Stomp

Stomp

By Madelyn Miller, the TravelLady

Not everyone would be thrilled to get in their seat for a musical and suddenly see and hear brooms sweeping, garbage can lids clanging, and various other everyday items used as musical instruments. This is definitely a non-traditional musical experience.

I have the perfect guest to take to Stomp. Patrick Gary plays 13 instruments and has been part of several bands. You can even hear him perform. Check out his website http://donttellmamaband.org/bandmembers-bios-3/

But back to Stomp.

STOMP, the international sensation, is making its triumphant return to Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, at the Music Hall at Fair Park June 7-12, 2011. Tickets, priced from $15-$75, are available at the Box Office, 5959 Royal Lane, #542 in Preston Royal Shopping Center; or at any Ticketmaster outlet. Tickets are also available by calling 1-800-982-ARTS, or purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com. For groups of 15 or more, please call 214-426-GROUP.

The return of the percussive hit also brings some new surprises, with some sections of the show now updated and restructured and the addition of two new full-scale routines, utilizing props like tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans.

“After creating new routines for STOMP OUT LOUD in Vegas, [co-creator] Luke Cresswell and I decided it was time to rework elements of our main production, STOMP,” said co-creator Steve McNicholas. “STOMP has evolved a great deal ever since its first incarnation at the Edinburgh Festival. Every reworking has involved losing some pieces and gaining new ones, but 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.”

THE SMASH HIT RETURNS
TO DALLAS SUMMER MUSICALS WITH NEW SURPRISES


The changes that can now be seen in the tour of STOMP are the biggest since the late 1990s. A new piece, “Paint Cans,” evolved out of the “Boxes” routine in the Las Vegas show, and “Donuts” is a piece that implements huge tractor tire inner tubes, worn around the waist on a bungee cord. For many years, the creators had looked for a STOMP equivalent of the Latin percussion instrument the guiro, a gourd-shaped open-ended instrument with ridges along the side that are rubbed by a wooden stick to create its sound. The climactic trashcan sequence, “Bins,” has been restructured to include a guiro-like new found instrument: strip-lighting recycling containers.

From its beginnings as a street performance in the UK, STOMP has grown into an international sensation over the past fourteen years, having performed in over 350 cities in 36 countries worldwide. STOMP continues its phenomenal run with the ongoing sell-out Off-Broadway production at New York's Orpheum Theatre, a North American tour, and two productions overseas - a London company and a European tour.

STOMP, an overwhelming success marked by rave reviews, numerous awards and sell-out engagements, is the winner of an Olivier Award for Best Choreography (London's Tony Award), a New York Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience, and a Special Citation from Best Plays. The young performers “make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound,” says co-creator/director Luke Cresswell. Stiff-bristle brooms become a sweeping orchestra; Zippo lighters flip open and closed to create a fiery fugue; wooden poles thump and clack in a rhythmic explosion. STOMP uses everything but conventional percussion instruments – trashcans, tea chests, plastic bags, plungers, boots, and hubcaps – to fill the stage with compelling and infectious rhythms.

Critics and audiences have raved: “STOMP is as crisp and exuberant as if it had opened yesterday,” says The New York Times. The San Francisco Chronicle declares “STOMP has a beat that just won’t quit!” The Los Angeles Times exclaims: “Electrifying! Triumphs in the infinite variety of the human experience.” “A phenomenal show! Bashing, crashing, smashing, swishing, banging and kicking – a joyous invention!” says the Chicago Tribune.

STOMP is directed and created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas. For more information about the show, please visit www.stomponline.com.

STOMP returns to the Music Hall at Fair Park from Tuesday, June 7 through Sunday, June 12, on the following schedule:

Tuesday June 7 8 p.m. opening night
Wednesday June 8 8 p.m.
Thursday June 9 8 p.m.
Friday June 10 8 p.m.
Saturday June 11 2 and 8 p.m.
Sunday June 12 2 and 8 p.m.


WHAT I THOUGHT OF PREVIOUS STOMP PERFORMANCES IN DALLAS

http://www.travellady.com/Issues/Issue67/stomp.htm

http://www.travellady.com/Articles/article-titas.html

http://www.travellady.com/Issues/June08/5083Stomp.htm

HOW CAN YOU TOP STOMP? HERE’S WHAT THE DSM HAS PLANNED

The following shows are also part of the DSM 2011 season at the Music Hall at Fair Park. Pick A Packs that include any three DSM shows are still available, starting as low as $36. For more information, please visit www.dallassummermusicals.org.

MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT, June 14-26, 2011. The second coming of Broadway’s #1 Musical Comedy Smash, called “A No-Holds-Barred Smash Hit” by The New Yorker. The funniest show on earth is back to taunt Dallas for a second time. Winner of the 2005 Tony® Award for Best Musical, SPAMALOT, the musical comedy sensation lovingly ripped off from the film classic “Monty Python and The Holy Grail,” now returns to spread laughter and cheer throughout the kingdom.

GUYS AND DOLLS, July 19-31, 2011. Big League Productions is proud to announce a sparkling new production of the timeless Broadway classic, GUYS AND DOLLS. Set in Damon Runyon’s mythical New York City, this oddball romantic comedy—considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy—soars with the spirit of Broadway as it introduces us to the cast of vivid characters who have become legends in the canon. The New York Times calls it “The show that defines Broadway dazzle!”

WEST SIDE STORY, October 4-23, 2011, is also the 2011 State Fair of Texas musical. More than fifty years ago one musical changed theater forever. Now it's back, and mesmerizing audiences once again. From the first note to the final breath, WEST SIDE STORY soars as the greatest love story of all time. Directed by David Saint, using Tony Award-winning librettist Arthur Laurents’ Broadway direction, WEST SIDE STORY remains as powerful, poignant and timely as ever. The new Broadway cast album of WEST SIDE STORY recently won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. The Bernstein and Sondheim score is considered to be one of Broadway's finest and features such classics of the American musical theatre as "Something's Coming," "Tonight," "America," "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere."

“So exciting IT MAKES YOU ACHE WITH PLEASURE” –John Lahr, The New Yorker

Season sponsors for Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, are The Dallas Morning News, WFAA TV Channel 8, American Airlines, and Texas Instruments. For more information about Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, visit their website at www.dallassummermusicals.org or call (214) 421-5678.

Madelyn Miller is a travel and food writer who loves musicals. Read her stories on www.travellady.com, www.carladynews.com, www.yogayaya.com, www.cocktailatlas.com, www.chocolateatlas.com, www.coffeeatlas.com, www.teaAtlas.com