Stomp

Stomp has spent the last fifteen years as an international sensation, selling out theaters in over 35 countries across the world. With their latest national tour stop at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, it's little wonder why Stomp is a slam-bang-smash hit.

If you're unfamiliar, Stomp features a group of performers making sounds and music out of ordinary things, including brooms, paint cans, matchboxes, and more. The hour and 45-minute show features the cast of eight creating music bursting with energy, from sounds reminiscent of early tribal music to noises Bjork would easily pick up for a track. By the end of the show, I felt like I could flick my water bottle and join in. Later on, the interactive show called for it.

The show is also an across-the-board crowd-pleaser. The opening night at Broward Center was home to not one, not two, but three different standing ovations. The energy of the performers was infectious to the crowd, which varied from kids to the elderly, who hopefully didn't mind that things got awful loud sometimes.

The cast are unique and expressive while never speaking, which makes for easy translating to all the countries and cultures the show has become a huge hit in. Cast members like Jaclynn Bridges, Justin Myles and Donisha Brown command the stage with their moves, while Michael Landis becomes an easy audience favorite with his slapstick comic antics.

After 15 years of continued success, including a continued off-Broadway run in the Orpheum Theatre, the national tour of Stomp proves that the show's percussive, pounding rhythms are timeless and, with some recent updates made to the show last year, can continually change and never grow stale. "Stomp" still feels edgy and fresh and has at least another 15 years left under its drumstick-holding belt.