So what exactly is The Blue Man Group? Is it a concert? Is it a comedy show? Is it deep performance art? Is it a commentary on modern society? Is it fun? Is it a dance party?

YES!

Up until two years ago, my entire extended family gathered at my grandmother's house on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, the family had grown so much that my grandmother's house could no longer hold all of us. As a result, we decided to switch to a family party earlier in the month.

This left a void for my wife, kids and me. We had nothing to do on Christmas Eve. Instead of being sad about this, we looked at it as an opportunity to create our own tradition. Which we did.

We decided that every Christmas Eve we would start the day by shopping for supplies for a local food pantry. After dropping them off, we would attend a play in Chicago. After the play, we would drive around and look at Christmas lights. Due to the fact that the pantry was closed on Saturday, we had to take care of that aspect of the tradition a day earlier. But that still left the play and the lights.

This year we chose to see The Blue Man Group.

I had seen the show on three previous occasions... but the most recent time was over fifteen years ago. Although I remembered enjoying the show quite a bit, I was unsure if it would age well or whether or not my nine year old daughter and eleven year old son would enjoy the performance.

My apprehension was completely unfounded. My kids loved the show. I actually think it may have been their favorite live performance they have ever seen.

The Blue Man Group is not a play. It is a 90 minute long piece of performance art... and it is amazing! Here's a quick warning though, it is incredibly loud. It is not quite as loud as hearing a rock band playing in a small club... but it is awfully close. I could even see why some people might want to wear ear plugs. They also use strobe lights and there is non stop visual stimulation. This may be too intense for some people. My kids are both "scaredy cats" and they were never scared during the show at all. One seven year old child behind us was clinging to his mom pretty tightly.

There are permanent performances of the show in Las Vegas, Orlando, Boston, Chicago, New York City and Berlin. I have only attended the Chicago show. At this venue, even the lobby is entertaining. While waiting for the doors to the small theater to open, there are tubes that decorate the ceiling and the walls. Some of the tubes are open. Through these tubes, audience members can secretly communicate with one another. Some of them play music. Others play sounds from back stage. There are also interesting water powered apparatus throughout the lobby for people to look at. We arrived 45 minutes before the show started and between the tubes and the displays, my kids were never bored for one second.

Once you enter the theater, the people in the first three rows are given ponchos to protect them from splattering paint and any other objects from the stage. It did not appear that any of these people were actually hit with anything from the show... but better safe than sorry. The Chicago auditorium is not very large. There are approximately 20 rows of seats as well as a balcony along both side walls. Although the balcony tickets are significantly cheaper, it appeared as if there may be parts of the show that would be difficult to enjoy from that vantage point. Our seats in the middle of the eleventh row seemed perfect. They were slightly cheaper than the ones directly in front of us and I did not feel they would be any worse than those. My daughter is very small for her age and needed to sit on my wife's lap in order to see. There were booster seats available, but this setup actually seemed to enhance the experience for my wife and daughter. (All of the preceding information is based on the Chicago theater. The Las Vegas one appears to be HUGE).

I am struggling to describe the show without giving anything away. You honestly must experience it for yourself. I will do my best to give a taste of what the show is like.

The performers consist of the three "Blue Men", a live three person band (drums, guitar/bass, and keyboards), and a camera man. I love the music. It is very similar to the industrial or techno music I enjoyed form the 90s. Its loud, fast and exciting. My kids enjoyed it too. The theater uses black lights to make objects glow. The band take son advantage of this by wearing black outfits decorated with neon designs. The band is perched above the stage. When the lights shine on them, it creates a stunning effect.

As far as what the Blue Men themselves do... they do a lot. They perform songs on instruments made of PVC pipes. They use their mouths to catch objects thrown from thirty feet. They play drums covered in wet paint that seem to explode every time they are struck. They interact with giant smart phones. They dance. They paint with their mouths. they perform hilarious physical comedy.

One thing they don't do is speak. They do not say a single word throughout the entire performance. The only voice is the electronic-sounding narrator. This narrator can educate and entertain. Some of the funniest parts of the show involve this lone voice.

There are many opportunities for audience participation. At least two of these involve real audience members going on stage (I know for a fact they are real because I saw the family in front of me get chosen before the show and the daughter was really scare that her dad would be going on stage. She was fine after the performance). There is also a part of the show where the audience is encouraged to stand up and dance. My kids (and I ) loved this part. There is also a huge finale that involves the participation of the entire audience. It was approximately 10 minutes of the most fun combination of visual, auditory, and tactual stimulation I have ever experienced. It can not be explained, it must be experienced.

My wife, daughter and I loved the show. We were laughing out loud, smiling or gasping in amazement for the entire ninety minutes. My son's reaction is in a category all of its own. It was as if this performance were made for him. He laughed louder at this than anything I have ever seen. He is normally a very shy boy. He actually gets upset with me and asks me to calm down when I cheer at events (this actually happened at Medieval Times). He doesn't want to stand out. He wants to blend in... but not at this show. He was yelling and laughing at the performers the entire time (when audience participation was appropriate). He was having so much fun and was so engaged that he was actually sweating. I have a strong feeling he will be asking us to go back very soon.

A Geeky Dad's Theater Guide

Number of times I fell asleep: 0 (Impossible. There is constantly something awesome happening.)
Number of eye rolls: 0
Number of face palms: 0 (There is nothing "corny" about this. It's brilliant.)
Number of times my kids asked to go to the bathroom or get food out of sheer boredom: 0 (My kids were constantly engaged)
Number of times I checked steemit: 0
Number of times I said "That's ridiculous": 5... but it was followed by the word "awesome"
Did my kids like it: They loved it!
Would I see it without my kids: Yes! My wife and I went on a date there before we were married. Great for a date!!!
Full price/Matinee/Rental/Free/Not worth the time: It is pricey. I hunted for a discount code. You may be able to find coupons.

Image Credits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5