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There’s something piggy about Brennen S. Malone. Again. And the Blue Man Group is back with a splash.

Then there’s an immersive murder mystery from the Fringe Festival.

Blue Man Group comes to the Kimmel Cultural Campus' Miller Theater starting Dec. 27.
Blue Man Group comes to the Kimmel Cultural Campus' Miller Theater starting Dec. 27.Read moreEvan Zimmerman/MurphyMade

When ticket buyers pay top dollar for front row seats to see the Blue Man Group, they know they are getting soaked for every cent.

And that is exactly the point.

Those front row seats are known as the splash zone, where lots of the dyed-blue water used as part of the Blue Man Group’s joyful stage production winds up on the audience — so much so that audience members are given ponchos as they enter the Miller Theater (formerly the Merriam) on Kimmel’s Cultural Campus.

“The water is colored paint, but we try to think past that,” said Blue Man Mike Brown, one of the three bald actors, who, completely covered in blue, perform without speaking — using drums, dance, sound, music, and of course, water to convey emotion.

“We are making it come alive. The water has an energy and the Blue Men feed off it and use it to communicate and to relate to each other.”

Brown and production stage manager Erin Albrecht declined to get too specific about how the blue water gets on the audience but somehow it flies off the drums. But — and this is key — it is completely washable.

“It’s water-soluble,” Albrecht said. “You can come, get splashed, go home, and wash your clothes, and you’ll be just fine.”

Brown, who has been performing as a Blue Man for 20 years, said the show is never the same.

“The show breeds newness. If the three of us are remaining in character, there’s no way it can’t be fresh. Now is now. You must stay in the moment. When it comes to interacting with the audience, it is just gold,” Brown said. “They are always going to give you something new and unique.”

Blue Man Group’s props and costumes, stage sets, and lighting and sound systems fill five tractor-trailer sized trucks. Albrecht has spent hours figuring out logistics with the Kimmel stage managers, making note of dimensions of lighting grids and details about the loading dock. Obviously, the configuration of the splash zone is important as well.

Albrecht, the trucks, and the cast of actors, musicians, and stage crew will arrive in Philadelphia on Dec. 26 for the Dec. 27 opening.

For Albrecht, the visit to Philadelphia will be a chance to reunite with family.She did not grow up here, but her sister moved to Philadelphia’s Fox Chase neighborhood to raise her family. When grandchildren arrived, Albrecht’s parents did as well.

Up next from Kimmel’s Broadway series is Jagged Little Pill, a musical based on Alanis Morissette’s music, offered at the Academy of Music from Jan. 3 through 15.

(Dec. 27-31, Blue Man Group, Miller Theater, (formerly Merriam), 250 S. Broad St., Phila. and Jan. 3-15, “Jagged Little Pill,” Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St., Phila., 215-893-1999 or kimmelculturalcampus.org)

‘Charlotte’s Web’

Actor Brennen S. Malone’s stage life is full of strange and happy coincidences involving pigs.

Two years ago, in the heart of the pandemic, Malone played Juicy, the lead role in Philadelphia playwright James Ijames’ Fat Ham, the Pulitzer-Prize winning take on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Now Malone plays a pig. He’s Wilbur, a doomed porker and one of the lead characters in the children’s classic Charlotte’s Web, presented by the Arden Theatre Co.

Malone sees a lot of similarity between Juicy and Wilbur.

“Crazy enough, they don’t feel that different,” he said. “They are very similar characters in that they are trying to exist in the world and learn about life.” Both characters receive shocking information that requires them to define their places in the universe.

“With Juicy,” Malone said, “having to kill to avenge his father sets him on his existential crisis — not only dealing with the death of the parent but potentially having to deal with someone else’s mortality.

“With Wilbur, I am going to die, so what does it mean to live and what does it mean to make a friend, to make a connection, to live life to the fullest? The eminent thought of mortality is set on him at a very young age, and he has to decide how to live.”

In both plays, Malone has been in a position to watch the characters develop. In Fat Ham, he was the first to play the role and soon will travel to Broadway to watch actor Marcel Spears’ take on Juicy.

As for Wilbur, Malone has been a fan since childhood and has honed his perspective over time. This Charlotte’s Web production, post-pandemic, is especially joyful for Malone.

After four weeks of rehearsal, the cast has brought Charlotte’s Web to technical proficiency but “getting the kids in the audience injects adrenaline and injects new life into it,” Malone said. “It feels so good that we’re back and kids are in the audience.”

(Through Jan. 29, “Charlotte’s Web,” Arden Theatre Co., 40 N. Second St., Phila. 215-922-1122 or ardentheatre.org)

‘Larry’s Late Show’

If you missed it during the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, you can catch Larry’s Late Show in an entirely different setting at the Scarpetta Restaurant at the Rittenhouse Hotel. After a couple of sold-out Fringe performances, the show was picked up by Jean Paul Cantave, the restaurant’s general manager, and has been remounted as an immersive murder mystery accompanied by a three-course meal and wine pairings. One night only, Jan. 7. Producer Chelsea Cylinder also acts in “Larry’s Late Show,” which is directed by Julianne Kastner.

(Jan. 7, “Larry’s Late Show,” Scarpetta Restaurant, Rittenhouse Hotel, 210 W. Rittenhouse Square, Phila. 215-558-4199 or chelseacylinder.com)

Check with individual venues for COVID protocols.