The Blue Man Group, the iconic performance group known for its shows using innovative percussion instruments covered in blue paint, bowed out of Chicago for the final time on Sunday.
A line snaked around the Briar Street Theater as fans waited to catch the band’s final show of a decades-long residency.
“It was so original and original. The drums, it gets you going. I guess it was just a shock to the senses with everything that was going on in there,” said attendee Sean Hynes. “So fun, so entertaining, and we’re going to miss it a lot.”
Sean and his wife, Lisa, had one of their first dates at a Blue Man Group show in the 1990s.
“It’s just crazy to come full circle, you know,” Lisa said.
“I always said we’d come back to watch it again, but I didn’t expect it to be in the final show,” Sean said.
The group launched its popular immersive show in 1991 in New York.
Soon after, the performance group came to Chicago, where they maintained a performance for almost three decades.
“They’ve been here for what? 30 years and they’re ending here. Why not, let’s go see the last show,” said Ignacio Orozco, a spectator. “It’s the first time. My wife has always wanted to come. It’s the last show, so why not, let’s go see.”
As the line outside the theater on Sunday was full of regular patrons and newcomers, people said they would miss the show.
It’s a piece of Chicago that will be remembered forever.
“It’s been a Chicago staple for almost 30 years, I mean, come on,” Sean Hynes said.
The Blue Man Group also bids farewell to New York, where its last performance will take place on February 2.
Shows exist in Boston, Las Vegas, Berlin, Germany and on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship. The group is planning a return to Orlando in April.
NBC Chicago
