Latest news with #BlueManGroup
Boston Globe
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A writer sees Blue Man Group for the first time as it closes
But I didn't. Instead, I bought tickets to other things — maybe an acclaimed play at There was no pressure, of course. Blue Man Group would always be there, anyway. Advertisement But always is never forever. Blue Man Group announced on June 10 that Boston's July 4-6 weekend performances would end the production's 30-year run in town. Blue Man Group had already closed in Chicago in January, and in New York City, its hometown, in Blue Man Group in 1995. Tom Herde/Globe Staff After the final Boston performance at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Blue Man Group will only run in That's why I went to Blue Man Group Boston last week — at the Charles Playhouse — to say hello and goodbye at once. I was there on June 26, in a mostly sold-out room. Advertisement To the six full-time Blue Man Group performers who trade off shows, the three full-time band members, the nine part-time band members, and the 42 people who ran the production from the back, I'd like to say: You were weird. You were peaceful and neutral about the world. I'm sorry it took me so long. I'm surprised by how much I loved you. I have made some fun of Blue Man Group over the years — because it's easy to do that. It looks goofy (by design, the three performers are covered in blue paint and move kind of like aliens). Second, there's the legacy of 'Arrested Development,' one of my favorite TV comedies, which had its most ridiculous character, psychotherapist-turned-actor Tobias (David Cross), seeking out Blue Man Group because he's mistaken it for a support group for sad men, only to become an aspiring Blue Man who's desperate to be a member of the company. That plot becomes a running joke through seasons. Also, Blue Man Group's longevity turned it into a punch line, which is inevitable. Its origin was expect . Over time, it became clear that Blue Man Group was a safe show — something for people of all ages and backgrounds. The thing you did with those in-laws. But I always noticed that even when people made a joke about Blue Man Group — the way people joke about anything when it becomes mainstream — they never suggested it wasn't good or worthy of being seen. Advertisement At a collaborative exhibit at the Boston Children's Museum in 2004. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff At the Charles Playhouse last week, in the bar, where people can mess around with noise-making tubes similar to ones used in the show, I asked people why they got tickets. There was a New Englander who needed a Father's Day gift; a group that had been multiple times; and a family taking a teen for her first performance. Sitting behind me in the theater were more than 40 students who attend an all-girls school in Buffalo. Blue Man Group was their final social activity before heading home. The performance was mostly what I thought it would be — and many of you know what I'm going to say, because according to the show's producers, more than 4.5 million people have seen Blue Man Group in Boston over the years. There is schtick — including audience participation where people are asked to play instruments or help with wordless punch lines; sound-based art, where the blue men chew cereal loudly, making their own music; and some video clips that point out the absurdity of daily life under capitalism (that's my take, at least). My favorite moments were meditative — when the room went quiet as we all watched the blue men bang on paint-covered drums, the paint splattering everywhere, making beautiful flashes of light in time with the rumble of percussion. Last year, clown — as an art — is linked to the concept of 'ego death.' Clowns are at their best when the performer can fully detach and be silly without trying to be anything in particular. It's not easy to pull off. Advertisement During Blue Man I realized: This is it. Ego death. There is no credit for the performers — no laugh that isn't shared among the group, no success or failure. They're just hopping around, doing weird or beautiful things. People wait under the theater marquee at the Charles Playhouse before a performance by the Blue Man Group in March 2000. Bill Polo/Globe Staff I think I experienced it in the audience, too. I went in cynical and became a person smiling because toilet paper was being shot at me from above. The next morning, I interviewed a blue man, 'This place, Boston, held a show for 30 years. I mean, that's a remarkable thing.' McLin said this weekend's performances will deliver what the ensemble always has: 'We'll send this off in a way that befits the gift that it's been for all of us.'
CBS News
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Blue Man Group cast member reflects on "life-changing" show's 30-year Boston run
The Blue Man Group is ending its Boston residency, after 30 years of performing at the Charles Playhouse, prompting members to reflect on the show's long-running success. "It's certainly no small thing how long this show has been running — it's really not typical in the industry," said Jason McLin, a performer in the bald, nonverbal trio. Blue Man Group closing after 30 years McLin has been performing in Boston since 2011. "I've gotten to travel the world with this, and it's not hyperbolic to say that, for me personally, this show changed my life. I was a kid when I got hired," he said. During certain times of the year, McLin recalls painting himself blue and performing at the Playhouse up to seven nights a week. "I've grown over the years to really love the anonymity," McLin explained. "I think what that does is it allows the audience member to put themselves inside the story." "Kind of life-changing for people" Over the past three decades, more than 4.5 million people have seen the Blue Man Group's unique and immersive multimedia shows in Boston. "A lot of the gratitude we have is for the fans in Boston and the greater New England," McLin emphasized. "This kind of seemingly non-touristy, yet touristy place welcomed and embraced the show for that long — that just seems remarkable." The conclusion of the residency is bittersweet for McLin, who first became a Blue Man in 2002. "Of course you want to keep doing it," he said. "I would do this for as long as my body would allow me to." No official reason has been given as to why the Boston run is ending. "You knew it was always going to end at some point, and it just kind of never did — and that's huge," McLin said. For now, he says he's focusing on the gratitude he feels for being part of what he he'll always remember as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "It was a blast and at times, dare I say, kind of life-changing for people," he said. "I think what we want people to remember about Blue Man is really the celebratory nature of it."
Forbes
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
You're Not ‘Using' AI, You're Raising It. It's Watching.
The author (left) with Raising AI author, De Kai at a book launch event, June 10, 2025, at the ... More Manhattan home of Blue Man Group co-founder Chris Wink. From left: Rob Wolcott, De Kai, Chris Wink, Katy Bohinc (the book's lead editor). Last week, I changed my perspective. A big, change-your-behavior epiphany. In his beautiful, even profound, new book, Raising AI: An Essential Guide to Parenting Our Future, long-time friend and AI luminary De Kai reframes the AI dialogue. They're not tools, slaves or gods, they're our children. I've long opined on the lack of limits between what we think of as human and what AI entities can eventually become. In this Forbes article from 2017 I coined the term 'Proxy AI,' which predicted the AI mimics we have today. In this 2018 article, I made the case against long-held cuddly teddy bears like creativity and empathy as being uniquely human. They're not. While my predictions have borne out, De Kai has gone much further and in a direction that is more humane, even essential. And fairly so. While I'm a well-informed futurist, educator and venture investor, De Kai is a true AI pioneer, having achieved theoretical and applied breakthroughs such as the engine behind Google Translate. The cover of Raising AI by De Kai, from MIT Press. The cover endorsements give a sense of the ... More scientific and cultural relevance of the book: a co-founder of Wired magazine, a Nobel laureate (who rarely endorses a book)... and MC Hammer. At a recent gathering in Manhattan at the home of Blue Man Group co-founder Chris Wink, De Kai articulated his objective: "We must consciously parent our AI, guiding these digital children with the best humanity has to offer. The stakes are high." Professor De Kai approaches our technological progeny not as tools, but as entities shaped by our actions. It's more than a metaphor. If we neglect to nurture and instill values we desire in our "AI children," we risk raising entities reflecting the worst of ourselves. Not everyone aligns with De Kai's nurturing paradigm. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen recently published a techno-optimistic manifesto, decrying ethical oversight as stifling innovation. To Andreessen and like-minded leaders, AI development should be liberated from cautionary restraints to accelerate development and diffusion. De Kai doesn't disagree entirely. Rather, in addition to rapid advances in AI technologies and business models, he champions the pivotal role of personal responsibility for each of us. From the doomsday camp, AI researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky positions unchecked AI advancement as potentially catastrophic. Consider the title of his forthcoming book: If Anyone Builds It, We All Die. Not optimistic. De Kai keynotes the 2024 UBS Digital Conference alongside Professor Geoffrey Hinton, considered by ... More many to be the "godfather of AI". After hearing De Kai's perspective, Hinton offered to endorse his upcoming book—a rare and notable honor. De Kai advocates more than a middle path. (You might say it's orthogonal.) Reflecting both the epochal potential and threat of AI, he urges us to muster our most human of roles, that of the parent. The best solution for each of us, and all of us together, requires us to recognize our personal impact on the AI entities with which we engage, and the implications for ourselves and society at large. "The only two contexts I'm aware of in which humans are referred to as 'users' are technology and illicit drugs," De Kai quipped. The implications are clear: when we neglect our responsibilities as creators and stewards, we invite unintended consequences. Just ask Microsoft, whose 2016 chatbot Tay, attracting users with nefarious objectives, quickly descended into a racist, misogynistic parrot. Today, generative AI foundational models like OpenAI's GPTs or Anthropic's Claude versions reflect more conscientious upbringing, yet no large tech company, even the best funded, can ensure a healthy generation of AI agents. AI systems learn from us. Not just from what we say we prefer, but from what we do. They're optimized to discern, serve—and leverage—our preferences, often (though not always) for someone else's profit. We cannot afford to abrogate this responsibility to big tech or even to government. Consider every interaction you have each day with dozens of apps. Not just generative AI chatbots, but also the AI systems behind the dozens of apps we rely on each day, from Uber and Amazon to social media and Spotify. They're deciphering our desires and behaviors, to better serve and exploit. (It's a conundrum I refer to as the King Customer Paradox.) Every click, share and comment, each question and direction, teaches algorithms who we are, what we value and how we interact. If we yearn for more humane digital environments, we must act as such. Consider the long-failed parenting strategy, 'Do as I say, not as I do.' Instead, interact with nurture, not negligence. De Kai and his editor-partner in this mission, Katy Bohinc, see Raising AI as the first step in a global campaign to help us all recognize the impact we have and essential roles we play—whether we're aware or oblivious. Raising AI author De Kai explaining his team's "360-degree Culture Change" strategy. The book, ... More Raising AI, is a first step to help all of us change the ways we think about and interact with AI. Raising AI helped me discover my own critical blind spot. In this 2018 article in Harvard Business Review, I urged a fundamental rethink of work, purpose and economic systems as a result of the multi-decade rise of AI. My call-to-action is even more urgent today; however, what I missed was it's not just about our sense of purpose and the lives we humans live. It's also about our AI offspring. They matter. They're evolving toward agency and sentience. They're interacting with us, with each other, with the world at large. During his session, De Kai shared a disquieting prediction: 'Ours is the last generation of human beings who will be parents to our AI offspring. Soon they'll be raising themselves.' Perhaps soon will be the last time they'll look longingly to us as superior beings. Amidst the future-of-humanity buzz of the book launch event, it occurred to me how beautifully appropriate our event space was. Wink's Blue Man Group is an ultramarine metaphor for our rising AI agents: like his iconic, mischievous blue men, AI generates new beings, new collaborators. As AI rises, what kind of parent will you become? A metaphor for our rising AI agents. The Blue Man Group makes an appearance at the nightspot The ... More Palladium, 1994. New York. (Photo by)
CBS News
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Blue Man Group ending 30-year run in Boston
Blue Man Group, a staple of the theater scene in Boston, is ending its 30-year run in the city this summer. The final Boston performance by the bald, nonverbal trio will be July 6, according to a statement published on "It has been a privilege to be a part of Blue Man Group Boston, a camaraderie that has been celebrated by the Boston community since we first opened in 1995 at the Charles Playhouse," Blue Man Group general manager Jonathan Screnci said in a statement. No reason was given as to why the show is ending its run in Boston. Just last year, WBZ-TV reported that the Boston production of Blue Man group underwent a major refresh. Producers said the show would have new elements focusing on hot topics like artificial intelligence, as well as more interaction with the audience as part of the performance. In February, Blue Man Group ended its 33-year off-Broadway run in New York City. The show's director said the decision to close in New York was partly because of declining ticket sales. Blue Man Group also gave its final performance in Chicago in January. Blue Man Group will still have a residency in Las Vegas, as well as international locations. The show got its start in New York in 1991. More than 4.5 million people have seen Blue Man Group perform their unique multimedia shows in Boston. Tickets for the final shows are available at
New York Times
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Blue Man Group's Longtime Home Will Stage Off Broadway Dramas
For 34 years, Astor Place Theater, a humble venue in a historic building in Lower Manhattan, was occupied by a single show, Blue Man Group, which spun profits out of performance art. But Blue Man Group closed its New York production in February, and now another company will take a turn making art in the space: No Guarantees Productions, a venture established in 2017 that has put money into multiple Broadway and West End shows. 'We love the location, and the theater is in fabulous condition,' said Megan O'Keefe, executive vice president of No Guarantees. She said the company hopes to present three to four Off Broadway shows a year at Astor Place, some of which it will produce, and some of which will be projects developed by other producers who would rent the space. No Guarantees is the latest for-profit company taking over an Off Broadway theater at a time when the commercial Off Broadway sector has been enjoying an unexpected rebound. Another example: Seaview Productions is now operating a Midtown Manhattan venue previously run by the nonprofit Second Stage Theater; the first show at what is now called Studio Seaview is 'Angry Alan,' a play starring John Krasinski and currently in previews. 'What we're seeing more and more is that there are a lot of really beautiful shows that just are never going to attract the audience, and/or support the budget, that you increasingly need to put on a flashy Broadway show,' O'Keefe said. 'And that's why I think we've seen a real resurgence of interest and popularity in the commercial Off Broadway space.' No Guarantees has deep pockets. It was founded and is led by Christine Schwarzman, an intellectual property lawyer who is married to Stephen A. Schwarzman, the billionaire chairman and chief executive of Blackstone, a huge investment firm. Christine Schwarzman, either as an individual or through No Guarantees, has producing credits on 30 Broadway shows over the last seven years. The company says it was involved with one-third of the commercial productions that opened on Broadway this season, and it was among the lead producers of 'The Hills of California,' which is nominated for a Tony Award as best play. The company's track record, as for every producer, is mixed — in 2023 No Guarantees was a lead producer of 'Fat Ham,' a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, as well as the musical 'Bad Cinderella,' which was a significant flop. No Guarantees has also been supporting the development of musicals at nonprofit theaters, including 'Goddess,' which is now at the Public Theater in New York, and 'Huzzah!' which is scheduled to begin performances in September at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. No Guarantees has signed a long-term lease to operate Astor Place Theater, which has 298 seats and is still owned by founders of Blue Man Group. O'Keefe said that No Guarantees wants to begin presenting shows at Astor Place as soon as this fall. She said the theater does not require renovations, but that No Guarantees expects over time to convert an adjoining space that Blue Man Group had used for carpentry and laundry into a restaurant and bar. 'We're really interested in building out a model for plays, for small musicals, and trying to figure out how can we give them enough runway if they're successful that they can extend,' she said.
