Workers and technicians are hammering away in preparation for the return of Blue Man Group to Orlando, right down to the placement and pounding of PVC pipes, one of the ensemble’s distinctive musical instruments.
The new show opens May 1 in the freshly constructed Blue Man Theater at Icon Park on International Drive. Performances again center on a blue-skinned, smooth-headed trio who interact with their surroundings and audiences without uttering a word. They communicate through movement, music, visual effects and unexpected, humorous moments.
“It’s a really great opportunity to sort of build the show up from scratch,” said Bhurin Sead, Blue Man captain in Orlando. “I think you’ll definitely see a lot of new elements in the show, but I think it still retains, like, the old soul of Blue Man.”
The group was a fixture for 14 years — more than 6,000 shows — at Universal Orlando until the pandemic hit in 2020. The show closed down along with much of the Central Florida tourism industry, and in early 2021, it was announced that it would not reopen.
But that changed again with the 2024 announcement that Blue Man would move into a structure made for them near I-Drive. The bright white, curved-roof theater — with blue trim, of course — is nestled near the base of the Orlando Eye observation wheel on the Universal Boulevard side of Icon Park entertainment complex.
“It’s custom-built, so everything in here is to our specs,” Sead said.
Zachary Olson (from left), head of automation department; Daniel Pooley, head of carpentry; Kevin Connolly, head of the musical instrument department; and musical instrument technician Bruno Ufret work on the PVC in the new Blue Man Theater, on Thursday. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
The theater, which has a capacity of 574 spectators, has black flooring, walls and ceiling. The seats are dark blue. The stage is bi-level to accommodate musicians and large digital screens to interact with audience members and performers. The stage is flanked on each side by a towering mass of PVC pipes. The building has a small lobby and merchandise area, as well as dressing rooms and office space backstage.
“Size is something that’s really important for us. We want something that feels big, like, has a spectacle of a big show, but it still has the intimacy,” said Sead.
“Blue Man has its roots in New York City, and that theater sat 280, 290 people, so really tiny shoebox,” he said. “We want to still capture that intimate feel where there’s not a bad seat in the house, the audience still feels the Blue Man’s presence.”
Bhurin Sead’s job title is Blue Man captain for Orlando. He performed with the group at the Universal Orlando location for a few months in 2008, but the bulk of his time has been in New York and Boston, he said. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Their theater at Universal, the home of Nickelodeon Studios once upon a time, had 1,000 seats in its Blue Man phase.
Standard Blue Man fare, such as bright paints and flying marshmallows, will be in the new show along with new matter, Sead said.
“When we write stuff, it’s from the Blue Man’s perspective. And the Blue Man is sort of like innately curious about our world, innately curious about how we connect people,” he said.
Artificial intelligence “is very present in our world right now, and it’s natural that the Blue Men would want to investigate. … How does this affect our connection to one another, connection to ourselves and things like that?”
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But what about the old bombastic, big-ball finale of yore?
“It is something we’re still actively working on, the finale,” Sead said, though he anticipates that exuberance, immersiveness and a party atmosphere will be elements.
Blue Man Group, formed in New York City in 1987, was purchased by Cirque du Soleil in 2017. Cirque continues to produce “Drawn to Life” at Disney Springs. Last year, Blue Man’s longtime productions in New York and Boston concluded their runs. The company still has a standing show in Las Vegas and touring versions.
The new 574-seat Blue Man Theater is next to the Orlando Eye at Icon Park on International Drive. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)
Tickets for the Orlando show are available at blueman.com. Prices range from $59 to $122 per person. Start times vary for the 90-minute show. On some 2026 dates, the theater will remain dark, but others will feature three performances.