Crazy Blue Boston
I've made the journey into New England for Thanksgiving. Teresa invited me to join her family celebrations outside Boston. I have not been up this way since college. I love Boston and wished I spent more of my life in this town. It always has a fantastic feel.
Too bad the actual trip was mind numbing. Our flight was delayed at BWI due to heavey winds in Boston. We sat at the gate for a few hours, and we sat on the runway for a few hours. It was not fun. Finally, we made it to Logan were Teresa's father was kind enough to meet us. Unfortunately, the pain was not over for these travels. We sat in traffic for another two hours trying to exit the city. Apparently, the "Big Dig" has not been going so well. All of I-93 was closed. The trip totaled eight plus hours in travel time. Would have driving been easier?
This nice part about arriving late was sleep late. I was in bed until noon. I can't remember sleeping that late. I awoke to met Teresa's stepmother and stepsister, Lisa and Melissa. They were extremely kind and feed me three breakfasts. We took in a bit of shopping before meeting up with Teresa's Dad. He had a suprised planned for the afternoon. He kept on insinuating line dancing, but Teresa believed otherwise.
Around 4pm, we drove north back into Boston. We found parking off Charles Street in what appeared to be a theatre district. The suprise was halfway given. Maybe a show? We walked around the back corner of The Charles Playhouse to see the sign for the show - Blue Man Group.
Teresa was extremely surprised and excited. We were told that this production was currently not showing. Every since seeing the show one time before, she always raved about it. I have never been to a broadway type production so, I was even more excited.
Inside the venue, we were lead up stairs and ushered into a small theatre. I mean, it must only hold 500 or so people. The ceiling was covered in tubbing, and toilet paper hung from the rafters. I didn't know what was going to happen. I had seen commercials featuring the Blue Man Group, but that was my only exposure. I remembered, they were strange and played drums. I perused the playbill for a better explanation.
It seemed that the show originally opened in 1991, and it has grown into an international phenomenon. I counted myself lucky because; the founders are in the Boston cast. I couldn't tell if they were to perform this certain night. Appearently, a band accompanied the Blue Man with some outrageous instruments. They included the Chapman Stick and the Zither. While I was reading, Teresa's parents ordered some beers, and then the show started.
I don't want to give away too much because; I really enjoyed it! The Blue Man create a central theme with a few different types of skits or performances. I'd say, its a satire on modern society and art. This is accomplished with music, performance, and comedy. First, they never say a word. They user their body language and large eyes to communicate ideas. My favorite parts of the music were drum pieces that utilized their homemade pipe drum. I made up that name because; I have no idea what you would call it. Its a set of PVC piping glued together in a weird formation. The lenght of the PVC piping controlled the tone of the sound. When one end was struck with a mallet, a sound was heard. Crazy. All this was coordinated with a fret tapping Chapman Stick and a huge harp Zither. The performances utilized bright colors and different props to keep things interesting. Light also played a great factor in carving ideas. Finally, comedy intertwined almost each skit. The Blue Men pulled memebers of the audience on stage and and back stage. They played silly tricks on these people. They played silly tricks on each other. I was almost out of my chair.
As the show came to a close, I wanted to see more. It was such an exciting show! You really couldn't predict a single portion. It made your mind wander and wonder. I loved the score. How long did it take them to make those PVC piping instruments? I'm glad I was able to see this weird, strange, and awesome show. We did not exit the playhouse until snapping a few photos with a member of the Blue Men and the band. Even in the back of the playhouse, the Blue Men held character and wowed us all.
