Blue Man Group history

The first BMG event took place back in 1988, before the official start of BMG itself.

She’s worked for the company longer than anyone else, having joined three months after it opened in 1991, and to some patrons her homemade brownies are as legendary as the show.

The performances sold out regularly, and more and more shows had to be added to accommodate the crowds. It was only when the show expanded to Boston in 1995 that the group hired other Blue Men.

Although music had always been an integral part of the Blue Man Group’s act (in which three people painted blue make art with food and blue paint), the group did not release its first album until 1999.

“When you find the right performer, you know it, and it's the same for people at every level of the organization,” says Grisolano, who has held seven positions within the company since 2000. “There's an authenticity and a passion and a humor and an off-kilter quirkiness.

One of the biggest signs of their mainstream success was their performance at the Grammy Awards ceremony in February of 2001, a broadcast that reached an estimated 55 million viewers.

The first album under the deal, Complex, released in 2003, featured guest artists Tracy Bonham, Dave Matthews, Dan the Automator, Esthero, and monologist Spalding Gray.

Members of BMG (and their spouses) began the project as a cooperative playground — Blue Man Creativity Center — in 2007, and today it’s evolved into the Blue School, a progressive private school designed to encourage creativity and inquisitiveness.

One former employee would beg to differ: Ian Pai, who was part of the show’s original backing band, sued in 2016, alleging unpaid royalties.

In July 2017, Blue Man Group was bought by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil, who announced that they would expand the concept.