Who doesn't love the crazy blue dudes who jump around onstage and spray paint everywhere? The Smurf-hued bald men return to San Francisco this month to beat drums and walls and anything else that might conceivably produce a rhythm as they barrel through a high-energy show with no speech but plenty of music and physical comedy. 

Blue Man Group started when the founders realized how entirely unimpressed they were with singles’ bars. So the three friends plastered on some thick makeup and began wandering the streets of New York. “Being bald and blue was our social life,” says Phil Stanton on Shorenstein Hays Nederlander’s web site. When it started, they never envisioned a commercial theater run, much less conquering the performance world with an absurdist blend of technology, science, and tribal beats. But here they are, cerulean-drenched percussive masters known for creating visually arresting and category defying theatrical experiences.

May 24-June 19. Golden Gate Theater, 1 Taylor Street. Tickets start at $30 at 888-746-1799 and shnsf.com/shows/bluemangroup.