The Rollicking Percussion Sensation is in Town for 5 Performances this Weekend
Famed international percussion performance STOMP returns to San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts for a limited five-performance engagement May 4–6, 2018.
From its start as street performances in the UK the idea for STOMP has been about energy and using what’s available to create a unique sound and feeling for audiences.
According to co- founder/director Luke Cresswell, the performers, “make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound.” This unique combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy that STOMP generates has created its own inimitable, contemporary form of rhythmic expression. The performances allow for both household and industrial objects to find new life as musical instruments through the efforts of the eclectic body percussionists.
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.
The last set of performances of STOMP in San Jose back in 2011 were in front of sold-out crowds. Since its inception 20 years ago, STOMP has become an international sensation, having performed in more than 50 countries and in front of more than 24 million people.
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.
The five performances scheduled for the San Jose engagement of STOMP are as follows: Friday, May 4 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 5 at 2 & 8 p.m.; Sunday, May 6 at 1 & 6:30 p.m. Tickets for STOMP ($38–$128) are available online at www.ticketmaster.com, in-person at the City National Civic Theatre Box Office (150 West San Carlos Street), or by calling 800-982-ARTS (2787). Broadway San Jose subscribers can add STOMP to their package by calling the Broadway San Jose Subscriber line at 866-395-2929. (Ticket prices are subject to change without notice.)
