I was back at the Shubert last night to see the road version of Stomp, which has a lovely website running video from the show on the front page. I felt like I must be the last theater person on earth to see this show; my own mother exclaimed on the phone "but I saw that ten years ago!" Well, yes, mom, but you didn't invite me, did you? I went with four local dance friends.
Stomp isn't standard theatrical fare. It's an all-percussion performance with no spoken lines at all, though the ability of the cast to convey humorous little personal interactions purely by body language was impressive. Likewise, the sheer range of stuff they used to make noises (banging, swishing, thumping, etc.) This included everything from the push brooms of the opening number to the giant trash cans and can lids of the finale. It wasn't the proverbial everything but the kitchen sink; one number actually used several kitchen sinks. They were attached to harnesses so they could be carried around by the performers and filled partly with water, the draining of which became a comedy routine all by itself. They even used sand to make noise by sliding their feet through it (reminding me of some social dancers...) The cast also brought the audience into the show by starting up call-and-response clapping several times.
Stomp isn't really my kind of show; it's more body than brain. But the performers were very skillful, and there's something viscerally exciting about all that pounding and thumping. I was reminded at times of the Thunder Dance of David Brin's Uplifted chimpanzees in The Uplift War. It probably would have been even better had we not been seated in the last row of the rear balcony. So I liked the big crashing numbers better than the quieter ones, though I was impressed by the ability of the performers to get so much noise out of newspaper, paper bags, whisk brooms, lighters, etc. I had a good time overall, but it wasn't one of those evenings where I was totally swept away by the magic of theater.
I can't call out individual performers by name because the program had no pictures and lists more cast members than actually were on stage; presumably they rotate people in and out.
Favorite bits because I'm a dance geek:
- the folding chairs number where they sent pairs of chairs sliding across a circle; all I could think of were figures from the Polo quadrille (all four ladies cross at once) and Mrs. Henderson's Double Quadrille (head ladies cross by the right, sides same, heads by the left, sides same). It's not just me; fellow quadrille-dancer Irene had the same thought!
- the "quarterstaff" number and one of the drumstick numbers, which both reminded me of Arbeau's Buffens. In the drumstick number the way they would rapidly switch directions while coordinating blows against other people's sticks really impressed me.
Other favorite bits just because:
- the big drum number where the performers were swinging back and forth in harnesses
- the giant inner tubes
- the water cooler bottles
You can see moments from several of these in the running video on the show website.
As a side note: I was pretty unimpressed with the audience. Not only did people talk almost continuously, but the number of people recording the performance on their cellphones was startling. From the back, you can see all those little glowing screens quite clearly, and the security people weren't catching them all. It's rude, it's distracting, and it's against the rules. I guess some people don't think either rules or manners apply to them.
I still haven't seen it either.
Posted by: Jeff | March 19, 2009 at 01:21 PM
Well, I suspect it will play in NYC forever, and the touring show might come your way sometime, so you will have the chance if you want it.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | March 19, 2009 at 01:28 PM
the sheer range of stuff they used to make noises (banging, swishing, thumping, etc.)
That reminds me of Gene Kelly's Summer Stock when he launches into a number involving one of the stage's squeaky planks and some newspapers on the ground.
Posted by: Serge | March 19, 2009 at 01:49 PM
Weirdly enough, I was just watching a scene from that on YouTube which claimed to be the dance "Portland Fancy," but as far as I can tell wasn't.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | March 19, 2009 at 02:07 PM