ICYMI: This February, Blue Man Group to take final bow on Astor Place after 34 years

Photos from 2019 by Stacie Joy 

The Blue Man Group will end its long-running show — some 17,000 performances — at the Astor Place Theatre this coming Feb. 2. 

No reasons were cited for the end of the production here and in Chicago. According to The Guardian, "The announcement comes at a time when theaters around New York and across the country are struggling to stay afloat amid dwindling ticket sales and shrinking audience sizes compared to pre-pandemic shows."

Productions of Blue Man Group will continue in Berlin, Boston, Las Vegas and Orlando.

In 1987, a trio of Lower East Side artists — Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink — started what would "arguably become the most financially lucrative performance art troupe in the world." Cirque du Soleil bought the show in 2017. 

Before taking up residency on Astor Place on Nov. 17, 1991 (EVG readers gave the show six weeks tops), the group played out and about at a variety of local venues, including King Tut's Wah Wah Hut on Avenue A at Seventh Street (where Niagara is now).

Per the flyer from August 1989: "Bring a walkman to the show!"
 

Flyer via the King Tut's Wah Wah Hut Facebook page

'Backstage On Stage' — What a Blue Man Group classroom setting looks like

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Last Friday, the Blue Man Group launched a new ongoing educational program at the Astor Place Theatre called "Backstage On Stage."



On this day, the theater hosted 125 kids from the PS 142 After 3 Arts Program on the Lower East Side.

Blue Man officials say that this matinee program aims to give kids an in-depth look at the theatrical world and introduces them to opportunities both on and off the stage. This program will be STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) focused.

There's a 30-minute session where students get a behind-the-scenes look at the mechanics of a show as well as a Blue Man history lesson. (The global entertainment empire got its start in the East Village/LES, performing at LaMama, PS 122 and Dixon Place in the late 1980s.) A Blue Man Group performance follows this session.

I stopped by for the inaugural "Backstage On Stage" session and found a lot of happy kids, who especially enjoyed experiencing the messier aspects of the show and seeing their teachers "volunteer" to take the stage ... not to mention those Blue Men, who've been performing here in the 287-seat theater since Nov. 17, 1991.

Blue Man Group and King Tut's Wah Wah Hut

Last Thursday, Off the Grid noted the Blue Man Group's 20th anniversary... on Nov. 17, 1991, Blue Man Group "Tubes" opened at the Astor Place Theatre.

Before taking up residency there, the group played out and about at a variety of venues... including King Tut's Wah Wah Hut on Avenue A at Seventh Street (where Niagara is now).

Came across this flyer while visiting the King Tut's Wah Wah Hut Facebook page.

Among the other photos on the King Tut Facebook page ... from March 1987...

...and the front entrance at Seventh Street and Avenue A...