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NY Blue Man Group Debuts at New London, 14 Nov

As previously tipped (See The Goss, 27 Jan 2005), the New York-based Blue Man Group will make its West End debut at the New London Theatre. Its show will open on 14 November 2005 (previews from 10 November).

The silent, blue-skinned, bald-headed trio (in fact, now many trios) - who take audiences through a multi-sensory experience combining theatre, percussive music, art, science and vaudeville - have developed a sizeable cult following since their Off Broadway debut in 1991.

In addition to the long-running New York production, there are now Blue Man shows in Las Vegas, Chicago and Boston. The group has also released two albums, Audio and The Complex, and created installations, "happenings", "unusual ads" and a number of TV-specific performances.

Blue Man Group was originally expected to open this past spring, following the announced 2 April 2005 closure of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. However, instead of closing, the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical added another five months to its schedule at the New London (See News, 24 Mar 2005). The production, directed and presented by Bill Kenwright, is now due to finish on 3 September 2005 after two-and-a-half years in the West End, having opened on 3 March 2003 (previews from 13 February).

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was the first-ever collaboration between Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice. It started life in 1968 as a 20-minute entertainment for an end-of-term school concert. Its score includes "Any Dream Will Do", "Close Ev'ry Door to Me" and "One More Angel". The musical was last seen in the West End in the early 1990s, when it ran for more than two years at the London Palladium, with Josephs including Philip Schofield and Jason Donovan.

- by Terri Paddock

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