2005 Blue Man group decends upon Toronto in it's 12 million dollar 700 seat Panasonic theater.
A year later it closes.
Poor ticket sales encouraged low attendance and luke warm reception amongst the Toronto population. Blue Man Group's publicist, Laura Camien, blames not only the boycot spearheaded by Canadian Actors' Equity, but Toronto.

"It's disheartening that Toronto hasn't rebounded yet and has lately been unable to support long-run shows," she told the Star Wednesday.

It's so easy to put the blame on Toronto's supposed inability in recent years to attract substantial audiences.

I think that's pucky. With companies like the Canadian Opera Company drawing in record numbers for an artform that can get mixed reviews, I think the Toronto audience is becoming much more culturally aware.

What I don't think is that theater producers are granting the Toronto public enough credit. Yeah, the Blue Man Group did fab in Chicago, New York and Vegas for 10-15 years but, the oh so elusive Canadian identity does rear its head. To expect Canadian audiences to respond in a similar manner based solely on comparative population, wealth and class is foolish. Those things have little to do with the way that Canadians think and act.

Perhaps the Blue Man Group would have done better in 1991. Perhaps it would have done better if it chose to support the fair practice rules that the Canadian Actors' Equity works so hard to protect.

Or maybe, Canadian audiences are much too smart for the ridiculousness that's a bunch of men painted in blue doing commerically safe performance art.

But, that's just me.