Blue Man Group

Experimental musical theater troupe the Blue Man Group originated in 1987 when longtime friends Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton, and Chris Wink established the project; clad identically in blue-painted skin, skullcaps, and black clothing, the trio quickly became a staple of the New York underground performance art scene through repeated appearances in Central Park before staging shows at East Village venues such as Dixon Place, Performance Space 122, and the Wooster Group's Performing Garage. Merging elements of play, concert, and sketch routine, their performances incorporated sight gags, physical stunts, and audience participation, supplying front-row spectators with plastic rain ponchos to shield them from the barrage of paint, food, and other projectiles hurled onstage; in early 1991 they debuted their production Tubes at La MaMa, relocating it to the Astor Place Theater before year's end and ultimately securing an Obie Award. The show subsequently enjoyed extended runs in Boston, Chicago, and Las Vegas; in 1999 the Blue Man Group also delivered the album Audio, which highlighted their custom musical instruments. Three years afterward, the founders signed a multi-album agreement with Lava Records, Atlantic's sister label. Their monumental sophomore release, The Complex, arrived in April 2003 as a polished recording that featured notable contributions from Tracy Bonham, Dave Matthews, Dan the Automator, and Esthero. In 2008 the group marked the success of its How to Be a Megastar tour with a CD/DVD package and an EP containing remixes of "Canta Conmigo," the Spanish-language adaptation of their track "Sing Along." In subsequent years the Blue Man Group broadened its theatrical presence internationally, issuing an EP in 2012 that presented multiple interpretations of the concert-closing epic "Shake Your Euphemism." To mark their 25th anniversary they released the full-length album Three in 2016.