group in 2014, Rodman chose a rig centered on Robe lighting fixtures. There are 38 MMX Spots, 25 MMX Blades, 30 LEDWash 300s, 13 LEDWash 800s, four PARFect 100 LED pars and10 Cyclones.
The MMXs are the backbone of the rig and are used for all the specials and key lighting. They provide the general brightness and impact needed to work with the multiple LED surfaces. The LED Washes add another layer of luminescence to the show, with the tidy LEDWash 300s framing the pros arch and radiating energy out into the audience. “I was thrilled with the color range and effects of the Robe fixtures” observed Adams, “They can create a dark blue that is really special, one that I haven’t found in any other LED fixtures yet.”
There are 10 of Robe’s Cyclone fixtures, with fans integrated into a moving LED head, being used for the show, two of them coloring fog. The other eight are fitted with a removable sleeve — in collaboration with the prop department. Each contains a colored silk fabric “dancer.” (When the fans are turned on, the silk extends and moves like a rhythmic dancer.) The LED lights are pixel mapped to create impressive effects for the show’s finale.
Beyond Las Vegas
Along with her work on the Las Vegas production, Rodman oversees implementation of all the creative lighting elements, including all installations and load-in, tech-ing and programming of the various Blue Man Group shows in the U.S. and abroad. Once a show has opened, she works alongside the various head electricians and their teams to ensure the integrity and continuity of the lighting design is maintained in all cases.
At the Luxor, there is a ring of small three-color LED units around the proscenium arch that can create special and graphic effects. For the touring production, Adams wanted a similar effect, but needed something with a lot more impact for some of the larger arena venues they will be playing. He chose to hang 27 ColorStrobes around the proscenium truss pointing at the audience.
Both Adams and Rodman credit Robe’s fixtures for versatility. Adams likes how the ColorStrobes can be used as both a multi-color strobe and a wash light, and Rodman found that the Pointes can substitute for the Monte Carlo production’s laser beams, while also working as a wash fixture when needed. She also points out the need for versatility as the Blue Man Group concept expands, shifts and morphs from venue to venue.
In Las Vegas, the Blue Man Group production is a seven-days-a-week affair, putting a huge premium on fixture reliability. Hageman affirms that the Robe fixtures, combined with the company’s service and support, has proven to be a big plus. “On the rare occasion that I do have to reach out — even if it’s out of office hours — the response is pretty much immediate,” he notes.
—Louise Stickland contributed to this article.
