Stomp (theatrical show)
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Stomp | |
---|---|
Genre | Physical theatre |
Show type | Off-Broadway, West End, touring |
Date of premiere | 1991 |
Location | Orpheum Theatre, New York Ambassadors Theatre, London Touring |
Creative team | |
Co-creators | Steve McNicholas and Luke Cresswell |
Official website |
Stomp (stylized as STOMP) is a percussion group, originating in Brighton, England, that uses the body and ordinary objects to create a physical theatre performance using rhythms, acrobatics and pantomime.
History and performances
1990–98
Stomp was created by Steve McNicholas and Luke Cresswell in 1991. The performers use a variety of everyday objects as percussion instruments in their shows.[1]
Cresswell and McNicholas first worked together in 1981 as members of the street band
In 1986, Cresswell formed the Urban Warriors, a 'junkpercussion duo'[2] with Benjamin Frederick Tin, a Liverpool drummer also based in Brighton. Cresswell later said, "Two of us would do street work, beating the hell out of each other with sticks and armour made out of bits of metal."[3] The Urban Warriors appeared on the 1986 children's television show No.73 and the Tube with Jools Holland. Their performance on No.73 can be seen on YouTube. Tin also appeared in the Heineken advert, playing a drum solo on dustbin lids.
Between 1987 and 1990, Cresswell directed and staged four large-scale outdoor events, including "Beat the Clyde", which involved floating a drum orchestra on a pontoon in the centre of Glasgow; The largest of these events, the "Heineken Hove Lagoon Show", involved a 120 piece drum orchestra featuring the Brighton Festival Chorus and a full orchestral string section.[citation needed]
In the summer of 1991, Cresswell and McNicholas produced, financed, and directed the original Stomp show, previewing at London's
Between 1991 and 1994, the original cast of Stomp played to capacity audiences around the world. The touring culminated in a season at
Stomp began its run at the Orpheum Theatre in New York City in February 1994 winning an Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award for Most Unique Theatre Experience. By the summer of 1994, the first American cast was in place at the Orpheum, freeing the original cast for a tour of North America and Japan. The cast appeared on General Hospital in 1994.
An extended version of Stomp, involving up to 30 cast members, was originally created for the Brighton Festival and was subsequently presented in Melbourne. It was most recently seen in September 1995 in an open-air production at the Acropolis in Athens and at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
In October 1995, Stomp appeared on an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.[6]
One by one, the entire cast was interviewed by Space Ghost on the Cartoon Network television sitcom Space Ghost Coast to Coast and appeared on Reading Rainbow in 1996.
The cast cameoed on the seventh season of Mad About You, Season 7, Episode 5, "The Silent Show," 10 November 1998.
2000–present
Stomp performed at the Lincoln Memorial at the Millennium celebrations of US President Bill Clinton. During 2000, a Sesame Street special "Let's Make Music", a collaboration between Stomp and the Muppets, was released on TV and video in North America.
Cresswell and McNicholas began production of their
In September 2002, Stomp entered London's
In 2003, a
In 2006, Stomp's New York production passed its 5000th performance mark. In the same year, Cresswell and McNicholas directed a public service announcement for television called "Stomp Out Litter", which featured the cast "sweeping up" at iconic locations in the five boroughs. They also began filming an IMAX 3D movie about South Africa's Sardine run, released in early 2008.
In addition, they were commissioned to create and produce Pandemonium: the Lost and Found Orchestra, which takes the ideas behind Stomp to a symphonic level, in celebration of 40 years of the Brighton Festival. The LFO subsequently performed at the Sydney Opera House as part of the Sydney Festival early in 2007 and at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The show was reworked and renamed for a US tour in 2010: Pandemonium: the Lost and Found Orchestra.
In 2007, Stomp Out Loud opened in
In August 2012, Stomp contributed to the musical segment of the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London.
"
In October 2017, the show’s creators, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, announced that the London show would end its 15-year run in January 2018 but were quoted in an article in The Stage as stating that "its closure would not mark the end of Stomp in London."[7]
In July 2019, Stomp was the subject of the
Stomp were unable to perform in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In December 2022 the New York production posted its closing notice, shuttering on 8 January 2023 after over 11,000 performances.[8][9][10]
See also
- Stomp Out Loud
- Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
- Cookin'
- Blue Man Group
- GEAR
References
- ^ "Stomp comes to The Mayflower this September". Music & Culture News. 19 June 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013.
- ^ Merilyn Jackson, 'Pound of Music', Phoenix New Times, 17 June 2001
- ^ Interview with Cresswell at CulturenorthernIreland.org, 15 December 2009
- ^ "Youtube AHC Advertisement for apples". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Australian Horticultural Corporation - Report - 1993-1994". Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- season 26, episode 5), PBS, 20 October 1995.
- ^ The Stage https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2017/stomp-to-close-in-west-end-after-15-years/
- ^ White, Abbey; Huston, Caitlin (6 December 2022). "'Stomp' to Close After Nearly Three Decades Off-Broadway". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- ^ Feldman, Adam (6 December 2022). "Stomp is closing after nearly 30 years". Time Out New York. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
- National Public Radio. Retrieved 16 October 2023.