What began as a UK street performance and has since become an international sensation now has made its way back to ASU’s Gammage auditorium.
The show Stomp is a high-energy percussion performance sans the typical instruments.
Instead, the cast performs various acts with different common household items including brooms, trash cans, lighters, tires, plastic bags, plungers and more to create unique sounds.
“The show is very visual and physical. It is comparable to a pounding, rhythmic ‘Cirque du Soleil’ with something to look at all the time. The performers ‘dance’ in and among the instruments, utilizing every inch of the stage,” says Michael Porto in an email interview. Porto is the Director of Communications at Gammage.
The performance runs 90 minutes without an intermission, storyline or even a single spoken word.
However, Porto says the nonstop show keeps the audience engaged.
“There is no ‘plot’ or story needed in a traditional sense. The appeal is in the inventiveness of the creation of music and sounds out of objects not typically used to make musical sounds and in the energetic, skilled performances,” Porto says, calling it a “feast for the eyes and ears.”
The show last made an appearance at Gammage in 2006.
Porto says that the show is a great addition to the 2008-2009 season because it appeals to all ages and a wide variety of audiences who might not otherwise attend one of the musicals or plays often featured at Gammage. Additionally, Porto says many who have seen Stomp return to see it again.
That is the case for computer information systems senior Kyle Wilkinson, who has seen Stomp several times, the first of which was a video of the group’s performance in eighth grade.
Wilkinson says it sparked his interest in music and playing instruments after his class watched a video performance of the group and had an assignment to create their own rythems and beats using unorthodox instruments and items of their own.
“It was amazing. I love it.” Wilkinson says. “It’s just an original concept something that hasn’t been done before, as far as I know.”
Stomp has been performed in over 350 cities in 36 countries, winning many awards along the way.
Co-creator and co-director Luke Cresswell says in a press release the show has changed overtime, losing some pieces while gaining others. However, Cresswell says it has “always stayed true to the original premise of the show: to create rhythmic music with instantly recognizable objects, and do it with an eccentric sense of character and humor.”
Two new routines have been added to the act being shown at Gammage this week, as well as a restructuring and update of the some of the show’s previous acts, so newcomers and returning fans alike are sure to be entertained.
If you go:
When: Various showtimes throughout the week of May 5-May 10
Ticket prices: $23.25-$63.50. Tickets will also be sold at the door on a best-available basis.
For more information or to order tickets visit asugammage.com or call 480.965.5062.
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