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Stomp, the award-winning percussion, rhythm and comedy production created by Steve McNicholas and Luke Cresswell, will take its final off-Broadway bow this winter.
On Tuesday, producers announced the long-running show would close, with its final performance at the Orpheum Theatre set for Jan. 8, 2023. The closing is “due to declining ticket sales,” a spokesperson for the production told The Hollywood Reporter.
“We are so proud that the East Village and the Orpheum Theatre has been Stomp’s home for so many wonderful years and want to thank our producers and our amazing cast, crew and front-of-house staff, all of whom have worked so hard for so long to make the show such a success,” Cresswell and McNicholas said in a statement. “They have always given 100 percent to every audience, from the very beginning in 1994 to the post-lockdown audiences of 2022. We want to thank everyone involved for such an incredible New York run.”
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The closing, after a run of 29 years, joins many other live theatrical productions impacted by lower than usual tourism numbers, particularly among international visitors, who lag behind domestic in terms of a rebound, as well as rising costs related to inflation as well as COVID-19 testing and coverage. Phantom of the Opera is another notable example. The musical, which is Broadway’s longest-running show, with a run of more than 30 years, is scheduled to close in April (the original closing date was delayed due to demand).
Stomp’s closing will mark a total of 13 preview performances and 11,472 regular performances at the theater it initially opened in on Feb. 27, 1994. The show has won a number of awards, including the Olivier for best choreography, an OBIE award, a Drama Desk award for unique theatre experience, and a Legend of Off-Broadway award.
The show’s current New York City cast is Alan Asuncion, Micah Cowher, John Gavin, Desmond Howard, Jayme Overton, Tamii Sakurai, Emmanuel “Manny” Scott and Reggie Talley. The production team includes McNicholas; Mike Roberts, who helms technical supervision; rehearsal director Fiona Wilkes; production stage manager Paul Botchis; general manager FGTM/Roberta Roberts; and associate producer Fred Bracken.
Richard Frankel, Marc Routh, Alan Schuster, Aldo Scrofani, Bang! Theatricals, Harriet Newman Leve, James D. Stern, Gallin/Sandler, Markley/Manocherian and the late Gary McAvay and Morton Wolkowitz serve as the show’s producers.
“We fell in love with Stomp when we first saw it in Europe and when we brought this hard-to-describe show here, we imagined that it would find an audience. We could not have imagined the remarkable success it would enjoy, becoming part of popular culture, touring for years, and making an unmistakable imprint on the theatre landscape here and all over the world,” the show’s producers said in a statement. “While we’re sad to see it close at The Orpheum Theatre, we couldn’t be prouder of the impact that Stomp has had — and will continue to have — as the tours run both here and in Europe.”
Since its opening, Stomp has launched not just North American and European tours, but South and Central American tours, with an equally long-running West End production and additional sit-down productions in San Francisco, Boston and Las Vegas. The show held engagements across the globe, including in Abu Dhabi, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Palestine, Russia, Singapore and South Africa.
The show, which sees both household and industrial objects — dustbins, lighters, shopping carts, radiator hoses, boots, hubcaps and brooms — used as musical instruments by a band of body percussionists, has been a recognizable staple in pop culture for nearly three decades. The production and its cast have appeared on episodes of children’s shows Reading Rainbow and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, then later on the comedy Mad About You; it’s been parodied by Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons; and appeared as an answer on Jeopardy!.
Beyond the TV, Stomp has performed at major award shows like the Academy Awards, the Latin Grammys with Calle 13 and the Kennedy Center Honors. The production has also been part of unique events and performances including shows at Athens’ Acropolis, President Bill Clinton’s Millennium New Year’s Celebration on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and the 2012 London Olympics Closing Ceremony.
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