{"id":30961,"date":"2021-12-23T09:14:07","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T14:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=30961"},"modified":"2021-12-24T09:22:36","modified_gmt":"2021-12-24T14:22:36","slug":"on-stage-stomp-returns-to-philly-at-kimmel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/?p=30961","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Stomp returns to Philly at Kimmel"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Stomp<\/p><\/div>\n

The musical stage show \u201cStomp\u201d has been playing to packed houses for almost 30 years and its popularity is showing no signs of waning.<\/p>\n

The energetic and highly percussive show is coming back to Philadelphia from December 28-January 2 for an eight-show run at the Merriam Theater (250 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 215-893-1999,\u00a0www.kimmelculturalcampus.org<\/a>) as part of the Kimmel Cultural Campus\u2019s Broadway season.<\/p>\n

\u201cStomp\u201d has been visiting the area for more than two decades.<\/p>\n

The stage show \u201cSTOMP\u201d has its origins in busking, a British custom that dates back hundreds of years and features street performers. The show\u2019s creators Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas updated the tradition and created a theater piece that is very loud and very intense. <\/p>\n

The structure is always there but approximately one-quarter of each performance is improvised. The cast of the national tour has the versatility \u2014 and the experience with the structure of the show \u2014 to keep it fresh and new for every performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe show is about 75 per cent blocked and scripted,\u201d said Jonathon Elkins, during a phone interview Wednesday morning from his home in\u00a0 St. Claire Shores, Michigan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other 25 per cent is us. We have the freedom to move however we want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elkins is one of the veterans of the cast on the National Tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI joined \u201cStomp\u2019 in 2016,\u201d said Elkins. \u201cThey did auditions in the spring at the Orpheum Theater in New York City and that\u2019s when I made it. I started touring in mid-October and I\u2019ve been doing it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, almost ever since. There was a pandemic that put the show on an unwelcome \u201cvacation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost a year-and-a-half because of COVID,\u201d said Elkins. \u201cWe shut down in March 2020 \u2013 the same time Broadway was closing. We started back up on August 12 this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elkins is a Michigan native, who was born and raised in Metro Detroit. Since 2010, he has drummed, marched and instructed within DCI (Drum Corps International) and WGI (Winter Guard International) ensembles throughout Michigan. Elkins has also been a member of both the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Lions drumlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew \u2018Stomp\u2019 was something I wanted to do ever since I was in high school,\u201d said Elkins. \u201cIn 2000, a substitute teacher put on a DVD of \u2018Stomp\u2019, and I felt it. I knew I wanted to do something like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was always in the drum line in high school \u2013 and band from sixth grade. I kept going in college. I went to Western Michigan University on the other side of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Elkins is going to other states as \u201cStomp\u201d continues to crisscross America.<\/p>\n

\u201cStomp\u201d is not your typical touring stage show.<\/p>\n

\u201cStomp\u201d is a wordless show featuring a 12-member cast with energy to burn \u2014 a cast that creates beautiful music and sly humor with found objects such as Zippo lighters, push brooms, wooden poles, hammer handles, garbage cans, inner tubes, matchboxes and even the kitchen sink. It is a journey through sound, a celebration of the everyday and a comic interplay of characters wordlessly communicating through dance and drum.<\/p>\n

\u201cStomp\u201d runs for just over an hour-and-a-half with no intermission. It features non-stop intensity, lot of movement and a whole lot of noise. To get an idea of what\u2019s happening in the show, picture a group of athletic dancers acting like a group of young kids left unsupervised in a kitchen after drinking a 16-ounce glass of Jolt (a soda that pre-dated energy drinks and boasted \u201call the sugar and twice the caffeine\u201d)<\/p>\n

The cast characters are Ringo, Particle Man, Doctor Who, Cornish, Mozzie, Sarge and Potato Head.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my characters \u2013 Dr. Who \u2013 is wild and energetic,\u201d said Elkins. \u201cAnother one \u2013 Potato Head \u2013 is just drumming focused.<\/p>\n

\u201cA nice thing is that we get to pick our own clothes. We get to decide what we wear and how we wear it. All the clothes you see us wearing onstage \u2013 we get to pick them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStomp\u201d is definitely not your typical touring stage show.<\/p>\n

Video link for \u201cStomp\u201d — https:\/\/youtu.be\/a6X_idq-lyM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cStomp\u201d will play the Merriam Theater on December 28 (7:30 p.m.), December 29 (7:30 p.m.), December 30 (2 and 7:30 p.m.), December 31 (2 and 7:30 p.m.), January 1 (1 p.m.) and January 2 (6:30 p.m.).<\/p>\n

Ticket prices start at $40.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Gov\u2019t Mule<\/p><\/div>\n

Gov\u2019t Mule is one of the most revered bands in the jam band scene \u2013 and one of the longest-running. The band got its start in the early 1990s and is still going strong.<\/p>\n

Gov\u2019t Mule has released more than 20 albums \u2013 the most recent of which is \u201cHeavy Load Blues.\u201d The band is also on tour this month with a show scheduled for December 30 at The Met (858 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, http:\/\/themetphilly.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

When the Allman Brothers Band reformed in 1989, Warren Haynes was added as lead guitarist\u00a0and vocalist, and\u00a0Allen Woody\u00a0was brought on to play bass. Haynes, Woody, and drummer\u00a0Matt Abts, who played with Haynes in\u00a0Dickey Betts’ band, came together as Gov\u2019t Mule during Allman Brothers breaks. They released their debut album, \u201cGov\u2019t Mule,\u201d in 1995.<\/p>\n

After a while, Haynes and Woody left the Allman Brothers Band to concentrate full-time on Gov\u2019t Mule in 1997.<\/p>\n

For more than two decades, the members of Gov\u2019t Mule have satisfied fans with their instrumental virtuosity and willingness to take songs to their extreme.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeavy Load Blues,\u201d which was released November 12 on Fantasy Records, is an entirely different story.<\/p>\n

Gov\u2019t Mule\u2019s first-ever blues album\u00a0features a balanced mix of\u00a0Haynes\u2019\u00a0originals and covers including Howlin\u2019 Wolf\u2019s \u201cI Asked Her For Water, She Gave Me Gasoline,\u201d Junior Wells\u2019\u00a0\u201cSnatch It Back and Hold It,\u201d and Ann Peebles\u2019 \u201cI Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody\u2019s Home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chart-topping album debuted at\u00a0#1 on the\u00a0Billboard\u00a0Blues Albums\u00a0chart, landed on 6 additional charts including the\u00a0Billboard 200, reached\u00a0#1\u00a0on\u00a0Amazon\u2019s Best Sellers in Blues, #1\u00a0on\u00a0Music\u00a0Connect\u2019s\u00a0Blues Albums chart, #2\u00a0on\u00a0Apple Music\u2019s Blues Albums, and has amassed\u00a0more than 1.5 million global streams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pandemic, like everybody else, shut us down for a year-and-a-half,\u201d said Haynes, during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon from his home in West Chester, New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we were vaccinated, we got in the studio and recorded two albums. \u2018Heavy Load Blue\u2019 was released in November and there will be another Gov\u2019t Mule album released next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the only time in my life that I\u2019ve done two records at the same time. I wouldn\u2019t want to do it again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded in two different rooms in the same studio \u2013 Power Station New England in Waterford, Connecticut. They have a big main recording room and a smaller studio that has lower ceilings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded the regular album in the big room and the blues album in the small room. We\u2019d start out in the big room at 1 p.m. and work until around 9 p.m. Then, we\u2019d go to blues room. We wanted to make the blues album at night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d set up in the small studio like we were doing blues in a little club \u2013 and we recorded live. After recording all day in the big room, we\u2019d just shut our brains off and play blues all night.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecording like this is not something I would have thought about under normal circumstances, but it worked out pretty well. After rehearsing in March, we spent six weeks in the studio starting in April.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the new release, Gov\u2019t Mule and \u201cthe blues\u201d were rarely found in the same conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cA blues album has been on my mind for five or six years,\u201d said Haynes, who has also played with Phil Lesh and Friends<\/a>\u00a0and other\u00a0re-formed Grateful Dead<\/a>\u00a0bands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI listed songs \u2013 covers that I\u2019d like to do. Also, I wrote a lot of songs during the break and some of them were blues. With everything going on, everybody has the blues a little \u2013 so it was time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe album has seven originals and seven covers. It wasn\u2019t planned that way. It just worked out that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our live shows right now, we\u2019re playing some songs from the blues album but nothing from the upcoming album. We try to play something from every album. We still play songs from our first three albums a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery show is different. We\u2019ll play 100 different songs over the course of the tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Gov\u2019t Mule \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/d3WbdYLpDdo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at The Met on December 30 will start at<\/p>\n

Tickets are $49.50 and $59.50.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A Christmas Carol<\/p><\/div>\n

Now through January 2, People\u2019s Light (39 Conestoga Road, Malvern,\u00a0peopleslight.org<\/a>) is presenting the world premiere of \u201cA Christmas Carol.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, all live shows have sold out.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, you can stream the filmed version of\u00a0A Christmas Carol,\u00a0featuring Ian Merrill Peakes as Ebenezer Scrooge,\u00a0from December 23-January 6\u00a0for $25.<\/p>\n

This version of \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d is adapted from Charles Dickens by Zak Berkman and features original music by Zak Berkman.<\/p>\n

Callous Scrooge, shackled Marley, and the haunting spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future spring vividly to life in this fresh adaptation of a favorite yuletide ghost story.<\/p>\n

Featuring a lively mix of original songs and newly arranged 19th-century English carols, this music-infused retelling captures the magic, joy, and generosity of Dickens\u2019 beloved classic.<\/p>\n

Each year, the People\u2019s Light holiday\u00a0show is a panto\u00a0that transforms a beloved children\u2019s story into a musical extravaganza filled with outrageous characters, toe-tapping original music, slapstick comedy, and topical humor for both kids and adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d\u00a0is not a panto. But it is music-filled, interactive fun for every age — whether you believe in spirits or not.<\/p>\n

The Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389,\u00a0www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>) will have Little Stranger on December 23 and Snarky Puppy on December 29.<\/p>\n

118 North (118 North Wayne Avenue, Wayne, www.118northwayne.com<\/a>) will present Matthew Fair on December 23 and Steal Your Peach on December 26.<\/p>\n

The Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650,\u00a0www.keswicktheatre.com<\/a>) will host the Genesis Show on December 26.<\/p>\n

The Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>) presents the Slambovian Circus of Dreams on December 23, Almost Queen on December 26 and 27, Raymond the Amish Comic on December 28 and The Mighty Manatees & Karmic Repair Co. on December 29.<\/p>\n

World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>) will host Rev. TJ McGlinchey & Friends: Jim Henson Holiday Tribute on December 23.<\/p>\n

City Winery (990 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, citywinery.com\/philadelphia<\/a>) will have Freddie Jackson on December 23 and Stephen Kellogg on December 29.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times The musical stage show \u201cStomp\u201d has been playing to packed houses for almost 30 years and its popularity is showing no signs of waning. The energetic and highly percussive show is coming back to Philadelphia from December 28-January 2 for an eight-show run at the Merriam Theater (250 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5166],"tags":[11089,3912,5452,4508,7414],"class_list":["post-30961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-a-christmas-carol","tag-featured","tag-govt-mule","tag-peoples-light","tag-stomp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30961"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30963,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30961\/revisions\/30963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coatesvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}