From Teresa Plowright,
Your Guide to Family Vacations.
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Blue Man Group is several things:

• a performance, that you can see in New York, Las Vegas, London, and elsewhere

• an indescribable mix of mime, percussion, and antics involving the audience

• a cultural meme that's sure to spread even more, now that Universal Orlando's a venue

What's a meme? Well, it's a "cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes." Like MySpace. 

There's not much point trying to describe Blue Man Group; "three mimes wearing rubbery blue paint", "catching multiple marshmallows in the mouth", or "wild drumming with paint spraying from tops of drums", don't do the trick. (Though here's a good try at describing -- and even intellectualizing-- the experience.)

Once you see the three blue men perform, you'll have the meme.

And so it spreads.

Blue Man Group, for Family Travelers
Definitely if you're traveling with teens or preteens to New York City, be sure to catch one of the many evening and matinee performances offered at the Astor Place Theatre in lower Manhattan. This is a cool place to see Blue Man Group, as the show's been running there since the Group's earliest days inside a theater in 1991. (Start-up  performances were on the street.)

You can also see Blue Man Group in other cities; check Ticket Info at Blueman.com. (The curious may also want to check the "Are the Shows Different in Different Cities?" FAQ.)

One genius point about Blue Man Group is that -- as the actors are completely masked in blue paint-- audiences aren't coming to see "Actor X" in a particular role; numerous actors can play the three Blue Men. So Blue Man Group can simultaneously perform all over the place.

And so it spreads.

Kids will shriek with laughter, and so will grown-ups, as long as you're able to get in touch with your inner pre-teen, and can enjoy some silliness, and a royal mess at the end.

Spoiler:
In the grand finale, the audience is literally buried in reams of toilet paper, cascading from the balcony and rear of the theater-- guaranteed to be unlike anything you've ever experienced . And if you don't think you'd find this hilarious, you might not enjoy the Blue Man Group cultural meme... but go anyway, because your kids will surely laugh until their funny bones ache.

Bonus: photo ops with the Blue Men in the lobby, after the show.

continue to p. 2, Blue Man Group at Universal Orlando...

^{*photos courtesy of Blue Man Group; photos by Ken Howard © BMP.}