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http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008 ... l-distressA man who filed a lawsuit against Blue Man Group after cast members allegedly shoved a camera down his throat called the incident a "surprise attack" Thursday.
James Srodon, 65, said he was sitting next to his 8-year-old grandson in one of the first rows during an Oct. 8, 2006, performance in the Briar Street Theatre on the North Side when the lights went out and two cast members approached him in the dark.
Speaking to reporters in his lawyer's Chicago office via speakerphone from his L.A. home, Srodon said one cast member grabbed him from behind and pulled his head back. He said his initial reaction was to open his mouth, at which point the other cast member shoved the camera down his throat.
Srodon said he bit down on the camera and tried to free himself from the performers but the floor was wet and he couldn't get traction.
Srodon said the performers eventually pulled the camera out of his mouth with such force that he
suffered contusions on his esophagus.
He said he had nightmares for days about blue men attacking him after the incident.
Srodon said the camera projected his mouth onto a giant screen in front of the theater and people in the audience were laughing. The incident lasted less than a minute, he said, and his grandson was visibly shaken and upset.
Blue Man Productions theater owner Fox Theatricals and related companies are named as defendants in the suit filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court.
"At the time the 'esophagus cam' was inserted into plaintiff's mouth, it was covered in food, liquid and grime from the Briar Street Theatre floor, including the thick blue paint used to cover the actors' faces," the suit said.
But in a written statement, Blue Man Productions said the "Esophagus Video" actually is an illusion. The camera is never placed into an audience member's mouth, and the footage projected on the screen is prerecorded medical video, according to the statement."Because the camera never enters the mouth, the execution of this illusion could not possibly put anyone at risk of injury," reads the statement.
In the statement, Blue Man Productions said the piece has been performed more than 50,000 times over 15 years. "We are disappointed that this false claim forces us to reveal the truth behind one of our most popular theatrical devices," the statement said.
Srodon is seeking damages of more than $50,000 for battery, negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Srodon's lawyer, Antonio Romanucci, said his client never asked to participate in the performance.
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