BWW Review: Go at Once to See STOMP at Providence Performing Arts Center
First of all, Stomp at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC)is a complete hoot! I cannot remember anything I've ever seen that was more fun, more energetic, or more original. It's a totally non-verbal performance combining dance and percussion. The cast of eight performers make music out of everything from matchbooks, to cigarette lighters to, literally, the kitchen sink. In studio art, 'found art' is making art out of whatever you might find anywhere, even a junkyard; Stomp is the found art of the stage. The performers start making music with brooms and end up with a percussive symphony on plastic and metal garbage cans. It is an amazing show. How do you find performers like these? Do you look for dancers who can play drums or drummers who can dance? Whatever, these eight took the crowd on a rousing one hour and forty-five-minute trip way out past our expectations. Stomp has some very funny moments, particularly in the audience participation segments and in the nerdy buffoonery of Joe White's character. This is a very kid friendly show-there were tons of kids in last night's audience, and they all seemed to be having as much fun as the adults.
