STOMP theater review by Steven Skelley

The following Steven Skelley review appeared in EDGE magazine at http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=reviews&sc3=theatre_reviews&id=140258

Stomp
by Steven  Skelley
EDGE Contributor
Sunday Jan 6, 2013

What happens when you combine innovative theater, modern dance, rhythmic music and the eclectic energy of performance art? "STOMP" is what happens, and it is an amazing experience.

"STOMP" is the creation of Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas. After working together in the UK as members of the street band Pookiesnackenburger and the theatre group Cliff Hanger in the 1980’s, Cresswell and McNicholas created "STOMP."

It previewed at London’s Bloomsbury Theater and premiered at The Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh. It was an instant hit earning the Guardian Critic Choice Award and the Daily Express Best of the Fringe Award.

"STOMP" soon went on world tour to sold-out venues earning even more accolades and setting attendance records. It even broke a box office record no one had touched since it was set by Frank Sinatra in 1972.

After more than 5000 "STOMP" performances, Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas built a $28 million theater specifically for the production.

With HBO specials, IMAX movies, Presidential performances, Royal performances and more awards than they can reasonably list already in their pockets, Cresswell and McNicholas reworked and added new material to "STOMP" in 2008.

They have worked their magic again -- the current production is simply stunning.

"STOMP" takes the audience on a journey through the symbiotic relationship between music and dance. The show opens with one man sweeping the stage floor with a wooden broom. One by one, other cast members sweep their way on stage.

As the audience is introduced to the ensemble, the floor sweeping turns into a multi-player rhythmic symphony. At least four brooms snapped in half during the energetic and increasingly frantic opening number. New brooms were tossed to the performers on stage that didn’t miss a beat.

When this number ends and the audience has been attuned to rhythmic complexity, one of the performers leads the audience in a simple clap-response session. He claps. The audience attempts to mimic his cadence. He varies his rhythm and encourages the audience to follow.

At least four brooms snapped in half during the energetic and increasingly frantic opening number. New brooms were tossed to the performers on stage who didn’t miss a beat.

The mime performance progresses as both the instruments and rhythms become more complex. The audience is exposed to the unique tonal qualities of such familiar items as shopping carts, brooms, dust pans, newspapers, shopping bags, inner tubes, hub caps, trash cans, trash can lids, barrels and cigarette lighters.

The ensemble cast includes Alexandria Bradley, Eric Fay, Andre Fernandez, Cammie Griffin, Mike Hall, Lance Liles, Guy Mandozzi, Andre Meggerson, Nancy Rubio, John Sawicki, Mike Silvia and Carlos Thomas.

Even though the performance is done in mime with no dialogue, each cast member portrays a distinct character different from the others. This uniqueness is highlighted throughout the performance as each one is given a chance to express himself in at least one musical number.

Each performer brings a special talent to the stage. Rubio, Griffin and Bradley are experienced dancers and choreographers. Sawicki is a percussionist who has performed with Tommy Lee, No Doubt and Limp Bizkit. Mandozzi is a trained actor who provides hilarious comic relief to the production.

Just as the odd assortment of objects work together in the music and dance, this diverse cast both works together and lifts each other to a sum that is greater than its individual parts.

In viewing "STOMP," I believe that Cresswell and McNicholas want us to see the overlooked beauty in the everyday life sounds that we usually block out or ignore.

"STOMP" reveals the beauty in the diversity of the human individual. Each solitary human carries a talent, tune and flavor that furthers the whole of humanity. Each singular and often disregarded noise can become part of an amazing symphony.

Throughout the performance, the audience is invited to participate. At the beginning of the show, a cast member teaches rhythm to the audience through a basic clap-response session. As the show progresses, he periodically challenges the audience to more complex cadences. By the end of the show, the newly attuned audience completes a very complex and energetic clap-response session that they never would have been able to accomplish at first. Their ears have become accustomed to complex rhythms. Objects and sounds that may have once just been viewed as noise and irritation are now seen and heard in a new light.

That is what Cresswell and McNicholas want their audiences to experience. They call it the "exploration of rhythm in all things" and the presence of stomp in the "rhythm of life."

"STOMP" may be one of the most engaging, amazing and exhilarating shows you will ever experience.

"STOMP" continues its North American, South American and European tours through 2013. Tour dates and information can be found at http://www.stomponline.com/tickets_tour.php

"STOMP" was performed Jan. 4 and 5 at the King Center for the Performing Arts at Brevard Community College, 3865 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne, FL 32935. For info or tickets for upcoming shows, call 321-242-2219 or visit http://www.kingcenter.com

Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.

Menopause: The Musical review by Steven Skelley

My review of Menopause: The Musical published in EDGE magazine at - http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=theatre&sc2=reviews&sc3=theatre_reviews&id=136264

Menopause: The Musical

by Steven  Skelley

I saw "Menopause: The Musical" and survived! I consider that quite an accomplishment considering how the evening began. As my male guest and I made our way to our balcony seats, we were greeted with multiple catcalls from female attendees such as:

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

"Hey! This is not a Beach Boys concert. It’s ’Menopause’!"

"Hey! You two do realize you are the only two men here, right?"

My favorite was, "Hey! Did you think this was going to be a great place to pick up chicks?"

Being a gay male journalist, picking up post-menopausal, grey haired females was not high on my list of priorities, but I knew it was going to be an entertaining night. These ladies had come prepared to have fun and they were enjoying themselves before the show even began.

"Menopause: The Musical" is all about fun and the shared female experiences of the change of life. I have never seen women laughing harder and louder than they did at this show. Women were actually stomping their feet, laughing hysterically and saying to each other, "I do that too!" when one of the characters described a hormonal moment.

One running gag is how one of the ladies suffers menopausal incontinence issues and has to run off the the ladies room repeatedly. She usually makes it there in time -- but not always.

The show opens up in Bloomies, aka Bloomingdale’s Department Store. Four very different women find themselves accidentally sharing a shopping experience and their personal menopausal challenges in various hilarious ways. They include the Professional Woman, the Soap Star, the Earth Mother and the Iowa Housewife.

Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck reminded me of the Blanche Devereaux character from "The Golden Girls," using her sexiness to her advantage for her whole life but now finding her body changing and drooping in spite of the best plastic surgeons.

Kimberly Ann Harris portrays the African-American Professional Woman. Harris is an accomplished actor who debuted on Broadway in the original production of "The Color Purple." Her Professional Woman role in "Menopause" allows her to show her comedic and musical talents as well. Her big-wigged, high-heeled, mini-dress, butt-shaking Tina Turner impersonation is a show stopper.

The Soap Star is portrayed by Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck. She reminded me of the Blanche Devereaux character from "The Golden Girls" classic television sitcom. The Soap Star has used her sexiness to her advantage for her whole life but now finds her body changing and drooping in spite of the best plastic surgeons she can buy. Vanbiesbrouck’s over-the-top, drama queen vocal performances are hilarious.

Margot Moreland portrays the fading hippie Earth Mother who never outgrew the 1960s and whose inner peace is challenged by her new hormonal inner demon. The peaceful person she once was has been replaced by an angry woman who looks like her mother.

Moreland’s Earth Mother shares the trials of her marriage in a clever rewrite of the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." In Earth Mother’s world, the familiar tune now contains the lyrics, "She’s a witch. She’s a witch. She’s a bitch. She’s a bitch. In the guestroom or on the sofa, my husband sleeps at night. In the guestroom or on the sofa, my husband sleeps at night."

Liz Hyde’s chunky Iowa Housewife character stole the show. Hyde has been with the production for seven years and she has honed her comedic portrayal to perfection. When she pumped her hips in the "Stayin’ Alive" dance routine, the women around me were howling in laughter and stomping the floor.

The show follows the ladies as they shop various floors at Bloomingdales and make multiple stops in the ladies rooms. In each scene, they share the challenges of the change of life through humorous rewrites of some very famous and familiar popular songs from 1961 to 1980. You will quickly recognize the tunes but the real surprise comes in the cleverly themed lyrics which offer the actors plenty of opportunity for slapstick comedy silliness.

The biggest laugh of the night aside from Professional Woman’s Tina Turner singing a liberating take on "What’s Love Got To Do With It" was when the modest and chunky Iowa Housewife discovers the joys of personal vibration devices and sings "Only You" to her vibrator!

The show concludes with the cast bringing dozens of cheering female audience members onstage to sing and dance with them.

I not only survived "Menopause: The Musical" -- I enjoyed every minute of it!

"Menopause: The Musical" runs through September 30 at the King Center for the Performing Arts at Brevard Community College, 3865 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne, FL . For info or tickets, call 321-242-2219 or visit http://www.kingcenter.com

Steven Skelley is a published author of several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, music director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.