What if you could make as much noise as you wanted? And what if you could take all your pent-up energy/stress/passion/cabin-fever/antsy-ness and just get it all out in a healthy, fun way? Let STOMP be your inspiration. The wordless, but filled-to-the-brim, very communicative, show is currently playing in Denver at the Buell Theatre, February 21-26, 2023.
Watching STOMP is like getting in touch with your inner child – the one who wants to grab onto a grocery cart and sail down the aisles. Or the one who wants to sit on the kitchen floor with a wooden spoon and start banging on every pot and pan with wild abandon. Anything can be a drum or make noise or rhythm when you’re in the presence of the crew from STOMP. I will never again think the same way about work boots, matchboxes, push brooms, sand, trash cans, dust pans, and, literally, the kitchen sink.
The performers, working in an ensemble and small groupings, use everyday objects to make music and rhythm. When the show needs new supplies, it must be easy and cheap to re-stock. Just hit alleys, junk yards and hardware stores. The group is so cohesive that, although being responsible for individual parts, they create a whole that is pulsating and mesmerizing. They toss tubes and cans at each other with such ease and confidence, it’s like everything is connected by invisible wires.
Although the troupe is dressed in raggedy work clothes and work boots (some duct-taped up), I couldn’t help but see connections to their predecessors in tap dancing, flamenco, and modern dance. They all come together in a primal, raw-but-controlled explosion on stage.
STOMP is a consuming, whole-body experience that needs to be had. It’s funny, with likeable characters developed solely through body language since not a word is spoken. That’s quite an accomplishment!
Some of the numbers are quiet and mellow with newspaper and plastic bags creating the extent of the noise. But it does build too with giant oil drums, trash can lids, signs and pots and pans being clanged and banged so that you literally feel it in your bones! I’m positive my heartbeat changed with the beat. Thank goodness for the change up in noise level because the loud ones get to be a bit much after awhile. In fact, I’d say about three numbers could really be cut from the show and it would still be excellent.
My favorite segments were (and remain after seeing the show three times now) the kitchen sinks, the giant drums, and the swaying-and-bouncing from scaffolding while banging gently and fervently on bars, signs, tubs, and hubcaps. It’s a junk yard fury that is wild and yet graceful and beautiful!
Perhaps the best part about STOMP is that it is about looking at ordinary things in extraordinary ways and just having fun! Absorb the lesson I took from the show: think outside the box and find simple joys wherever you can. STOMP will have you looking anew at washing the dishes, sweeping the floor, cleaning out the garage, recycling, and going to the hardware store! Make some noise and have free-form fun! Let STOMP inspire you.
Hurry and buy tickets by calling 303-893-4100 or visit www.denvercenter.org, the only authorized online ticket provider for this production in Denver.
Comments are closed.