The off the wall antics and odd, but entertaining music style of the Blue Man Group has brought them to be one of the most popular and successful theater groups in the world today.
The Blue Man Group came into play in 1987. Creators Matt Goldman, a software producer, Chris Wink, and Phil Stanton, both working as waiters, say the Blue Man Group started as a weekend get together in which they would invite their friends over and talk about art, science, and whatever else interested them. The three saw their home city of New York to be a cultural wasteland. “We heard about this art world thing happening, but you’d go and look, and it was like you were always in the wrong gallery or something. We wanted to shake things up a little bit,” said Wink in an interview with People Magazine. The trio came up with the idea that it would be surprising for people to turn the corner and find themselves staring in the face of a blue man. Initially the group was not getting the reactions they were hoping for, but that would soon change(Blue Man Library, People 92, 2).
The group performed regularly in Central Park and in the Wooster Group’s Performing Garage. In 1991, the group premiered their first full show,”Tubes,” at the La MaMa Experimental Theater Club located in New York’s lower East Side. The theater, founded in 1961, had a mission to “develop, support, produce, and present works of any artist”(Laurell). “Tubes” showed many aspects of a theater production, a concert, and a sketch comedy. Blue Man Group caught their first big break in 1991 when they won an OBIE Award, Off-Broadway theater’s highest honor. “That was wild” commented Goldman when he and his colleagues were interviewed by People Magazine in 1992. “We didn’t write pieces about having stuff spurt out of your chest thinking mass appeal. The first time I saw an actual upright adult see that and not leave the theater, I was really surprised.” That year, the Blue Man Group finally moved into their permanent base of operations. The Astor Place Theater became the Blue Man Group’s new home. They performed their hit show eleven times a week to a packed house virtually every night (Blue Man Library, People 92, 3).
The Blue Man Group is described on their official webs...
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Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Bibliography
Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Denton, Martin. New York Theatre Experience Inc. 5 July 2004, 7 Dec 2004
Laurell, Carrie. Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Mulford, Davis. Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Mulford, Davis. Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Richheimer, Judy. Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Richheimer, Judy. Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Richheimer, Judy. Blue Man Library. 15 November 2004. 21 Nov. 2004
Have you ever thought about what it would be like not to be free? What would it be like not to be able to make choices? What would it be like not to be able to do what you want? It's scary to think about not being free, but even in the world today some people don't even have basic human freedoms. Lois Lowry shows us in her books The Giver and Gathering Blue what it would be like not to have freedom and how important it is that we have it.
“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin relies on music to convey the theme of hardships for both Sonny and his older brother. The relationship between the two siblings is rocky. “I didn't write Sonny or send him anything for a long time.” said the older brother. Jazz is able to bring both of them closer together and have a better understanding of one another. With the older brother appreciating Sonny’s love for jazz it also allows him to the troubles in both their lives. Through Sonny’s music he was able to help his brother’s pain and in return his brother was able to help him. At first the older brother said, “I simply couldn't see why on earth he'd want to spend his time hanging around nightclubs, clowning around on bandstands," but towards the end of his brothers performance his views changed. He sends Sonny a drink after his performance and Sonny nods back to him. This represents the acknowledgment that Sonny now has his older brother’s approval. Even though Sonny and his brother still have different views and understandings of music it is still their own opinion. Their relationship and bond strengthen with the help of music.
Family structure is often built on foundations consisting of, trust, principal, and unconditional love. Relatives are often a reflection of the morals, and dignity our guardians instilled in us. The struggle in families arises when an individual does not live up to the standards set for them, by family, and sometimes results in incarceration, or use of narcotics. In “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, readers encounter two brothers who are brought up in the rough neighborhood of Harlem, New York. Although Sonny, the younger brother, chooses a different life path in heroin usage, and in being a musician, his older brother, the narrator, becomes an algebra teacher. Despite not being in each other’s lives for a period of time, the knitted fraternal relationship that they share proves to be eternal regardless of their loss of contact. Ultimately, this story is an amazing illustration of how two people are from the same blood and home, are never quite the same, yet the love of a family will always be kindled. In the following articles "Sonny's Blues": A Message in Music, by Suzy Bernstein Goldman, explains how people often explain their emotions through music. In another article titled, -“ Black Literature Revisited: "’Sonny's Blues’" by Elaine R. Ognibene, she elaborates on the effects music has to bring two people together. Finally, in “The Jazz-Blues Motif in James Baldwin's "’Sonny's Blues’" by Richard N Albert discusses, the bound in families and enlightens on the cliché saying that blood is thicker than water. Ultimately, Albert provides the best interpretation of the short story “Sonny Blues,” because it’s more realistic and relatable from my own personal experience.
be seen as they brought the same theatricality of David Bowie and KISS to the arena of Funk,
In James Baldwin's, Sonny's Blues, the title itself is symbolic of the blues in the matrix of the African-American culture of music and suffering. To understand the significance of the blues, one must first define the blues, where the blues originated, and how it is related to suffering and how it is communicated in music.
The group that I have always felt like I fit in the most throughout all of my life, would have to be my high school Color Guard. Color Guard was always the thing I turned to when I was upset, or simply just had a lot on my mind. To tell you about my Color Guard, I will first have to tell you a bit about the town I grew up in. I grew up in the small town of Antlers, Oklahoma where we had two stoplights, a small school, a dollar general, and a small array of family-owned businesses and restaurants. This small town has never been excellent at any sports or academics, but, we have always had the reputation of having a great band and Color Guard. I never fully realized how great and truly life changing this group was until I became a member of The Pride of Antlers Bearcat Marching Band and Color Guard. Color Guard, despite the stereotypes, has not only been a life changing experience for me but has also helped shape me into the person I am today by teaching me how to be a leader, how it feels to be a performer, and even how to work with a group of girls, and truly be part of a team.
The story “Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin is about a jazz musician and his brother in 1950’s Harlem. The story centers on Sonny who uses jazz music as an escape from his depression. James Baldwin captures the art of jazz during this time period. The themes in this short story are perhaps varied, but all of them revolve around some form of suffering. One theme shows how music can promote change and understanding within relationships. A second theme reveals suffering caused by guilt. Yet another theme references the results of suffering brought about by searching for ones’ identity and how that leads to misunderstanding. There are also subthemes concerning racism and poverty.
Brothers tend to grow apart yet eventually find a way to revive an old beat up relationship. These brothers grew up on the rough streets of Harlem and went their separate ways. Sonny was a drug-addicted musician and his older brother was a high school algebra teacher with a family. The way the two brothers reunite through addiction, memories and strife make their bond seem stronger than ever. Sonny’s Blues, by James Baldwin, is a story about enlightenment through brotherhood when Sonny and his brother go to the club.
One of the things I have always found so incredible about We the Kings is how diverse each of their albums are. The band began as a rock alternative group, but as each album progressed they moved more towards the pop genre. We the Kings is a band that has gained a lot of recognition throughout their eleven-year career. Since first forming in high school the band has grown to be more than just musicians. Almost every member of the band is now either a father or recently became married.
The People Improv Theater was a critics’ pick winner of The Village Voice Best of NYC 2012 Best Comedy Open Mic. Without doubt, innumerable patrons flock to this comedy club to savor free and inexpensive improv shows nightly and have a quality laugh. Featuring a great variety of standup showcases, this comedy club makes sure to accommodate every audience’s taste
The Roots of Blues Music Blues is a very important type of music. Most music that you hear today has some form of blues in it. If it wasn't for the blues there wouldn't be any rock and roll, country, rap, pop, or jazz . Blues is also important for African American culture. African Americans were also the people who started the blues.
They have meted a wide stretch of audience through album sales, track streams and number of minutes played on-air, making them the cream of the crop out of the extensive cistern of theme songs that’s ever known to humanity.
The blues is one of the core elements of American popular music. Samuel Floyd wrote the book —(“the power of black music interpreting its history from Africa to the united states”) . He observed “ the blue be basic to most forms of black music , and it be the most prominent factor in maintaining continuity between most of them”. It greatly influenced Jazz, rock ,R&B, gospel, zydeco and country,among other style. They are steeped in the blues. Blues music is the African American in the hardships of life to create the music style. It originated in the Mississippi River. There are many characteristics of blues: Repeated 12 - bar form(formed the basis of most rockin singing style); Blue notes; Bending pitches and sliding between notes; Call and response; AAB lyric pattern and rhyme scheme. Much of American popular music retains
American musicals just weren’t proving successful- as they were focusing on the previous century’s trend of “substance over spectacle”. However, ‘Brit Hits’ became overwhelmingly successful by breaking away from the previous ideal and creating a theme of ‘bigger and better!’, focusing primarily on creating sights over substance. With casts and creative teams of the shows being larger than ever, as well as the aid of technology advancements- it proved to be the way to go! Larger sets and bigger special effects were introduced, including helicopters flying onto stage and chandeliers crashing on stage. Due to higher budgets and musical theatre reaching its peak, shows like Cats changed the way theatre published and promoted. In the past, shows had only souvenir programs or shirts, but Cats’ signature pair of yellow eyes, plastered the show’s logo, across coffee cups, jackets, ornaments, key chains, pins etc.- anything that could be thought of, changing the course of advertising. These “Brit Hits” showed a promising future for musical theatre, bringing in tens of thousands of new fans and showcasing a real ‘WOW’ factor through the ideal of big budgets, big effects, big orchestration, big casts and overall, big
Which of the three generic strategies (Cost leadership, Differentiation, and Focus) is JetBlue following? Discuss how information systems is used in JetBlue to support its strategy.