Union Cries Blue

By Sarah Lazarovic

The Blue Man Group tours with a vengeance, like your typical overextended Broadway show with touring casts in Takoma. But, as the Blue Men prepare to invade Toronto, the unions aren’t having it. Both the Canadian Actors’ Equity and the Toronto Musicians’ Association picketed outside the Blue Man media show yesterday, lighting flame to the heretofore-held possibity that anyone could pull a “Tobias,” and freely audition for the non-union shop show the way comedian David Cross, as the nerdy Dr. turned actor, did this year on Arrested Development. TOist understand the unions’ gripes, but we cannot condone any unionization process that would inhibit amusing weirdos and amateur thespians from painting themselves blue and banging on PVC pipes in front of a choreographer. Still and all, TOist JKelly gets good quote and makes us see why the Blue Men have ruffled more than a few theatrical feathers.