Stomp, the percussive Off Broadway staple that has drawn tourists and locals to its East Village theater for nearly 30 years, will close on January 8, 2023, producers announced today.
The show, which combines percussion, movement, comedy and everyday objects transformed into musical instruments, will continue its North American and European tours.
Though producers didn’t specify a reason for the closure, New York tourism and the theater industry has yet to fully recover to pre-Covid levels. Stomp was among New York’s first stage productions to resume performances after the 15-month 2020-21 shutdown, resuming its drumbeats on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.
Stomp‘s team of producers said in a statement today, “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.
“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.”
Stomp opened at the Orpheum on February 27, 1994. When it closes in January, it will have played 11,472 performances, not including 13 previews.
Co-creators Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas said, “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. They have always given 100% 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.”
In the decades since its East Village premiere, Stomp has generated North American, South American, Central American, and European tours, as well as sit-down productions in San Francisco, Boston and Las Vegas, and a long-running production in London’s West End. Global engagements have included Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dubai, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey.
The current New York City cast is Alan Asuncion, Micah Cowher, John Gavin, Desmond Howard, Jayme Overton, Tamii Sakurai, Emmanuel “Manny” Scott, and Reggie Talley. Producers are 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.