'Stomp' making return to Long Beach

LONG BEACH - "Stomp," the international sensation, will make its return to Long Beach at the Long Beach Terrace Theatre May 22-23.The return of the percussive hit also brings some new surprises, with some sections of the show now updated and restructured. "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." 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, show 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 climatic trash can 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 14 years, having performed in more than 350 cities in 36 countries worldwide. "Stomp" continues its run with the ongoing Broadway production at New York's Orpheum Theatre, a North American tour, and two productions overseas - a London company and a European tour. A production in Las Vegas from "Stomp's" creators, "Stomp Out Loud," is now playing at Planet Hollywood. Tickets to "Stomp" in Long Beach are priced between $27.50 and $47.50 and are available at the Long Beach Terrace Theatre box office or all Ticketmaster outlets.

********** Published: May 15, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 4