[NEohioPAL] Berko review: STOMP @ The Palace

[Roy Berko]

STOMP lives up to its reputation as the Most Unique Theatre Experience

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview 
Times

--coolcleveland.com-

How is it possible to take a bunch of broomsticks, pots and pans, garbage cans, 
kitchen sinks, water, plastic bags, Zippo lighters, brooms, dustpans, drums, and 
car parts, combine them with a troop of performers who don't sing, say lines or 
do any form of traditional dancing, and create a show that has toured the world 
for twenty years to sold out audiences.  Audiences who come back time and time 
again to experience the goings on?  If you are Steve McNicholas and Luke 
Cresswell you find a way…and you name it STOMP.

The sounds, which really can't be called music in the traditional sense, focus 
on percussive beats, rhythm and patterns.  

How does the audience react?  At the end of the production they screamed, and 
then screamed for more.  

On the way out, Alex, my 15 year-old grandson, shouted over the audience 
excitement, “That was really, really good!”  Musically, he should know.  A 
pianist and composer, he was recently informed that he was the second place 
winner in the 2011 National Federation Of Music Clubs/The Ohio Federation Of 
Music Clubs Junior Composers Contest.

Alex enjoyed the combination of musical creation and humor.  As he said, “It's 
pretty hard to hold an audience's attention with just percussion, but they did 
it.  They also had a theme that carried throughout, including each performer 
having a unique role.”  He was so enamored by their sound that as he was 
listening, he was composing a percussion composition.  My only wish is that he 
use drums, bells, and shakers instead of my hubcaps and his grandmother's soup 
pots.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   The New York Drama Desk gave STOMP its award for  Most 
Unique Theatre Experience.  They were right on with that designation.  It's a 
performance well worth seeing!

Tickets for STOMP, which runs through March 20 at the Palace Theatre, can be 
ordered by calling 216-241-6000 or going to www.playhousesquare.org. 
 
Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 
2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at 
http://royberko.info.  His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com 
and www.NeOHIOpal