The avant-garde performance art troupe, the Blue Man Group, played its final show in New York yesterday, capping off a momentous 34-year residency at the city’s Astor Place Theatre, US media reports. It was one of the longest runs in history.
The group – which has performed around the world, including in Macao – is not disappearing. It will continue to put on shows elsewhere in the US and further afield.
Its New York finale followed the end of a 30-year run in Chicago in early January. Known around the world for mute slapstick comedy, bald heads and blue-painted skin, the Blue Man Group was founded in 1987 by a trio of friends: Christ Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. Over the decades, its membership swelled to many dozens of performers.
The Blue Man Group performed in Macao back in 2016, staging memorable shows at the Venetian Theatre between 11 and 28 August that year. The group has also appeared in TV series such as The Simpsons and Arrested Development, testament to its pop culture legacy.
[See more: MGM premieres its new Macau 2049 show]
Part of the reason for the show’s closures in New York and Chicago was lack of demand for tickets, according to a memo from the show’s organising company, Cirque du Soleil, reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“Despite all our efforts, we have to admit that we have reached a certain limit in these two cities in terms of ticket demand,” the company noted. “It is time for the Blue Men to explore new markets, starting with Orlando from April onwards.”
The Blue Man Group remains active in other locations, including Las Vegas and Boston in the US, and in Berlin. Tickets are currently on sale for its latest world tour, which touts its shows as “euphoric celebrations of human connection through art, music, comedy and non-verbal communication.”
News of the group’s final show in New York was met with sadness. A fan named Jen Sulak told CBS News that she was “both super happy and energetic” to be attending the Sunday show, “but also super, super sad.”
