I am going to be going off the beaten path a little on this review because what I am about to review is a production that is in a category all its own, going against the norm when it comes to musical productions. Imagine trying to bake a cake with just a lighter to bake it, no cooking utensils, no flour, and no sugar but ends up being one of the best cakes you have ever eaten. Well, that about sums up “Stomp”.
“Stomp” is the touring production that was created and directed by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas. The current touring company features Andrew Brought, Jonathon Elkins, Alexis Juliano, Kris Lee, Guido Mandozzi, Artis Olds, Manny Osoria, Jeremy Price, Krystal Renee, Ivan Salazar, Cade Slattery, and Simone Weedall. In a nutshell, this is a production which will blow your senses of sight and sound by not having one traditional musical instrument, not one word spoken, and no singing in any form. The whole show is a rhythmic journey of sight and sound using only items that you would find at a Home Depot store, AND IT WORKS!
There is only 1 set for the entire show, and they literally use every prop on the set to make sounds. They started off with sweeper brooms and with the sweeping and hitting them on the ground at the right pressure made a wonderful sound by adding in multiple brooms by the cast, making wonderful rhythmic sounds. From there, they use everything from tubing, newspapers, shopping carts, buckets, lighters, to even boxes of matches until the finale with metal trash cans and oil drums and even (literally) the kitchen sink! Add in the right lighting depending on the item and the mood, and it is a spectacular presentation.
The cast here is also incredible! The only issue I have is that not one word is spoken, so I did not know who was who, but they really hit it out of the park. There is one character that, if this production was tailored after our show, would be a living replica of me as the comic relief, which just made me shake my head sometimes. This production just kept on getting better and better as it went on, as I was constantly wondering what they were going to use next. This production is so enjoyable that time just flew by and before I knew it, it was over. Plain and simple: I can not recommend this enough. No matter what it takes, see “Stomp”, it is worth it and you will thank me for it later!