One of the lesser-known side effects of being in the drum business is the odd habit of pointing out (loudly) every single time a steel drum is shown in a movie or tv show. “Hey, it’s a Skolnik salvage drum!”
While drums are frequently seen in TV shows and movies, it’s rare to see them live on stage. That is until STOMP came along, and steel drums took center stage.
- Since it premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1991 and moved to off-Broadway in 1994, STOMP has kept us riveted and tapping our feet.
- The cast of eight performs with repurposed household objects. They create rhythm out of garbage cans, suitcases, radiator hoses, pails, and 55-gallon steel drums.
- Anything can become music: fingernails scratching against matchboxes; basketballs passed back and forth with a thud.
This weekend, the NY Times reported that after 29 years, the production will close for good on Jan. 8 because of declining ticket sales.
Still, “Stomp” endured for nearly three decades, rivaling “The Phantom of the Opera,” which is set to close this year after 35 years onstage.
“Stomp” has had unusually global reach. It has been spoofed on “The Simpsons,” included as an answer on “Jeopardy!” and performed in 45 countries — including at the Acropolis and the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony.
“Playing on objects to create music has been around forever,” said Alan Asuncion, a member of the final New York “Stomp” cast who has been performing at the Orpheum since 2007. “But the creators brilliantly put it into a piece of theater that has become a household name. And that legacy will live on.”