Blue Man Group takes a look at megastars in its weekend show
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Rambunctious and unpredictable, the Blue Man Group will make a splash at the Qwest Center Omaha on Sunday.
The group's "How To Be a Megastar Tour" takes a tongue-in-cheek jab at arena rock shows.
The interactive show is a multimedia event that combines rock music, comedy, innovative video effects and satire.
While three bald and blue guys poke fun at rock stars who bob their heads and pump their fists, the six musicians and two vocalists in the group put on a rocking show that includes the group's new single "Rock and Go!" The irony is part of the fun.
"There's something in the show for everyone," said Michael Rahhal, one of three Blue Men coming to Omaha. "There are references to art, culture and Jungian psychology, traditional vaudeville and blowing things up. Kids enjoy the colored lights, the strobe lights and the comedy."
And then there are those iconic blue heads and hands.
"There is an emotional ambiguity about the Blue Man," Rahhal said in a phone interview from Cleveland. "You can't pigeonhole him as a certain character."
The Blue Man has the deadpan look of comic actor Buster Keaton, Rahhal said, with characteristics based on Superman, Gene Simmons of the band Kiss and physicist Albert Einstein.
Rahhal, a 34-year-old native of Ardmore, Okla., has a master's degree in acting from the National Theater Conservatory in Denver and has been performing with the Blue Man Group for 10 years. In addition to acting, his Blue Man role includes playing drums and an instrument made of PVC pipe and called a Tubulum.
The Blue Man Group's penchant for splashing blue paint adds a sense of danger to the show, Rahhal said. The band provides ponchos to guests who sit close enough to get splashed.
But don't worry too much, he said.
"It's (egg-based) water-soluble paint: environmentally friendly, health friendly and totally benign," he said. "Basically, it's just colored water."
More blue news
The playful Blue Man theme spills over into other entertainment:
Blue Man Group has produced musical scores for the television shows "Scrubs" and "Arrested Development."
The "Audio" CD, nominated for a Grammy, is one of the group's three albums.
The DVD "The Complex Rock Tour Live" has live concert footage and three music videos.
