Arts & Entertainment
Blue Man Group Ending 27-Year Chicago Run, Final Shows Announced for January 2025
(Blue Man Group / Facebook)
After 27 years of popping marshmallows and banging on PVC pipes, Blue Man Group is calling curtains on its Chicago production.
It was announced Friday that the show’s final local performance will be Jan. 5, 2025. Tickets are available online.
Blue Man Group — featuring a trio of bald-headed, blue-painted, nonverbal performers — has been running at Briar Street Theatre in Lakeview since 1997.
The seed for the show was planted in New York City in 1988 as a piece of performance art, and eventually the concept mushroomed into a global sensation. (Check out this excellent oral history published by Vulture in 2022.)
Cirque de Soleil acquired Blue Man Group Productions in 2017. In addition to Chicago, the show has long-running productions in Boston and Las Vegas.
The production defied categorization: part music performance, part comedy, part audience participation, part sensory overload. The show’s “poncho section” became legendary, with ticketholders seated closest to the stage given ponchos to protect against certain splatters.
“Blue Man Group is unlike anything else in the world,” said Jack Kenn, managing director of Blue Man Group, in a statement. “These shows captured millions of hearts night after night, and we give our utmost thanks.”
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
