'Stomp Out Loud' Screams Music

LAS VEGAS -- The "Stomp" series of productions have been playing around the world for years, and this new "Stomp Out Loud" production at Planet Hollywood doesn't stray too far from the original concept.

If you want to be reductive about the whole thing, it is basically a bunch of people making noise that somehow turns into music. But of course, it is so much more than that.

The epically talented cast uses "found" objects (a nice way of saying junk) to create a symphony of sound both big and small, serious and humorous, and always entertaining.

What starts with one guy sweeping the stage with a standard push-broom turns into a thumping, whooshing, clacking orchestra as the entire cast of 16 takes the stage, each playing a slightly different instrument with the same piece of wood and straw.

If you can mentally step outside of what you’re seeing and hearing for a second, you'll be amazed at the intricacies of the rhythms and the precision timing. It's like watching a perfectly executed marching band complete with choreography.

From the brooms they move on to, well, just about anything you can imagine. Dust pans, boxes filled with what sounds like peanuts, empty water jugs, pipes, plastic garbage bags, metal rods and, of course, the signature trash can lids all become just another thing with which to make music. And although there is a certain sameness to some of the numbers, it never ceases to remain revelatory.

The stand-out numbers are the ones that veer off in even stranger and strangely quieter directions. When all 16 cast-members sit on the lip of the stage in a completely dark theater and do a musical composition worthy of Beethoven with Zippo lighters, you'll be blown away.

And when a subset of the group turns newspapers and coughing into a hilarious hip-hop battle of wills, you'll be laughing yourself sick. And of course when several of the cast members literally "play" kitchen sinks, well –- that’s just genius.

There are a couple of quibbles with the show. As mentioned above, some of the numbers blend together with their sameness, and perhaps I'm just getting old, but even I started getting a bit of a headache from the loud banging by the time the show was over.

But that’s really nit-picking. I walked out happier than I was when I walked in, so that has to be worth something.

I also loved how the cast was not the usual super-toned, manufactured pretty that you often see on Vegas stages.

Their ages range from 20s to 30s, men and women, and there was at least one of virtually every race or ethnicity you could think of.

Several of them were not exactly what you might call "fit" at least in comparison to the rock-hard-ab set that dominates most productions in this town. This melting pot of "types" adds to the overall tone of the show, that seems to say there is music and movement and joy in everything and everyone if you just take a few minutes to look for it. It is the very definition of the word inclusion.

Vegas4Visitors Grade: B+

The Full Story

• 'Stomp Out Loud' Screams Music
• 'Le Reve' Evolves, Impresses
• Vegas Q&A: Where's Non-Vegas Entertainment?

In Next Week's Column

Next week: The latest from Las Vegas.

Plus, don't forget to send your questions about Las Vegas. I've got room for more, so send them in today!

Find the hotel that's right for you with Vegas4Visitors.com's reviews!

And check out the new Moon Handbooks Las Vegas.