Friends Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton (collectively referred to by the fan community as CMP or ChrisMattPhil) conceived the idea during the 1980s while in New York City. They began appearing on the streets in Blue Man regalia, performing for passersby and staging unusual events such as The Funeral for the 80s, and doing short bits as part of the underground cabarets of Tom Murrin, The Alien Comic, in "The CLUB" at La MaMa Experimental Theater Club. Meryl Vladimer, the Artistic Director of The CLUB, saw their work and commissioned Blue Man Group to create a full-length show. The resulting piece, TUBES, took off after Vladimer persuaded The New York Times critic Stephen Holden to review it. Blue Man Group's popularity continued to snowball, eventually winning CMP an Obie Award and a Lucille Lortel Award, which led producers to take the show to off-Broadway. TUBES opened in 1991 at the Astor Place Theatre. This show, and frequent appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, enabled CMP and Blue Man Group team to open similar productions and expand their concepts into other kinds of performances.