Off-Broadway's Stomp Celebrates 10 Years in New York, March 14

By Ernio Hernandez
11 Mar 2004

Stomp, which officially marked its 10th year Off-Broadway Feb. 28, will celebrate the anniversary at the Orpheum Theatre March 14 with all but one of the original eight cast members, plus other alumni.

Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas created the wordless (and thus, universal) Stomp, the show about banging everything from Zippo lighters to brooms to plungers to hubcaps. It opened in New York City in 1994 and has played over 4,000 performances.

Original cast members Cresswell, Nick Dwyer, Sarah Eddy, Theseus Gerard, Fraser Morrison, David Olrod, Carl Smith, Neil Tiplady and Fiona Wilkes will all be present to take part in the festivities. (Dwyer, who is unable to attend, will be there in the form of a life-size, stand-up photo of him.) Many other Stomp alumni will also be on hand.

The show has spawned international tours and regional productions (having played to over 8.3 million people in 38 countries), an Academy Award-nominated short, an Emmy Award-winning HBO special, "Stomp Out Loud" and as well as an IMAX film called "Pulse."

Stomp also collaborated with Dolby Laboratories on new theatrical trailer which debuted in theatres last May. The 30-second live action 35 mm Dolby Digital Surround EXTM film trailer features Stomp's performances brandishing Dolby's multichannel audio technologies. Stomp creators Cresswell and McNicholas concocted the trailer used in cinemas as well as DVDs, broadcast and video gaming.

Loosely calculated from all Stomp companies worldwide, the show has gone through:

  • 7,800 pairs of drumsticks
  • 5,300 wooden poles
  • 1,800 British-made small garbage cans
  • 2,500 British-made large garbage cans
  • 5,500 American made garbage cans
  • 14,000 boxes of Swan Vesta matches
  • 1,800 gallons of black paint
  • 8,000 pairs of earplugs

    Tickets to Stomp at New York's Orpheum Theatre, 126 Second Avenue, are available through Ticketmaster at (212) 307-4100. For more information, visit www.stomponline.com.