International Percussion Sensation Comes to the Ford Center

STOMP, the international percussion sensation, comes to the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 29.

From its beginnings as a street performance in the UK, STOMP has grown into an international sensation over the past 20 years, having performed in more than 50 countries and in front of more than 24 million people.

STOMP is a great show for the whole family. Synchronized stiff-bristle brooms become a sweeping orchestra, eight 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 – dustbins, tea chests, radiator hoses, boots, hub caps – to fill the stage with a compelling and unique act that is often imitated but never duplicated.

Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, STOMP continues its phenomenal run with four global productions: the ongoing sell-out production at New York’s Orpheum Theatre, a permanent London company, and North American and European tours.

Throughout its life, the show has continued to change by creating new material; this performance will incorporate two new pieces. You may never again look at supermarket carts or plumbing fixtures the same way … or paint cans … or kitchen sinks.

An overwhelming success marked by rave reviews, numerous awards, and sell-out engagements, STOMP 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 performers “make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound,” said co-founder/director Luke Cresswell.

A unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy, STOMP has created its own inimitable, contemporary form of rhythmic expression: both household and industrial objects find new life as musical instruments in the hands of an idiosyncratic band of body percussionists. It is a journey through sound, a celebration of the every day, and a comic interplay of characters wordlessly communicating through dance and drum.

Tickets are $35-$50 depending on seating and are available by calling 662-915-7411, online at www.fordcenter.org or at the Ford Center Box Office, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Staff report