STOMP – Show Review by Margaret Hart
I had the pleasure of seeing STOMP in New York City last weekend, and I’m still thinking and talking about it. So is my husband, and my eight-year-old son, who absolutely loved it, and has been practicing his STOMP moves ever since.
To say STOMP is amazing is an understatement. I’ve been going to Broadway and off-Broadway shows for as long as I can remember: my mother took me to see my first live performance when I was about six years old. My passion for the arts grew stronger as I became an adult and when I was living in Boston, and later in New York City, I soaked in everything I could: poetry readings, plays, concerts, musicals, the ballet, the opera, Carnegie Hall, and more. While I’m not a professional critic, I’ve seen enough live performances to know when I’ve just witnessed magic, and when I’ve witnessed a mess. STOMP is magical and magnificent!
STOMP has been described as a journey through sound, a celebration of the everyday and a comic interplay of characters wordlessly communicating through dance and drum. The performers “make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound,” says co-founder/director Luke Cresswell. STOMP tells a musical story through percussion “instruments” created from everyday objects: bristle brooms, wooden poles, dustbins, tea chests, radiator hoses, hub caps, and even ski boots! In one scene, the performers, standing on stage in the dark, click Zippo lighters on and off in a synchronized rhythm, while the flames create an ethereal effect. It is soft, and I thought, spiritual. But STOMP is also loud and fiery, and funny, and surprising — you will laugh out loud during the scene with the sinks! It will make you think twice about the expression, “everything but the kitchen sink.”
STOMP is great for kids (there were some toddlers in our audience). If you want an uniquely New York, and yet universally musical and enjoyable experience, buy tickets! I am already planning to go again! STOMP has won worldwide critical acclaim and numerous awards.
Visit www.stomponline.com for US information and www.stomp.co.uk for news on the London and European companies. The Orpheum Theatre is located at 126 Second Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets. Tickets are available through www.Ticketmaster.com or at the box office. For groups of 10+, please 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: Margaret Hart, performing arts, show review, shows for kids and families, STOMP New York City
