Stomp at Broadway Playhouse

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"..."Stomp" is back for a holiday run. I've lost count how many times I've seen it, but the salient points here are: (a) the show still holds up well; (b) very little has changed and, thank heavens, there are neither mentions of, nor concessions to, our current digital shallowness; and (c) this is the smallest theater "Stomp" ever has played in this market."

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...Slam! Bam! Whoosh! Kaboom! No question about it. It's time to bang on an oil can, click on a lighter, wield your broom, slam your garbage can lids together, wheel that supermarket cart like a speed freak, dance on sand, play plastic radiator hoses like accordions, crush newspaper and trash bags, and just generally feast on a whole lot of noise-making possibilities and enough madly fascinating rhythms to keep your feet in perpetual motion and your ears wide open."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...This current touring show seems especially inspired by tap, but as the dancers make use of found objects-brooms, matchboxes, plastic bags-the work evokes other traditional nonspoken theatrical forms as well, from commedia dell'arte to Japanese Noh theater. The audience for this virtuosic performance knows exactly what to expect-and gets exactly that."

ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended

"..."Stomp", the phenomenal sensation created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, is a testament to what can be achieved when working together. Using unconventional "instruments," and I mean everything, including the kitchen sink; "Stomp" is a heart-pounding journey of human expression, something I believe every audience needs right now. The set, adorned with street signs, garbage bins, pots, pans, and plastic barrels that doubled as drums, looks like an intense piece of art. Waiting eagerly in my seat, I peered out at the eclectic audience of different cultures, races and ages, and could see that they were just as excited for something spectacular."

Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...The incredibly basic concept behind Stomp, a phenom now in its third decade, remains: "Make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound." (Luke Cresswell, co-founder/director). The result: four global productions, including permanent venues in New York and London-and the rousing tour now playing the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place."

Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended

"...Broadway In Chicago's bring to their Playhouse, Water Tower theater, Stomp; an international percussion sensation for a limited engagement to Chicago. This musical extravaganza and precision movements have been wowing audience for more than three decades and theaters all over the world and this tour of a unique blend of rhythm, movements, comedy, and dance at the Playhouse lives up to the hype. Using the most ordinary objects like plastic bags, brooms, trashcan lids, newspapers and amazingly even the kitchen sink, Stomp brings out the creativity in any child."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Ringing in the new year at the Broadway Playhouse is Stomp, the British early 90's dance and percussion creation of Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas. There have been multiple tours and sit-downs ongoing throughout my life, and several attempts to video record it (often as a tool for inspiring young people to participate in the performing arts), but really, the energy and humor is interactive and has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated."

Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended

"...Though many readers have probably seen video recordings of the group (As of this writing, nearly the entire show can be found on Youtube, that's how ubiquitous it is), the live experience truly contains a palpable magic that a recording cannot capture. In a venue like the Broadway Playhouse that is able to maintain a sense of intimacy even in a high-capacity auditorium, an audience member can feel each beat and, given the freedom to choose where to look instead of being forced into a point-of-view by a camera, appreciate the intricacy and virtuosic skill of the entire ensemble in the piece's many whole-group numbers."