Theater Review: STOMP! at The Fabulous Fox

STOMP! took the stage this past Friday at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis as part of their 30^th Anniversary North American Tour. I haven’t seen a STOMP! show since I was a kid, and the only things I could remember were the loud noises and being mesmerized and transfixed by the stage. Two and a half decades later, the show is still so fresh and relevant and is truly one of the greatest performance art pieces I’ve ever seen. 

The show started off strong with a broom number and then kept a steady pace for about an hour and forty-five minutes switching back and forth between low-paced quiet numbers and high-paced beats that boomed and echoed throughout the theatre. 

One thing I don’t remember from my childhood was the level of comedy that accompanied the show. If it was present then, it certainly went over my head. But, as an adult, I was certainly able to appreciate the comedic narrative that had a throughline throughout the duration of the show. Cade Slattery, one of the cast members, played the odd one out on most of the numbers, and garnered an impressive number of laughs. Both he and cast member Micah Cowher engaged in a number of moments where they interacted with the audience, which I’m sure pleased the younger fans in the crowd. 

The remaining cast was made up of Dilian Cantrell, Ben Johnson, Khalil Louigene, Michael Mendoza, Jayme Overton and Daysha J Williams. As an ensemble, they were absolute perfection. Aside from the beats and music they created, the theatricality of the show was top notch. At one point, they were tossing buckets and sticks all over the stage at a rapid pace and not a single prop came close to hitting the ground or seemed uncalculated. 

I appreciated that the show embraced the different styles of percussion, rhythm, dance, and employed a variety of stylistic choices that kept each section seemingly invigorating yet unique. The show played out on the stage like a well-oiled machine, and is proof that three decades later, STOMP! is still a show that needs to be experienced live. From the flicks of the lighters to the banging of the drums, it was truly a fantastic experience, and I can’t wait until the tour decides to come back to St. Louis in the future. If and when it does, do not hesitate to purchase tickets. You won’t be disappointed.  

STOMP
Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas
Photo © Steve McNicholas