“STOMP,” the international sensation, will make its triumphant return to the Scranton Cultural Center on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 24 and 25. This will be a limited engagement of three performances only (Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 25 at 2 and 8 p.m.).

The return of the percussive hit promises to bring some new surprises, with some sections of the show now updated and restructured and the addition of two new full-scale routines utilizing props like tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans. 

“After creating new routines for ‘STOMP OUT LOUD’ in Las Vegas, and devising new work for multiple productions around the world, co-creator Luke Cresswell and I decided it was time to rework elements of our main production, ‘STOMP’,” said co-creator Steve McNicholas. “STOMP has evolved a great deal ever since its first incarnation at the Edinburgh Festival. Every reworking has involved, losing some pieces and gaining new ones, but has always stayed true to the original premise of the show: to create rhythmic music with instantly recognizable objects, and do it with an eccentric sense of character and humor.” 

The changes that can now be seen in the tour of “STOMP” are the biggest since the late 1990s. A new piece, “Paint Cans,” evolved out of the “Boxes” routine in the Las Vegas show, and “Donuts” is a piece that implements huge tractor tire inner tubes worn around the waist on a bungee cord. For many years, the creators had looked for a “STOMP” equivalent of the Latin percussion instrument, the guiro, a gourd-shaped open-ended instrument with ridges along the side that are rubbed by a wooden stick to create its sound. The climactic trashcan sequence “Bins” has been restructured to include a guiro-like new-found instrument - strip-lighting recycling containers. 

From its beginnings as a street performance in the UK, “STOMP” has grown into an international sensation over the past 14 years, having performed in over 350 cities in 36 countries worldwide. “STOMP” continues its phenomenal run with the ongoing sell-out Off-Broadway production at New York's Orpheum Theatre, a North American tour, and two productions overseas - a London company and a European tour. A production in Las Vegas from STOMP's creators, “STOMP OUT LOUD,” is now playing at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.

“STOMP,” an overwhelming success marked by rave reviews, numerous awards and sell-out engagements, is the winner of an Olivier Award for Best Choreography (London's Tony Award), a New York Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience, and a Special Citation from Best Plays.

The young performers “make a rhythm out of anything we can get our hands on that makes a sound,” says co-creator/director Cresswell. Stiff-bristle brooms become a sweeping orchestra; Zippo lighters flip open and closed to create a fiery fugue; wooden poles thump and clack in a rhythmic explosion. “STOMP” uses everything but conventional percussion instruments – trashcans, tea chests, plastic bags, plungers, boots and hubcaps - to fill the stage with compelling and infectious rhythms.  

Critics and audiences have raved: “STOMP is as crisp and exuberant as if it had opened yesterday,” says “The New York Times,” while “The San Francisco Chronicle” declares “STOMP has a beat that just won’t quit!” And “The Los Angeles Times” exclaims: “Electrifying! Triumphs in the infinite variety of the human experience.” “A phenomenal show! Bashing, crashing, smashing, swishing, banging and kicking - a joyous invention!” says the Chicago Tribune. 

Tickets, priced at $25.50, $36.50, and $47.50, are on sale at the Scranton Cultural Center Box Office, at www.broadwayscranton.com, or by calling 346.9100. For group rates or additional information, interested persons may call the Broadway Theatre League office at 342.7784.