Pieces of tin, aluminum trash cans and old plastic buckets are what many would find in a junkyard, but for the cast of “Stomp” items like these serve as the tools for their music-making.
The percussive hit “Stomp” opened on Jan. 6 at Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa to a packed auditorium and did not disappoint. Using everything but actual percussion instruments, “Stomp” is a unique performance that shows that music can be made out of anything.
The show begins with a cast member sweeping the stage with a push broom. As other cast members join him on stage – each with his own push broom – their movements become a rhythmic cadence.
This high-energy opening cadence paves the way for other awesome and hilarious performances throughout the show.
In one particular performance, cast members use long wooden poles in a kung fu-like fashion. This well-choreographed number is extremely fun to watch and the perfectly synchronized moves make for a piece to remember.
The cast also drums out a cadence on paint cans while juggling the cans with each other in a complex pattern – all without missing a beat.
Cast members encourage audience participation through a “repeat-after-me” series of rhythmic claps.
The set is a wall of aluminum pots and pans, buckets, pieces of tin, old road signs and other items found in a junkyard. The cast utilizes this set-up throughout the show, even strapping themselves to its side and drumming on the various items in a Blue Man Group-like fashion – minus the neon and paint.
“Stomp” was created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas in Brighton, England and began its legacy as a street performance. It is now performed internationally in three dozen countries.
This unique and highly entertaining show will be at Segerstrom Hall until Jan. 11.