Paint it Blue

Blue Man Group plays with music, paint and light at the Hult Center

Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group

Blue Man Adam Erdossy has spent much of the last 10 years being … blue.

“It’s a special shade called ‘Blue Man blue’” Erdossy says. “It gets pretty much everywhere, which is actually pretty fun.”

For the uninitiated, Blue Man Group features a trio of tall, bald men painted blue and wearing jumpsuits, who engage in artistic stunts, make wacky music and generally cause a kind of contained mayhem. Founded by original Blue Men Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink, it’s a recipe that has stood up for a quarter-century.

“The show itself, in its most fundamental, is an exploration of creativity, innocence and childhood joy,” says Erdossy, who joined the group in 2006. “It’s about connecting to people all around you.”

Those connections, notes Erdossy, might be fewer and far between than they were 25 years ago, as technology has taken ever more space in our lives:

“The media, social networking, gives a sense of connection, but it’s really only on the surface,” Erdossy says. “But the skeleton of the show is our physical interaction, and connecting to each other and the audience, on a primal level.”

A veteran performer, Erdossy points to our culture’s lack of play as another by-product of our modern lives.

“We do not play enough,” he says. “When we’re kids, we have that unbridled exuberance, like my 4-year-old son — his creativity is exploding; there’s no mold, he doesn’t judge himself. He doesn’t have any concept yet, of the things that stop him from creating.”

Blue Man Group is continually adapting, adding and tweaking content, Erdossy explains, but the Blue Men remain forever blue.

“The story goes, the original Blue Men knew it would be blue, even before they were calling themselves Blue Men,” Erdossy notes. “There’s a mystery to it, it conveys the character, the emotion, more than any other color.”

And what about Blue women?

“Sure, they’re always searching for women,” Erdossy says. “And women are always auditioning. The producers are always looking for someone who can play the Blue Man character.”  (But this is show biz, and to fit the role, people looking to audition need to be between 5’10” and 6’2”.)

Erdossy says he enjoys touring, and keeps it fresh by playing music and practicing martial arts.

“I tend to find that the more dynamic and active I am outside of the Blue Man show, the more fun I have onstage,” says Erdossy.

When you’re a Blue Man, every performance is a party.

“With music, paint and light, it’s a celebration,” Erdossy says.

Blue Man Group will perform two nights in Eugene at 7:30 pm Tuesday and Wednesday, March 29-30, at the Hult Center; $38-$97.