HALLIE EPHRON: Soon I’ll be visiting to New York City and taking my grandkids to see BLUE MAN GROUP.
I saw it ages ago in Boston when my kids were little, and we brought along my mother-in-law. She sat with the kids in one of the front rows, the aptly named "raincoat seats," something we had not anticipated. It’s very interactive. She was a very good sport.
Reminded me of one of the first times I went to the New York City Ballet and sat in front-row seats. I can attest to the fact that though ballerinas may look ethereal, sweat flies off their twirling bodies and rains down on the front row. And their toe shoes hitting the stage make loud klunks.
At BLUE MAN GROUP you’re in danger of getting hit by flying paint or a mis-aimed marshmallow or wetting your pants from laughing so hard. It's very interactive. And I can't wait to see how much more outrageous and ridiculous and awesome it's become.
I am bringing a set of earplugs. Just in case.
I’m sure the kids will love it as much as we all did (even my mother-in-law), and I’m certain that my grandson will leave the show with a new goal in life (replacing his current aim to be a parkours champion or a rocket scientist) to become a Blue Man.
Was there a live show that you experienced when you were young and malleable that was so memorable that you’d take your favorite kids there today if you could?
I’m sure the kids will love it as much as we all did (even my mother-in-law), and I’m certain that my grandson will leave the show with a new goal in life (replacing his current aim to be a parkours champion or a rocket scientist) to become a Blue Man.
Was there a live show that you experienced when you were young and malleable that was so memorable that you’d take your favorite kids there today if you could?
When the girls were young, we used to take them to community theater and while neither of them developed a desire to become an actress, they did develop an appreciation for live theater.
ReplyDeleteWhen our oldest grandchildren were young, we took them to the circus; they talked about it for ages afterwards. [No, no desires to be a clown or to walk on the high wire, but they were quite taken with the animals, probably because after the show all the children were invited to come ride on the circus horses. They had a great time!]
Ooh I vividly remember my first circus!
DeleteI experienced Blue Man Group while chaperoning a high school band trip to Chicago. We were late. That was fun.
ReplyDeleteSeeing Doc Severinsen perform outdoors at Starlight Theater in Kansas City and then play the National Anthem at the KC Royals game the next day was memorable for me, but did not inspire me to learn trumpet. My sister and I thought we would die when we were sung to as young girls at Moulin Rouge at Worlds of Fun. I’ve always been leery of sitting too close or on the end at lives shows ever since!
Being late out you in the spotlight … ha ha!
DeleteI never got to Blue Man Group in Boston - how fun you get to take the grands!
ReplyDeleteMy mom took my sisters and me to see Margot Fontyn and Nureyev dance Sleeping Beauty during a time when all three of us took ballet lessons. The performance was stunning, but neither of my sons showed any interest in ballet.
Nureyev and Fonteyn omg I’m so jealous
DeleteWe took our grandkids to the Sound of Music two years ago. It was a little long for them, but they did love it--possibly not as much as I did:)
ReplyDeleteTook our young daughter to Blue Man Group in Orlando when she was nine and we all loved it. Also have our annual trips to Rainbow Stage in Kildonan Park to see musicals in the summer. These inspired her to participate in musical theatre while she was in school. She now takes our grandsons to live performances which they love.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely outcome
DeleteWhen I was a child and through my early teens, we spent every Christmas and Spring Vacation in NYC with my grandmother and my aunt. Grandma often took me to see the holiday shows at Radio City Music Hall and my aunt took us to the circus or to The Car Show at Madison Square Garden.
ReplyDeleteI realize now how lucky I was to have family that did that! Also, my elementary school took us on class trips to see Shakespeare plays performed in Stratford, Connecticut back when that theater was healthy and active.
My mother used to bring me to young people concerts at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford. Those performances were modeled after the ones Leonard Bernstein did in NY.
I wish now, that we had taken our kids to see more live performances when they were young.
There is something magical about witnessing a lot performance
DeleteNot sure that 14 is/was “young and malleable” back in 1960, but “My Fair Lady”, a matinee on Broadway, entranced me…I definitely “danced all night” with Liza Doolittle. And all during high school, more Broadway was my top choice perfect gift. Enjoy the Blue Men! Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing my fair lady on the stage in Los Angeles and we had the record album that I played over and over and over and over
DeleteWhen I was in second grade, the regimental band of the Black Watch came through Portland. I can't begin to tell you how excited my dad was. I well remember the sword dancing and the lone piper playing Green Hills of Tyrol. Fast forward many years (and a few other bagpipe bands) and mom and dad and I took my son, who was about 6, to see a similar show. We were in the front row. The lights were turned down and the pipes and drums were marching back and forth--and my son fell asleep!
ReplyDeleteHave fun with the Blue Men! We saw them in Boston. We were high up above the raincoat seating so that itself became part of the show. We likened it to a Gallagher show.
ReplyDeleteI spent most of the '80s traveling with Rod as he worked on TV coverage of live sporting events all over the US. Caesar's Palace had set up an outdoor boxing ring in a parking lot where The Mirage was later built for the first Sugar Ray Leonard v Tommy Hearns bout.
I saw some of the undercard that night and noticed ringside at boxing is a messy place. All those hits. Later that night in time for the main event, when the high rollers started showing up with their glittering arm candy, I started wondering how one got all that stuff cleaned out of sequins or crystals on a delicate cocktail dress.
Rhonda Lane, the arm candy has disappeared. Her cocktail dress is lying in a heap on the bedroom floor. Where'd she go? Dead or alive? The only clue for the fearless PI is the sequins on that sparkly dress! ;-)
DeleteAnd her hair. :) That big '80s hair.
DeleteYa know, as soon as I hit the Publish button, I remembered all the gunk would be in her hair, too. That's waaay more gross than just on her little spangly dress. Plus, those dresses weren't career wear from Liz Claiborne. There'd be debris some on neck, shoulders, and other spots on display, too.
And way to go, Flora! Plotting on the fly!
Sounds like a book!!
DeleteWe didn't get to see live performances when I was a kid--so saw my firsts when I was a teenager--loved it all--plays, musicals, dance--took youngest nephews to see the Nutcracker as soon as they were old enough.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see any live performances as a kid, either, Flora. Mostly school sports or plays and church programs.
DeleteThe nutcracker was like a gateway drug for a lot of us
DeleteSadly, I don't have any of these kind of live show experiences from my youth. And I have no kids so double whammy on this topic for me.
ReplyDeleteFor me, live shows mean music concerts and I did have some memorable ones but not many of them were as a youth. I think the only one that came when I was not even a teenager was my first ever concert. My parents took me and my sister (I think she was there anyway) to see The Statler Brothers.
For those who don't recognize them, they were a country music singing group who had a huge career. While the latter portion of their career was more gospel music, I saw them when they were still more focused on straight up country songs. I grew up doing Sunday morning chores listening to their greatest hits album and when the chance came to see them, my parents bought tickets and off we went.
And I remember so much about that show. The opening act Helen Cornelius (still have an autographed photo of her somewhere) was good and had a funny stage banter moment when she and one of her backing band interacted with the crowd asking if anyone was celebrating a marriage...or a divorce.
And of course, the Statler Brothers were great too! The music and singing was great and thanks to Harold Reid, there was an abundance of hilarious laughter as well. And armed with my Kodak Instamatic camera I went down the aisle to get closer and take a photo. Harold actually stopped the show so I could get the shot.
I mean, the show had to have made an impression, right? I remember so much about it and I know that it was sometime before 1986 because that's when I went to my first rock concert. In fact, I think I wasn't much more than 10 or 12 years old, which would make that Statler Brothers concert more than 40 years in the past!
I remember the Statler Brothers, Jay! What fun, to get to see them live.
DeleteI remember the Statler brothers too!
DeleteI can't recall anything specific from my childhood, but my favorite live theater takes place at the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern. It's a very small dinner theater, and even at the back the actors aren't far away (especially during sword fights, which often take place in the aisles). One year I was seated near the front, and during the performance I started picking my teeth (it was just after dinner, remember, and something was stuck there bugging me), and the actor only a few feet away from me on the stage started picking *his* teeth (or pretending to)! I was so embarrassed, but it was actually pretty funny. Tonight they are doing Macbeth out of a hat, which means the actors draw names out of a hat two minutes before the show to find out which part they are going to play! Craziness! It sounds like a total hoot.
ReplyDeletePl.ease! It's the Scottish play
DeleteOops, sorry. The real title will not pass my lips once I enter the theater. ;~}
DeleteIt really is terrifying when an actor on the stage absolutely eyeballs you in the audience, and I can only imagine how humiliating it was that you were picking your teeth
DeleteIn my childhood we were lucky to have a roof over our head, let alone to see live events. Although, oddly, my parents went to Cincinnati to see Reds games, they just never took us.
ReplyDeleteSo, in the spirit of raising my own self, I used to go see free Shakespeare and symphony performances in the park when I was single. Cincinnati used to have five or six of each every summer, which was amazing. My first live concert was to Chicago, and then a few years later to see Procol Harum--whose warmup bands were Golden Earrings, and a newby singer/pianist/harmonica player called Billy Joel.
Two favorite NYC theater experiences: the first was sitting in the second row for Chicago. Yes! The sweat flying, and making eye contact with performers. The second was taking my mother and my three daughters to see Les Miserables on a spring break trip to the city. My middle daughter was in fifth grade at the time, and she had read the Victor Hugo book, plus already loved the music (her school bus seatmate was a theater kid who shared her headphones with Robin morning and afternoon), so that's why we chose that production. I will never forget HER first big live theater experience!
Live theater is a great gift to give the kids we love. I really do think it lasts lifetime time.
DeleteOh, absolutely. When we lived in Washington County, NY, my mother would take me to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center to see the New York City Ballet. This was when George Balanchine was the artistic director and the company included Gelsey Kirkland, Jacques d'Amboise, Peter Martins and Patricia McBride among many other greats. For what must have been a very low price, you could get lawn seats and enjoy a picnic and then , after sunset, see the best ballet company in the US. One summer they performed Jewels, and I will never, ever forget how mesmerized I was by the beauty of the dance, the music and the amazing costumes. (Look it up!)
ReplyDeleteI wish I could share that magical performance under the stars with my kids. It's been fifty years, and I remember it clearly still.
That was the golden age of the New York City ballet… The one I remember is Suzanne Farrell
DeleteOh, SO much fun! Coincidence: my step-son Paul went to college, and was best pals, with one of the Blue Man founders/creators. If Paul had been
ReplyDeletetaller, he would have become a Blue Man from the outset of the group! But all of them have to be exactly the same height, and Paul was two inches too short. For better, or for worse?
And my father was the music critic for the old Chicago Daily News. He took me everywhere--for better or for worse? I adored the ballet, and longed to be a ballerina (a big Coppelia fan), but, agreed, it STILL bothers me when I can hear the clunk of the shoes.
One day at a concert, at maybe age 5, I was whispering, and a man in the seat in front of us turned around, narrowed his eyes at me, and hissed angrily: Be still!
My Dad gasped. it was Yul Brynner!
(Can you imagine being shushed by the King of Siam? :-))
Omigosh, Hank!
DeleteAgreed! So hilarious!
DeleteOhmygosh! I bet he gave intimidating "stern face." LOL
DeleteHe really did!
DeleteSounds fabulous! Kind of like the Rocky Horror Show for tykes.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky to grow up within sight of NYC with parents who thought kids should be exposed to the performing arts as soon as they could behave. Annual events included the Metropolitan Opera, NYC Ballet, American Ballet Theater, New York Philharmonic, and the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show. Out of all of those, my favorite was a little black box theater in Kearny. They put on shows just for kids. Peter Pan, Cinderella, and because they were a little black box, the kids often were called upon to participate. It was magical.
John Raitt in a theater in the round production of Carousel playing the part of Billy Bigelow the role he created on Broadway (also known as Bonnie’s father).
ReplyDeleteMarcel Marceau who I went backstage to thank him for his wonderful show and have him autograph my program. He was very gracious although he didn’t have much to say.
Julia, you must also remember Edward Villella, another star of the NYC ballet. He also appeared in many tv productions. He was my favorite and I was able to go backstage to speak to him.
When I could I always tried to go back to see the performers I particularly liked and thank them and tell them how much I enjoyed their performance.
Oh I had such a crush on Edward Villella!
DeleteYou’re right about the ballet Hallie. I always take the grandkids to the balcony where the dancers look ethereal. And once I sat in the front row for Forty Second Street. Never again! The taps were deafening and the high kicks revealed the underside of legs and under garments
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child, my parents took me to see Peter Pan, starring Mary Martin. When she flew over the audience, I was mesmerized. Many (many...) decades later, I can still see her! (Posted by Victoria Zackheim, who still can't figure out how to post under my name!)
ReplyDeleteWOW!
DeleteMary Martin was spectacular… I saw her in South Pacific and Peter Pan…
DeleteWhen the prompt enter comment comes up, there is a menu that says “Comment as:” , if you press or click on the arrow next to it, there is a place to enter your name. After entering your name, select next
Deleteand you can enter your comment.
We lived in Greenwich Village in NYC for a few years. We took our then young niece to see performances by the Paperbag Players. They were marvelous! I still have tunes run through my head from their shows. "Which came first, the chicken or the egg or the chicken or the egg?"
ReplyDeleteWhen my son was young, we took him to theater productions of Cats and Joseph's Technicolor Dreamcoat. There was such awe on his face during the Cats intermission when the actors wandered through the theater in character. Nothing like having a "human" cat rub against you as it squeezed down the aisle. He later was excited to go to New York with is class to see Phantom of the Opera. There is something so special about you folks experiencing theater for the first time. Sadly, he had health issues that prevented him from ever taking part in these activities, but it sure was something just to experience that talent up close and personal. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteI saw Blue Man Group when they were Off Broadway in NYC in the 80's and then took the Hub and the boys to see them at Gammage in Tempe. It is ALWAYS a blast!
ReplyDeleteI've only seen the Blue Man production as an adult, but I still loved it. I remember two theater productions I saw when I was under twelve. I loved them and have never forgotten them. One was a D'Oyly Carte production of "The Pirates of Penzance" in New York. My sister and I had the records and knew all the songs by heart--we were transfixed. Also, in New York, I saw the Moiseyev Dance Company, which has stirring Russian music, lavish costumes, and Cossack-style dancing (along with other traditional Russian folk dances). I thought it was the most beautiful dancing I'd ever seen.
ReplyDeleteI've always found live performances magical! Up in Minneapolis we went to a Gilbert & Sullivan performance of Pirates of Penzance. We were on the second row, fortunately, as the spit was flying! I would have demanded an umbrella if I'd been one row closer.
ReplyDeleteMy parents were not theater people, sigh. I think my mom did take me to a production of The Nutcracker. I was in my thirties before I started going to live opera and symphonies. I saw my first live Gilbert and Sullivan in Bath in summer of '23, so delightful, and a wonderful small theater production of Romeo and Juliet in London where the actors ran up and down the aisles. It was spine-tinglingly immersive.
ReplyDeleteHopefully doing a bit better with the next generations. I took my daughter to her first opera last winter, and we took the granddaughter to her first Nutcracker. Magical! But she didn't decide she wanted to take ballet...