Blue Man Group makes noise with ‘Speechless’

By Eric George Tauber

Eric George Tauber
Phil Stanton (from left) Chris Wink and Matt Goldman are the founders of Blue Man Group.

SAN DIEGO — Blue Man Group came to the Civic Theatre last weekend, Nov 8-10, with its touring show, Speechless. I had heard of them for years, but never had seen them before. Now that I’ve seen them live, I will jump at the chance to see them again.

Masters of percussion, Blue Man Group employs an array of instruments of wood, metal and glass, plus found objects like large plastic tubes, extended and contracted to vary the pitch, and rubber chickens. All of this is done wordlessly as they work in blue latex masks with robotic moves and gestures, creating an effect that is both eerie and comical.

The Speechless set takes us into the inner workings of a computer, kind of like the vintage sci-fi movie, “Tron.” But this CPU comes with Pong, a vintage gumball machine, a rubber chicken… etc. My guest and I had fun finding all of the curiosities in the design.

Ushers handed us earplugs as we entered the theatre and there’s a reason. It can get pretty loud in there not just from the performance but also from the ebullient cheers in the house. Yet they also employed moments of silence that held us in rapt attention. A technical glitch with one of the confetti machines was played off with dry humor, and that’s show biz. I had difficulty taking notes, because every moment, there was another bit that I didn’t want to miss.

The first two rows were the “splash zone” like Sea World and came with plastic ponchos. Even water can be percussive if you drum it with sticks. Underlighting the barrels with bright colors made for an impressive effect as the color-lit droplets leapt into the air.

Don’t get too comfortable in your seat, especially if you’re seated near the front. You might just be pulled onstage to participate. They also got the whole house on our feet to dance. I marveled at their ability to get us to do just what they wanted us to do without saying a word. Now why can’t my classes be more like that?

Psalm 150 exhorts us to praise Hashem with timbrel, dance and loud clashing cymbals. Creative expression enriches our spirits. Percussion quickens our souls and gets us to move our bodies in a celebration of life. And couldn’t we all use more of that?

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Eric George Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.  He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com