Stomp Throws Down in Sacramento

Stomp’s explosive performance shattered the halls of the community center theater in a post-Christmas melody of rhythmic sound. A touring production of "Stomp" first visited Sacramento in December 1998. Ten years later, the show has updated and modified some sections and added two new full-scale routines. The cast of eight included John Angeles, Shola Cole, Harmony Costa, Antwan Davis, Brad Holland, Louis Labovitch, Guy Mandozzi and Justin Myles, plus Michelle Dorrance, Michael R. Landis, Elec Simon and Nicholas Young, joining in a performance that throws in everything, including the kitchen sink – actually, several sinks to get the crowd involved.

"Stomp" was originally created by Steve McNicholas, and Luke Cresswell on the streets of Brighton, England, in the summer of 1991. Using no actual musical instruments, only "found" ones – garbage cans, boxes, pieces of wood and pipe – the two banged out a show that has now been performed in more than 350 cities in three dozen countries around the world.

The set is made to look like a vertical junkyard, a wall of fencing and metal sheets hung with hubcaps, and highway signs. Empty oil drums and plastic tubs sit on the floor at the base of it. With so many “found” instruments to be used the cast also goes through quite a bit as well, in just a week the expired tools of the trade are: 30 brooms, 8 garage lids, 15 pounds of sand, 12 pairs of drumsticks, 200 liters of water, 8 banana, 12 boxes of matches, 5 kitchen sinks, 8 Zippo lighters.

There is no storyline to this concert, just a series of vignettes, percussive competitions and humorous sketches all illustrating the theme that art can be made out of anything, and that anyone can do it. One of the funniest running elements of the show encourages audience participation in the rhythmic repetition of claps and stomps, to which a horribly tone-deaf audience attempts to follow along.


As their reputation precedes them check them out while there still here from Dec 26th- Jan 4th, info for tickets and details can be found at http://www.californiamusicaltheatre.com/index.cfm?page=603152.