Photo Flash: STOMP Comes To The Bank Of America Theatre

Broadway In Chicago is proud to announce the international sensation STOMP will be making its triumphant return for a limited one-week engagement at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre (18 W. Monroe) April 27 - May 2, 2010. The return of the percussive hit also brings some new surprises, with some sections of the show now updated and restructured and the addition of two new full-scale routines, utilizing props like tractor tire tubes and paint cans. Individual tickets for STOMP will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. Friday, February 26, 2010.

"After creating new routines for STOMP OUT LOUD in Vegas, [co-creator] Luke Cresswell and I decided it was time to rework elements of our main production, STOMP," said co-creator Steve McNicholas. "STOMP has evolved a great deal ever since its first incarnation at the Edinburgh Festival. Every reworking has involved losing some pieces and gaining new ones, but has always stayed true to the original premise of the show: to create rhythmic music with instantly recognizable objects, and do it with an eccentric sense of character and humor."

The changes that can now be seen in the tour of STOMP are the biggest since the late 1990's. A new piece "Paint Cans" evolved out of the "Boxes" routine in the Las Vegas show and "Donuts" is a piece that implements huge tractor tire inner tubes, worn around the waist on a bungee cord. For many years, the creators had looked for a STOMP equivalent of the Latin percussion instrument the guiro, a gourd-shaped open-ended instrument with ridges along the side that are rubbed by a wooden stick to create its sound. The climactic trashcan sequence "Bins" has been restructured to include a guiro-like new found instrument: strip-lighting recycling containers.

From its beginnings as a street performance in the UK, STOMP has grown into an international sensation over the past fourteen years, having performed in over 350 cities in 36 countries worldwide. STOMP continues its phenomenal run with the ongoing sell-out Off-Broadway production at New York's Orpheum Theatre, a North American tour, and two productions overseas - a London company and a European tour.

STOMP, an overwhelming success marked by rave reviews, numerous awards and sell-out engagements, is the winner of an Olivier Award for Best Choreography (London's Tony Award), a New York Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience, and a Special Citation from Best Plays. The young performers "make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound," says co-creator/director Luke Cresswell. Stiff-bristle brooms become a sweeping orchestra; Zippo lighters flip open and closed to create a fiery fugue; wooden poles thump and clack in a rhythmic explosion. STOMP uses everything but conventional percussion instruments - trashcans, tea chests, plastic bags, plungers, boots, and hubcaps - to fill the stage with compelling and infectious rhythms.

Critics and audiences have raved: "STOMP is as crisp and exuberant as if it had opened yesterday," says The New York Times. The San Francisco Chronicle declares "STOMP has a beat that just won't quit!" The Los Angeles Times exclaims: "Electrifying! Triumphs in the infinite variety of the human experience."

STOMP is directed and created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas.

Individual tickets to STOMP will go on sale on Friday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m. at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St. and 18 W. Monroe St.); the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000; all Ticketmaster retail locations (including Hot Tix and select Carson Pirie Scott, Coconuts and fye stores); and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com. Groups of 15 or more should call (312) 977-1710.

Performances of STOMP are as follows:

Tuesday, April 27 at 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 30 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 1 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 2 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

For more information on STOMP, visit www.stomponline.com or www.BroadwayInChicago.com