MIAMI � Where others see junk � in funnels, drain pipes, kitty litter and aluminum � Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas see sound.
And in the capable hands of the pair who created the international smash theatrical show "Stomp," those cast-off goods make more than noise. From a chaos of errant parts available in any hardware store, 26 musicians using homemade instruments at Cresswell's direction coalesce into a symphony so true it dares listeners to question: Can they can really believe what they hear?
"Pandemonium: The Lost And Found Orchestra," is touring for the first time in America after breaking box office records in Australia and performing extended runs in London and Amsterdam. The show's Miami debut runs through Sep. 26, followed by engagements in Raleigh, N.C.; Washington D.C.; Chicago; Boston; and more cities awaiting confirmation.
"You won't have heard anything like it before," Cresswell said. "Because no one's heard saws played with bottles. But it's also a lot of comedy involved � it's very madcap, very eclectic. This show's always a surprise."
Cresswell and McNicholas have created from ordinary materials a full orchestra, which performs with a local choir of about 30 in each city. And they are able, somehow, to coax a rich cannon from roughhewn instruments by tinkering almost exclusively with dimension.
The pitch of a set of wine glasses played with a wet finger on the rim changes with the thickness of each glass. The tone produced by a long set of bellows before a row of bottles is moderated by the amount of water in each bottle. The same principle applies to a giant set of drain pipes that sounds like an organ, and the hoses fixed to funnels and traffic cones blown by trumpet players. Their length of pipe dictates what sound the instrument can make.
Of all the bizarre instruments produced for "Pandemonium," the latter was most difficult.
"It's a really hard job to get that pitch right, to get the notes right," McNicholas said.
The players are a mix of classical musicians and percussionists, physical comedians and even an aerialist. And because movement is so central to the production, most must be able to rotate onto other instruments.
"The fun part is trying to make the instruments, and then we have to learn how to play the instruments," Cresswell said. "So it's like we always start from scratch. You have to learn to play a garden hose, which is a totally different technique. It's just a whole array � it's a playground basically. A musical playground."
The saws � played with traditional bows � assume an ethereal, almost eerie tone. The tubes and funnels are dead ringers for a traditional brass section. And with Stomp" in its pedigree, "Pandemonium" viewers can expect a bathing groove of percussion � from giant plastic tub- and soup vat-drums to 5-gallon water bottles full of beans and kitty litter.
"Stomp," about to mark its 20th anniversary, has been an off-Broadway fixture for 16 years. But even its odd, intricate choreography proved easier to master for McNicholas and Cresswell than their new production.
"This is the most ambitious thing we've ever done, and it's been a real challenge," Cresswell said.
"('Stomp') was sort of all about making rhythm out of anything you could find. This is sort of trying to make it orchestral, trying to make it symphonic."
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