From lighters to garbage bags to even kitchen sinks, STOMP captivated a sold-out Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium during its first show Monday night.
Although the eight performers never uttered a word — except for an occasional grunt — they wowed the audience with their humorous characters and wild dance numbers. The show kept the audience involved throughout the 90-minute performance with a series of clapping and stomping games.
Every audience has a new experience, said Andres Fernandez, the rehearsal director and current cast member.
“As performers, we’ll take where we are to make the audience get involved,” he said. “We like to ad-lib. It makes the show fun because we have that freedom. We can cater to whatever country or city we are in.”
The show included the classic broom and trashcan numbers it is known for but also included new dances featuring giant inner tubes and paint cans.
“The creators are geniuses for the fact that we can change up the show but still keep the concept alive,” Fernandez said. “People love new surprises. They could have seen it before, but it isn’t the same show.”
One character was an outcast throughout the show and his encounters with the other characters kept the audience laughing. A humorous number incorporating rustling newspapers was also a hit with audience members.
“The newspaper performance really made me laugh,” said Billy Lavelle, a freshman studying English. “The variety of acts that the characters did kept me laughing the whole time, and it was full of surprises.”
For Nick Beetem, a freshman studying forest management, an act featuring a swinging dance along a wall of items — including road signs, pots and barrels — was his favorite part.
“The whole show was great, but if I had to pick, the swinging dance was my favorite,” he said. “When they swung back, it looked sketchy, but I loved it.”
Beetem received a free ticket to the show through the Honors Tutorial College, and he said he was glad he had the opportunity to see the show.
“I came because I had a free ticket,” he said. “But I have wanted to see STOMP since I saw the movie in my first grade music class. It was a great performance.”
All 2,500 seats in MemAud were sold out for Monday’s show. Due to its popularity, a second performance was added Tuesday night.
ao007510@ohiou.edu
