Universal Orlando announced Thursday evening that they have struck a deal with the high-energy Blue Man Group.
Blue Man features three entertainers in blue face paint who combine unusual musical instruments, paints, ordinary objects such as gumball machines, acrobatics, theatrics, comedy, special effects and driving music to create a splashy, rhythmic, colorful stage spectacle.
"It's certainly something that I've had my eye on and aspired to bring to Universal for some time, a show that could not only delight daytime visitors to the parks but could also be an evening entertainment experience for those who come to CityWalk," Williams said. "It's a real complement. It doesn't compete with anything we have. It's unique. It's different."
Unlike the TV show, Blue Man comes with a known, successful track record in other cities, particularly with tourists and conventioneers. The show is considered a rival of Cirque du Soleil shows in New York and Las Vegas. Blue Man co-founder Chris Wink, though, insisted the rival shows don't compete so much as create a synergy, which he said raises standards for other entertainment.
That was particularly true after Blue Man and Cirque went head-to-head in Las Vegas, he said.Williams insisted he was not looking for a competitive answer to Cirque's La Nouba show at
Downtown Disney, but to find something that could rival it and create the kind of synergy Wink suggested."I want that to happen. We have a deliberate desire to do just that," Williams said. "I think it heightens our competitiveness with Las Vegas."CityWalk is a district of nightclubs, restaurants and shops. Hard Rock Live hosts occasional concerts, and most of the nightclubs feature live entertainment. But none of them offers the out-of-town entertainment draw that La Nouba has provided at Downtown Disney, Walt Disney World's rival to Universal's CityWalk.
Blue Man Group expects to stage as many as 15 shows a week during peak tourism times in midsummer and the Christmas season. Ticket prices were announced at $45 for matinee performances and $55 for evening shows. Universal said discount deals would be offered with
theme park ticket packages.
The shows would be held in the former Nickelodeon soundstage in the corner of Universal Studios, which is being renovated to meet Blue Man needs and seat 1,000. A new entrance will be created to bring in patrons directly from CityWalk, adjacent to the Hard Rock Cafe, so they can attend Blue Man without buying theme park tickets.
Blue Man Group will be hiring locally for some of the roles and production and management jobs, co-founder Matt Goldman said. Production employment will range from 25 to more than 50, he said. The musicians, management and crew will include full, part-time and seasonal employees."We bring in 'seed' people, people with years and years experience with Blue Man," he said. "And then we fill in with local folks."
Universal and Blue Man Group have been talking off and on for three or four years, after expressing mutual interest. Universal wanted the show, and Blue Man was interested in Orlando, Wink said."There's only so many places in the world that have this many people flowing through a spot.
If you want to have a sit-down show with 1,000 people or more, you need to have a place where people are flowing through. You have your New York. You have your Las Vegas. And certainly Orlando is one of them," Wink said.
