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STOMP! TOUR DATES
DES MOINES, IA 06/20/24 - 06/23/24 Des Moines Civic Center
CINCINNATI, OH 10/11/24 - 10/12/24 Aronoff Center
YORK, PA 10/15/24 Strand Theatre
READING, PA 10/16/24 Santander Arena
PITTSBURGH, PA 10/18/24 - 10/19/24 Benedum Center
CONWAY, AR 10/22/24 UCA Reynolds Performance Hall
EAST LANSING, MI 11/6/24 - 11/8/24 Wharton Center for the Performing Arts
MANHATTAN, KS 11/10/24 McCain Auditorium
LOWELL, MA 11/15/24 - 11/16/24 Lowell Memorial Auditorioum
CUTLER BAY, FL 11/23/24 - 11/24/24 Moss Cultural Arts Center
COLO. SPGS, CO 01/6/25 - 01/7/25 Pikes Peak Center
EUGENE, OR 01/10/25 - 01/11/25 Hult Center
NORTHRIDGE, CA 01/18/25 - 01/19/25 CSU The Soraya/YSNC
SANTA BARBARA, CA 01/21/25 Granada Theater
SEATTLE, WA 01/24/25 - 01/26/25 The Moore
CHANDLER, AZ 02/7/25 - 02/8/25 Chandler Center for the Arts
MIDLAND, MI 05/10/25 - 05/11/25 Midland Center for the Arts
DALLAS, TX 05/31/25 - 06/1/25 Winspear Opera House
ORLANDO, FL 06/6/25 - 06/7/25 Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
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Matchboxes, brooms, garbage cans, and crumpled newspapers – anything can provide rhythm.
The percussion group Stomp (stylized in all caps) proves this and more, in the latest installment of their long and award-winning theatrical run, coming to Kansas City for the weekend at Starlight Theatre. Using their bodies and found objects as instruments, the eight-member ensemble entertained under the stars for their ninety-five-minute performance, done without any intermission.
The show started across the pond in Brighton, UK in the early ‘90s, blending dance, musical numbers and of course, beats into a building presentation that gets more impressive as it goes. The show began its US run in NYC in 1994, finally closing in January of last year after over 11,000 performances but has expanded internationally and toured semi-regularly throughout North America.
The show is one of a kind and for all ages, with not so much a central storyline, as a series of street performances and skits, all performed wordlessly, so audiences young and old, and from any culture, can experience the humor and awe of each number. And by using “found objects” (similar to Blue Man Group), the audience can easily relate to the most common pieces found in everyday life, can be worked together to create a rhythmic beat.
Without giving too much away, performances include percussive rhythms created with push brooms, plastic tubing, newspapers, Zippo lighters, moving on sawdust, trash can lids, and 55gal. drums, inner tubes, and even shopping carts. The cast members even scale the set to provide a couple numbers while suspended in the air, and it isn’t until near the end, to see why the group is really called “STOMP”.
We saw the production about fifteen years ago in Minneapolis and were as entertain then, as now, proving the seemingly simple idea of making an organized “bang and a clatter’” on simple everyday objects, really can be compelling and entertaining.
STOMP (again similar to Blue Man) is one of those performance shows that both Broadway fans, and those that don’t regularly go to the theater, can enjoy, and because of the universality of its themes and skits, can be identified with, by those young and old. It’s become a theater ‘classic’ everyone should experience at least once, to see and feel the rhythm.
STOMP plays in Kansas City at Starlight Theatre through Sunday, June 16 with Tickets available here: Events | Kansas City Starlight Theatre (kcstarlight.com)
(National Tour Photos provided by their website) / Click on any image to enlarge and see in full)
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| john c ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ X / Twitter.com |
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