Review: STOMP at Straz Center

I’ve been wanting to see STOMP for years, and when I finally sat in the Straz Center Friday night with my husband and daughter beside me, what unfolded onstage was nothing short of astonishing.

STOMP isn’t just a show; it’s a full‑scale reimagining of what music, movement, and storytelling can be. Eight performers, equal parts tap dancers, percussionists, comedians, and kinetic inventors, transformed everyday objects into a living, breathing orchestra.

Trash cans became bass drums. Brooms became battlegrounds. Metal lids turned into cymbals with attitude. Their own bodies became instruments of rhythm and comedy. And in one of the most mesmerizing sequences, water sloshing in a kitchen sink became a shimmering, percussive landscape all its own.

The innovation is relentless. Every vignette pushes the boundaries of what sound can do and how physicality can communicate without a single spoken word. The performers don’t just keep time; they sculpt it, toss it, tease it, and slam it into the air with absolute precision.

The Straz Center’s acoustics amplified every snap, scrape, stomp, and splash until the entire room felt like it was vibrating in sync. The audience wasn’t just watching; we were participating, leaning forward, laughing at the comedy, clapping in response, and riding the rhythm like a collective heartbeat.

STOMP is a loud, brilliant, wildly inventive work of art. It’s a thunderous, joyful explosion of metal, movement, and momentum that turns the ordinary into theatrical adrenaline. 

Tampa Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. INTO THE WOODS (St. Petersburg College Theater)

17% of votes

2. 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL (USF Theatre)

8.9% of votes

3. ANYTHING GOES (The Missing Piece Theatre)

7.6% of votes

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