Twice shy: Blue Man Group, Avenue Q

As many geeks learned from the release of The Phantom Menace, sometimes it’s better to savor one moment of perfection than to demand an encore which is doomed to be disappointing by comparison. That’s why I’m not so sure it was a great idea for me to buy tickets to this Saturday’s Blue Man Group concert at the Sovereign Center.

If you attended the last Blue Man Group show that blew through Reading, I probably don’t have to tell you what a magnificent experience it was. The 2006 “How To Be A Megastar 2.0″ tour was absolutely magical. With a little help from non-cobalt friends such as Tracy Bonham, the performance art/alterna-rock act deconstructed the sociological aspects of the concert-going experience with wit, lots of techno eye candy, and stunning musicianship.

It was as perfect as a concert can be. If I had seen the Megastar Tour when I was a child or a pre-teen, it would have ruined me for all future concerts.

Before catching the Megastar tour, I’d seen the Blue Man Group’s off-Broadway show twice. The first time was great. The second time… eh, not so much. But my memories of the 2006 Reading show overrode all purchasing reason when I learned Blue Man Group was coming back to Reading, leading to a knee-jerk Ticketmaster buy the instant tickets were available.

It looks as if this Reading show is the only North American concert scheduled for 2009 (so far). And it doesn’t appear that Tracy Bonham is participating in this tour at all. So why are the megastar Blue Men invading Reading and nowhere else? Are they testing out a new touring show? Do the Blue Men share my fond memories of that tour-launching 2006 Reading performance?

Those nagging questions notwithstanding, Blue Man Group is essential stuff for creative types, technology geeks, and kids/kids-at-heart. If you didn’t make it to the 2006 show, do everything you can to make sure you’re at the Sovereign Center on Saturday night.

Blue Man Group isn’t the only singularly wonderful experience I’m revisiting in the coming month. My husband and I have tickets for the touring version of the musical Avenue Q which is playing at the Hershey Theatre the first week of February.

We first saw Avenue Q with the original Broadway cast while celebrating our 2004 wedding anniversary. It wasn’t as world shaking an experience as the Megastar show, but Avenue Q still stands as my favorite Broadway musical of the past ten years.

If you’re a 20- or 30-something, the R-rated puppet musical is a must-see. When I saw Avenue Q in 2004, I had just embarked on a new tour of college as a result of second thoughts about my career and overall direction in life. Avenue Q struck so close to home that it was disturbing — and a bit depressing — how a creative work designed for the masses had my name and number pegged with such accuracy.

Let me tell you: it’s really hard to find decent plays/musicals to see in early February. Every year I struggle to find something new to do for our anniversary, and rarely do I find anything worthwhile in my own backyard. And for some unknown reason (Valentine’s Day angst, perhaps?), many “edgy” theatre groups I dig choose to perform the Vagina Monologues this time of year. I simply can’t imagine my husband interpreting that play as a suitably romantic celebration of our marriage? so it’s not even a contender.

This year I simply could not find anything new I wanted to see for our anniversary. And even though it’s hard to imagine a better performance than the show we saw with the original Avenue Q cast members (two of whom created the show), I suppose there are worse ways to spend a special night than a play you already know is awesome.

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