Blue Man Group – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by alexandre zveiger
They’re blue, funny, entertaining, and most especially a staple at one of Florida’s largest theme park attractions—Universal Orlando. The Blue Man Group announced earlier this week via Twitter that it would cease shows and performances at the famed Universal park after 14 years.
While the group did announce they would be stopping the show in Orlando, they reassured fans that once things were safe enough to operate and go back to normal, that they planned on continuing shows in Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, and New York.
The popular show combined upbeat music and art and lots and lots of paint in a 1,000 seat auditorium in CityWalk on the Universal Studios complex in Orlando.
The Blue Man Group thanked all of its crewmembers and cast for its hard work in what has culminated in over 6,000 shows to date at the theme park, according to their message on Twitter.
Universal Orlando released a statement confirming the news, saying, “Blue Man Group will not be returning to Universal Orlando as we move to adjust our entertainment for the future,” said a statement from Universal Orlando. “For more than a decade, Blue Man Group has brought its unique style of entertainment to our guests — and we are grateful for the chance to have been home to their Orlando show.”
The trio group had not performed on stage in Orlando since the beginning of the pandemic dating back to last March when Florida theme parks such as Disney, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios, and others were ordered to close.
In 2017, the popular acrobatics company, Cirque du Soleil, acquired the Blue Man Group show with plans to expand. Cirque executives told the New York Times that the sale exceeded “tens of millions.”
Since then, Cirque du Soleil filed for bankruptcy in June of 2020 and, as a result, laid off over 3,500 people in the process. According to CNN, the company was reportedly over $1 billion in debt.
As of now, Universal Orlando has not mentioned what it plans to do with the empty studio or what show may replace the Blue Man Group moving forward.
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Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
