Perhaps you didn’t arrive in Las Vegas to get mummified (although if that’s your personal kink, remember our what-happens-here-stays-here ‘tude) but you couldn’t find a more appropriate venue for it than an Egyptian-themed resort.
That would be the Luxor, home of Blue Man Group, the comically quizzical, blue-hued mimes who climax their entertainingly surreal production with a cascade of streamers so thick you nearly must de-mummify yourself. Then pluck confetti out of your hair, flick it off your clothes and peel it off your shoes.
Beginning with scrolling stage signs that cajole us to shout out funny lines and play along with lighthearted gags, the Blue Man production is an exercise in sophisticated silliness that’s part-social commentary/part silent burlesque (no, they never speak) punctuated with audience interaction.
Enjoy the threesome’s signature paint percussion as florescent drumsticks send sprays of blue, red and gold flying from their drums (necessitating ponchos handed out to the front rows), plus beating out familiar melodies on rainbow-colored pipes, with puckish humor.
Also expect their marshmallows-and-gumballs gag, in which they toss them into each other’s mouths, spitting them out into abstract art. Signaling their take on modern technology is a segment on iPads projected on a screen, as they try to sign onto a website but are driven insane by popup ads and a “passcode strength” barometer. And in a routine both cautionary and comical, costumed actors transformed into animated robots blissfully text until flattened by oncoming cars—driven by texters.
Other bits are visual nuggets: shoveling handfuls of Cap’n Crunch into their mouths; invading the audience to look people in the eye; sending circles of fog effects above our heads; and leading the audience in rock concert-style fist-bumping and arm-swaying.
And in a centerpiece segment revolving around eating Twinkies with an audience member brought onstage, vaudevillian comedy yields major laughs.
As for those streamers: Consider renting a sarcophagus.
Luxor, 7 & 9:30 p.m. daily, additional 4 p.m. show through March 30, $75.31-$175 VIP, Behind the Blue package additional $55 upgrade to any ticket. 702.262.4400
