PANDEMONIUM Comes To Royce Hall at UCLA 11/16-18

After the global success of their unique take on rhythm and physical theatre, STOMP co-creators Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas have taken their concept to a new level with PANDEMONIUM, which will have four performances only at Royce Hall at UCLA, November 16, 17 and 18.

Where STOMP creates rhythm with everyday objects, PANDEMONIUM transforms everyday objects into a plethora of invented instruments. PANDEMONIUM recreates every section of a symphony, using bottles, whirly toys, traffic cones, oil drums, wood planks, bottles, glasses, bellows, foot pumps, plastic tubes, funnels, rope, balls, metal objects, filing cabinets, kids toys, and car horns. Out of chaos is found music.

Co-creator Luke Cresswell serves as onstage conductor of the 26-member company and will perform in PANDEMONIUM. A 30-member Los Angeles choir joins the company on stage.

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, October 20. Tickets, priced from $20-$60, are available by visiting uclalive.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Performance schedule is Tuesday, November 16 at 8 pm; Wednesday, November 17 at 8 pm; and Thursday, November 18 at 7 pm and 10 pm.

For more information, please visit www.pandemoniumtheshow.com <http://www.pandemoniumtheshow.com> .

PANDEMONIUM happened when Cresswell and McNicholas were approached by The Brighton Festival (UK), which commissioned this new work for its 40th anniversary. In only six months, instruments had to be invented and reinvented from scratch, and an entire score composed. With the help of a crew made up of experienced STOMP personnel, with expert instrument designer Paul Marshall advising, and UK musicians who were prepared to abandon their instruments and learn how to play saws and hosepipes, the show premiered there in May 2006.

Since then, PANDEMONIUM has broken box office records at Sydney Opera House, and played extended runs at London's Royal FestivAl Hall and Amsterdam's Carre Theatre.

The British press were ecstatic in praise of PANDEMONIUM. The Guardian said it was "exhilarating and strangely beautiful, unpretentious, infectious and great fun." The Independent said it is "a celebration of energy, rhythm and inventiveness." The Sunday Press found it "utterly amazing and not to be missed." The Daily Telegraph said it is "a joyful celebration of the power of noise and human invention." And the Financial Times said, "What hit me hardest is its sheer poetry, but nobody could miss the entertainment value here, and its world premiere was greeted with a full throated ovation."

Cresswell and McNicholas then reworked PANDEMONIUM for a 2010 United States Tour, creating a dazzling array of homemade instruments, played by a 26-member mix of veteran STOMP performers, classical musicians, and physical comedians. PANDEMONIUM then climaxed with the human voice being added to the mix. What begins with simple melodies plucked, blown, thumped and brushed into life, ends with a complex symphonic and choral celebration.

And while the instruments are fanciful and whimsical (a Bed Bass that is a steel folding bed with strings with a two octave range; the Stringed Wok, topped with steel-guitar strings; the Squonkaphone, a relative to the saxophone made with plumbing tubes and balloons; and the Plumpet which marries a plumber's pipe to a traffic cone supported by an IV stand), it is music, and a musical experience, that comes from the stage.

The company planned a five-city tour beginning September 2010. It played Miami and Raleigh, before withdrawing the Washington, Chicago and Boston dates. Cresswell and McNicholas decided to bring the show to Los Angeles for these four performances at UCLA's Royce Hall before returning the production to the UK.

The Miami Herald said, "You might expect the new show to be on a faster track to a global profile. But PANDEMONIUM, which is to melody and harmony what STOMP is to percussion, is a far more complex show. There's the cast size, for one thing. STOMP is performed by eight dancer-actors, while PANDEMONIUM requires 26 performers and musicians - plus a 30-member choir drawn from each community where it plays."

McNicholas said, "We want to introduce PANDEMONIUM to the American audiences that have been so supportive of STOMP, and in particular to bring the production to Los Angeles where followers of STOMP and members of the music and entertainment industries can see for themselves the new areas we have been exploring in physical, theatrical music performance. We learn something new from every crowd, so we're looking forward to a real dialogue with the LA audience."

Bios:
Luke Cresswell is a self-taught percussionist from Brighton, UK. His session work as a drummer and rhythm programmer includes Beats International, Bette Midler, Elvis Costello and Bryan Ferry. After working for several years as a street musician and performer, he first created STOMP in 1991. His work as a performer in STOMP includes the Oscars, the Emmys and Quincy Jones' album, Q's Jook Joint. He has directed, with Steve McNicholas, several award-winning commercials and short films. He received an Oscar nomination for the film BROOMS, an Emmy nomination for Stomp Out Loud and co-directed the award winning giant-screen films, Pulse: a STOMP Odyssey and Wild Ocean 3D as well as the STOMP inspired feature VACUUMS. He has also received a special achievement award from the Chicago Human Rhythm Project.

Steve McNicholas, from Yorkshire in the UK, has worked as an actor, singer, musician, and writer with various theatrical and musical groups, starting out with the Bradford Theatre Group in 1973. Through the eighties he worked with Cliff Hanger, Covent Garden Community Theatre and Pookiesnackenburger. Despite also being an original member of the a capella group the Flying Pickets and a final appearance on MR. Bean. Steve no longer performs. He shares directorial credits with Luke Cresswell on STOMP based films and commercials. With Luke, he composed the soundtrack to the Showtime movie, RIOT, and shares the Oscar and Emmy nominations for his work on BROOMS and Stomp Out Loud. He co directed the award winning giant-screen films, Pulse: a STOMP Odyssey and Wild Ocean 3D. Luke and Steve are currently in production for two new 3D movies, THE LAST REEF and GREAT WHITE SHARK 3D.

STOMP -- Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the first STOMP production; it has been running in New York for 16 years and in London for eight years. STOMP has toured the globe almost continuously for 15 years and has been seen by over 15 million people in 48 countries on five continents. It is the winner of numerous awards including an Olivier Award for Best Choreography (London's Tony Award); an Obie Award; and a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience. Cresswell and McNicholas have received an Academy Award nomination for the short film BROOMS, four Emmy nominations and one Emmy Award for their acclaimed HBO special Stomp Out Loud, a Grammy nomination, and their IMAX films have garnered numerous awards internationally. STOMP has been seen on shows ranging from The Academy Awards (produced by Quincy Jones) to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and in venues including The Acropolis in Athens, Greece. STOMP has been parodied on Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, and been an answer on Jeopardy!