REVIEW: Stomp in Chicago!

We saw STOMP last night.  It's going to be at the Broadway Playhouse in at Water Tower Place through January 1, 2017.

DISCLOSURE: I received free tickets to attend this event in order to write about it.  My review of the show is not influenced by the freeness of the tickets.  I take my credibility seriously, and so should you!

The show is stellar.  It's been performing on stages pretty much continuously since it opened in 1991. They currently have 4 productions of the show-- a NY show, a London show, a North American tour, and a European tour.  They've won numerous awards, been on lots of television shows, and have won the hearts of just about everybody who's ever seen it.

For those who have been living under a rock, STOMP is a percussion show that features 8 performers who bang, hit, slide, and otherwise play on just about everything on stage that ISN'T a percussion instrument.  A small sample of what they use in the production include matchboxes, brooms, wooden poles, Zippo lighters, hubcaps, mini-basketballs, plastic tubes, garbage cans, and shopping carts, just to name a few. The performers are immensely skilled, and can pull complex rhythms from just about anything.

Here's a video of the show.  PLEASE NOTE: The performers in the current show are different than the ones in the video.  Many of the acts/numbers however, are the same.

As you can see from the above video, not only are their rhythms great, their teamwork is also wonderful.  They are so in synch with one another that even though they are playing really complicated counterpoints and rhythms , they all manage to stop, start, and switch it up multiple times in one number without missing a (pardon the pun) beat.

The performances here are filled with virtuosity and humor.  It's clear these guys (and girls) have been doing the show for a long time, and are expert at it.  The interaction between characters and the audience is fantastic.

The show has virtually no words, although there is some grunting.  There is a fair amount of call and response from the audience. and our audience was so into it that there was an extended encore.

This is a definite crowd-pleaser kind of show, and I believe that your crowd will be pleased.

It's great for kids of all ages, although probably 6+, as there are LOTS of loud noises that might frighten or startle a less experienced child.  This would also make a great date night.

As we left the theatre and took the bus back, all the noises around us - the cars streaming by the bus stop, the little noise the bus stop makes, the horses clacking away in the background-- all started to organize themselves into an amazing STOMP-rhythm of their own.

We had a great time at #stomp! What a fantastic show! I hadn't seen it in a while, and it was so full of energy and virtuosity! @broadwayinchicago. As we are waiting for the bus, all the sounds around us are organizing into a rhythm!

A photo posted by Adam G (@kafclown) on Nov 20, 2016 at 6:00pm PST

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for STOMP at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place are on sale now. A select number of premium tickets are available for many performances. Tickets range from $39-$84.

Group tickets for 10 or more are available by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710.
Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St., 18 W. Monroe St. and 175 E. Chestnut), the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000, all Ticketmaster retail locations and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com.