ROBIN’S SHOW RECOMMENDATION: STOMP
STOMP is the winner of an Olivier Award for Best Choreography (London’s Tony Award); an Obie Award; a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience, and a Special Citation from Best Plays.
The performers “make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound,” says co-founder/director Luke Cresswell. A unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy, STOMP has created its own inimitable, contemporary form of rhythmic expression: both household and industrial objects find new life as musical instruments in the hands of an idiosyncratic band of young, muscled male and female body percussionists. It is a journey through sound, a celebration of the everyday and a comic interplay of characters wordlessly communicating through dance and drum.
In a nutshell….STOMP is a blast! You might want to bring along ear plugs…..but it’s a feast for the eyes and ears….and a truly unique experience, for adults and kids. There was irreverent humor woven into some of the vignettes that were charming and well as thoroughly engaging. It’s easy to see why STOMP has become such a performance fixture, and if you haven’t already seen it, it’s a must see! And, if you have gone but didn’t take your kids, it’s definitely something they would enjoy. My 10 year old son laughed and marveled! As long as he doesn’t make a drum out of our garbage cans, we’re in good shape.
Synchronized stiff-bristle brooms become a sweeping orchestra, eight Zippo lighters flip open and closed to create a fiery fugue; wooden poles thump and clack in a rhythmic explosion. STOMP uses everything but conventional percussion instruments – dustbins, tea chests, radiator hoses, boots, hub caps….you name it.
STOMP plays New York’s Orpheum Theatre, 126 Second Avenue at 8th Street in the east village. Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, STOMP is currently playing in New York, London’s West End, on North American and European tours.
Visit www.stomponline.com for US information and www.stomp.co.uk for news on the London and European companies.
Tickets are available through www.Ticketmaster.com or at the box office. For groups of 10+, call toll free 855-203-9980. STOMP currently plays in New York on the following schedule: Tue-Fri at 8 PM, Sat at 3 & 8 PM, Sun at 2 & 5:30 PM. Tickets are $78 at all performances except Sunday at 5:30 when they are $48. Its running time is 1 hour 40 minutes.
Tags: family theatre, New York City, off broadway, productions for children, stomp
