In a case of illusion allegedly becoming reality, a Los Angeles man has sued the Blue Man Group theatrical act for shoving a camera down his throat during the “Esophagus Video” portion of its show.

James Srodon, 65, attended a Blue Man Group show at a Chicago theater in October 2006. The group consists of a trio of mute performers whose act includes experimental rock music, performance art and audience participation.

According to Srodon, things went painfully awry when the blue men chose him to participate in their “Esophagus Video.”

One of the actors, he alleges in a battery complaint filed last week, “intentionally forced the 'esophagus cam' into the mouth of Plaintiff” and, as he struggled to free himself, he was “forcibly restrained.”

“[A]n image of Plaintiff James Srodon's mouth and throat was then projected onto a large screen for all other audience members to see, including Plaintiff's 8 year old grandson,” the suit says. Srodon is seeking at least $50,000 in damages for injuries to his throat, mouth and dental work and for emotional distress.

A battery claim requires that the defendant touched the plaintiff with an intent to harm or offend, the touching was nonconsensual, and the plaintiff was harmed or offended by the defendant's conduct. Srodon also alleges the Blue Man Group negligently “failed to warn patrons ... of dangerous interactive stunts with the audience.”

But the group says there wasn't even a touching since the camera never really entered Srodon's mouth. The actor holding the camera places his hands “near an audience member's mouth (not on or in),” it explained in a statement, and

The live-feed video screen then switches to a pre-recorded medical video, resulting in the hilarious and absurd illusion that the audience is peering down an individual's esophagus. Because the camera never enters the mouth, the execution of this illusion could not possibly put anyone at risk of injury.

If it really wasn't Srodon's esophagus that the audience saw, could he still have a claim? His lawyer, Antonio M. Romanucci of Chicago, refused to back off the lawsuit's allegations, telling the Chicago Tribune that while the act might usually be a harmless illusion, it was a "stunt that went too far" for Srodon.

Doctors who examined Srodon after he returned to Los Angeles concluded that he suffered a “traumatic contusion” to his esophagus, Romanucci said.

“It was a very unsettling feeling," Srodon recalled. "I couldn't eat. I couldn't swallow anything ... It was just awful.”

By Matthew Heller
2/2/08