Blue Man Group Sharp Aquos Theatre

The Blue Man Group Theatre (previously named the Blue Man Group Sharp Aquos Theatre until 2012) was an indoor theatre located at Universal Orlando Resort's CityWalk, which housed a live show and residency by the Blue Man Group, featuring their unique musical and humorous performances. It opened on June 6, 2007 in the former Nickelodeon Studios building, which was re-zoned into Universal CityWalk Orlando. As a stand-alone experience within CityWalk, it required separate admission from the theme parks.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, the Blue Man Group Theatre closed along with the rest of the resort in March 2020. Performances were put on hiatus when the resort re-opened later that year. In February 2021, the Blue Man Group announced they would be ending their residency.

Summary

Upon its opening in June 2007, the theatre was a permanent home for the Blue Man Group; Sharp Aquos was the sponsor of the theatre until 2012. The original show featured some of the same humor and routines from the other Blue Man Group shows in the United States, as well as new routines and components not seen in any other show. The setlist ended with a remix finale of " Last Train To Trancentral". In 2012, Blue Man Group introduced a new show as part of Universal's "Year to Be Here" campaign, that featured new bits and a new finale, featuring Blue Man's Booty Shaker song, all mixed in with classic Blue Man Group comedy from the previous show. Each show lasted approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes.

History and design

On November 9, 2006, Universal Orlando Resort announced that Blue Man Group would occupy soundstage 18 in a new, unnamed theatre, which in May 2007 was named the Sharp Aquos Theatre. Construction began shortly after the announcement. The theatre is contained within soundstage 18, which was occupied by Nickelodeon Studios from 1990–2005. The sound stage was home to shows such as '' Slime Time Live'', ''Figure It Out'', and ''Double Dare 2000''. In 2005, the sound stage was used for ''Where Evil Hides'', a haunted house for Universal's Halloween Horror Nights: Tales of Terror event. The theatre is located between the Hard Rock Cafe and the main entrance to Universal Studios Florida.

The 1,000-seat theatre featured a Blue Man facade, and is accessible both from the Universal CityWalk as well as the Universal Studios theme park. In preparation for the rezoning of the building into CityWalk, a walkway was constructed between the Universal Studios theme park and the resort's Hard Rock Cafe allowing guests to enter the theatre without paying admission to the theme park, while the former Nickelodeon Studios entrance at the theme park was turned into an attended exit from the theme park to the theatre's entrance. The theatre's seating was organized into five different "zones", out of which, the Poncho Zone is a highly-probable "splash" zone that consists of the first four rows of the theatre that guests would need to wear a poncho included in their purchase of admission.

Between October–November 2008, the pathway to the theatre was moved for construction of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, a roller coaster which opened in 2009. Construction on the coaster also resulted in the removal of The Boneyard for the Universal Music Plaza Stage and the entrance of Rockit, and the reconfiguration of the queue of ''Twister''...Ride it Out. In January 2012, the Nickelodeon Kiosk closed in favor for the Blue Man Store, which opened on March 1, 2014. In November 2012, the front wall of Soundstage 18 was repainted with a Blue Man holding up the Blue Man Group logo, the "Sharp Aquos Theatre" signage on the awning were removed, the box office was redesigned, and the BMG Gear store was redone as well. In February 2016, the Blue Man Group Theatre began expansion and renovations into previously abandoned areas of the studio with the first floor and lobby area repainted.

On February 1, 2021, it was announced that the Blue Man Group would be ending their residency at Universal Orlando, due to the impact of the coronavirus affecting its operations. The show had not been operating for nearly a year at the time of the announcement, shutting down along with the rest of the resort on the night of March 15, 2020 due to the pandemic, and remaining closed even after the resort reopened in June 2020. A permanent replacement for the show is currently unknown. In November and December 2021, the theatre housed the Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular stage show.

References

External links

Official Site for Blue Man Group
at Universal Orlando Resort

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Amusement rides that closed in 2021
Universal Orlando
Universal Parks & Resorts attractions by name
Licensed-properties at Universal Parks & Resorts
2007 establishments in Florida
2021 disestablishments in Florida