Blue Man Group rocked

I'm a huge fan of taking kids to the theater. It's just magical seeing a good performance on stage.

Blue Man Group isn't exactly what I think of when theater is brought up. However, they are performing at ASU Gammage in Tempe through Nov. 6. They won't disappoint.

Audience participation begins before one Blue Man steps on stage. An electronic board acts as a humorous "voice" to get the audience engaged. The Blue Man Group's show features music, not voices. Electronic board message highlights included a reminder not to text because you make the older folks feel inadequate, oh, but tweeting is OK; a happy birthday wish to an audience member (no singing allowed) and a funny take on helping another get rid of a headache (think of it as a cow...and you kill it). My kids were practically falling out of their seats laughing. And as my son points out, it's hard to make him laugh.

The 90-minute techie-comedy-musical show was colorful, loud, bright, gross (briefly) and silly (a lot). It features lots of drumming, paint, Captain Crunch, texting, reading, paper, balls and CRAZY FUN MUSIC! Those guys can be quite humorous without saying anything.

My 11-year-old daughter noted some "inappropriate humor" for kids, but acknowledged that "little kids won't get it." Those jokes include the "hard" Viagra post on the GiPads (gigantic iPads), a quick message flashing about naked people and euphemisms for butts. Plenty of kids 5 and older were in the audience. I don't see myself having an issue with kids seeing the show. The bigger concern is if your kids are sensitive to strobe lights, sudden darkness and loud music. Only you know your kids.

Photo of Blue Man Group National Tour by ©Paul Kolnik.

My son's favorite part involved a chicken. I don't want to give the set up away. My daughter had several favorite parts, including a "texting" segment and rocking out to concert moves. She did ask why I didn't get closer seats. Turns out she was totally jealous of the folks in the front rows because the Blue Men walked around them finding audience participants. It didn't stop her from yelling pick me several times. So cute! Best of all, I loved that my kids couldn't stop talking about the show on the ride home.

Blue Man Group
Where: ASU Gammage, Tempe
When: Through Nov. 6. Showtimes vary.
Cost: $41.50-$105.70 (prices include fees).
FYI: There is no intermission.

Some discussion questions:

-How would you entertain your friends if you could not use your voice? Could you even stay quiet?

-What would you have done if you were picked to go on stage? Do you think kids would be funnier than the adults who were chosen?

-What music was your favorite? Did you notice how sounds changed when they changed the length of the pipe?

Let me know what you think if you go. Cheers!