Each summer my daughter and I make a girls’ outing to the city and spend a few days - just the two of us. During past trips, we have visited museums, playgrounds and historical attractions, but this year I wanted to do something extra special. Now that my daughter is officially a tween, she is mature enough to visit some more grown-up places, making these trips extra fun for me. For this particular outing, I really wasn't sure what to plan so I used KidFriendlyVenues app to help me. I eventually decided to take my special girl to a theater performance. She had enjoyed some local amateur shows so I thought she might be excited to see a professional performance. Now the hard part came when I needed to choose which show to attend. I had certain things that I was looking for. #1. The performance needed to be fun and exciting. #2. Because this was a relatively new experience for my daughter, I wanted a show that was on the shorter side (some of these performances tend to drag on and on). #3. The show needed to be appropriate for children.

While I was scouring the 'Entertainment' category on the app for ideas, I remembered some of my friends had gone to see Blue Man Group and had simply raved on and on about the show. I had always planned to see this ongoing show but for some reason had never made it. Maybe now was finally a good time. I clicked on the Blue Man Group to find out more. A link to their official website had additional details. The show took place in an intimate theater, the tickets were reasonable, and the performance was fast-paced and full of energy.  Further reading of MomsTibute.com company blogs confirmed that the show was family-friendly and had received some very good reviews. It sounded perfect for our trip. I decided to make it a surprise and didn’t tell my daughter what I had planned. 

I then proceeded to order our tickets. It turns out that a special twenty percent off code was available if you signed up for the Blue Man Group newsletter. I quickly signed up to take advantage of this deal. I had heard some rumors that picking seats in the first few rows from the stage could be a bit messy, so I decided to purchase some seats a few rows back from this area, just to be safe. I checked the Blue Man Group schedule and was surprised to find out that there were multiple weekend performances. We picked a 5:00 time so we wouldn’t have to walk around late at night and also would have some time to get some dinner afterward.  

When we arrived at the theater on the night of the show, we were both so excited! Up until this point in time, my daughter didn’t have a clue about where we were going. When she finally figured it out, she was absolutely thrilled! We showed the security guard our electronic tickets and a helpful usher helped us our seats. We had a great view of the stage, but the theater was so intimate that I don’t think we could have chosen a bad seat anyway. There were about fifteen minutes left until the start of the show. During this time, we were kept thoroughly entertained by reading the hilarious messages that ran across the theater’s ticker screen. We also had lots of fun attempting to solve some of the picture puzzles included in the show’s playbill.  

The show started and we were greeted by three bald “blue men” who put on quite a music performance as they played the drums and created some pretty cool artwork with paint.  Throughout the hour-and-a-half show, the Blue Man Group cast completely entertained the audience without uttering a single word. Without giving too much away, I’ll just tell you that some of the highlights included inspiring music, impressive artwork, and a hilarious scene that involved airborne marshmallows. However, our favorite part of the performance was when the entire theater turned into an intense party complete with music, streamers, and strobe lights. My daughter and I both had a blast dancing and chanting along with the crowd.

Blue Man Group also involved some participation from the audience. During our show, several guests were called up to the stage to dress up in silly costumes and take part in hilarious skits. One man even got to get up and make some art with the guys in blue. Being a little shy, I was silently relieved that I was not chosen to participate.

The show came to a close and the lights turned on. It went by so fast, that we couldn’t believe it was over already. My daughter and I left the theater with big smiles and jovial spirits. I couldn’t help but notice that despite wearing the provided yellow ponchos, the guests that were seated in the front rows, left a little more waterlogged than they had arrived. On the way back to the hotel we talked about how much fun we had. The fast pace and high energy of the performance made Blue Man Group the perfect show for me and my tween. I can't wait to go back and bring the rest of my family!

When we returned from our trip I gave Blue Man Group a five-star rating on the KidFriendlyVenues app. For the best places to visit with family, the best kid-friendly venues, and busy mom time management tips, I always check out this awesome app. 

Kim F