Astor Place Theater - Blue Man Group

The Astor Place theater is an unpredictable little gem; it’s pure New York! You’re looking at signage for the “Blue Man Group,” but you’re also looking at a slew of formal columns. That’s because this is “Colonnade Row!” Erected in the 1830s by the Astor family, this was the most prestigious address in New York.

When fashion moved on, and the Astors moved out, many of the original 9 buildings on Colonnade Row were torn down. By 1965, when NYC got its Landmarks Law, just four of these buildings (the ones you now see before you) were still standing. They were promptly landmarked, and that same year, East Village entrepreneur and producer Bruce Mailman bought 434 Lafayette and converted it into the “Astor Place Theater.”

The Theater opened in 1968, showing the Israel Horvitz play “The Indian Wants the Bronx,” starring a young Al Pacino. Everyone from Terrance McNally to John Ford Noonan had shows here. And since 1991, the Theater has been home to the “Blue Man Group.” In fact, the Blue Men bought the building in 2001!

It’s fitting that “Blue Man Group” has performed at the Astor Place Theater for so long. The show was actually founded as “concept art” in New York. The original Blue Men held a “Funeral for the ’80s” in Central Park in 1988.