A Novato man who attended a Blue Man Group show in San Francisco is suing the performers and the theater, claiming he was injured by a blue ball that flew into the audience.

Stan Michelman says he went a June 2011 show by the troupe, whose blue-tinted performers offer a mix of music, comedy and visual spectacle. The show was at the Golden Gate Theatre off Market Street.

“During said performance, a large blue plastic or rubber like ball was thrown into the audience without warning to Plaintiff,” wrote Michelman’s lawyer, James Proctor of San Rafael. “In an attempt to protect himself Plaintiff extended his left arm in the air to block the ball from hitting him in the face.

“Plaintiff was not provided advance warning that items would be thrown into the audience, of which he was a member.”

The lawsuit claims Michelman suffered “shock and injury to his nervous system,” “great mental, physical, and nervous pain and suffering” and loss of past and future wages. He said the medical expenses exceeded $40,000.

The lawsuit seeks damages, interest, attorney’s fees and legal costs. The defendants named in the suit include Blue Man Group, its tour management company, Golden Gate Theatre and the theater’s owner, Shorenstein Hays Nederlander.

A spokesman for the group did not provide a response to the lawsuit, and theater executives did not return calls for comment.

Michelman filed the lawsuit in his local state court, Marin Superior Court. A case management conference is scheduled for Nov. 4 before Judge Roy Chernus.

Court minutes show that Proctor, the plaintiff’s lawyer, missed a Aug. 23 deadline to file proof that the lawsuit had been served on the defendants, and he also failed to appear in court. He was ordered to appear on Sept. 23.

Proctor did not respond to calls for comment.

Blue Man Group’s stage act has resulted in at least one other lawsuit.

In 2008, James Srodon claimed he was traumatized at a show in Chicago when one Blue Man pulled his head back and another allegedly shoved a camera down his throat. A jumbo screen in the theater showed apparently live video footage from the so-called “esophagus cam” as it descended the man’s throat.

The production company denied that camera actually entered the man’s throat. The group said the incident was a trick to make audience members think they were watching the camera going down the man’s throat, when in fact the footage was from a prerecorded medical video.

“The matter was settled for nominal dollars,” said Antonio Romanucci, the lawyer who filed the suit for Sroden. “I eventually withdrew from the case.”

Contact Gary Klien via email at gklien@marinij.com or https://twitter.com/GaryKlien