Our new show promoter, Dodger of NYC, had booked us for a short fall 2000 tour that included performances in Boston, Bloomington, Indiana, Detroit, Chicago, and Washington DC. The BBC also called and wanted us to perform for the Royal Variety Show in November 2000.

Reviews in the U.S. during the fall of 2000
These are the reviews that again tell the story of Blast!'s United States successes and failures.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------


THE BOSTON PHOENIX
August 24-31, 2000
Our reviewer has a Blast
Drumroll, please
by Ellen Pfeifer

The presence of musical performers on a PBS pledge drive has never 
augured well for artistic quality. Whether it be superannuated opera 
trios, blind tenors, blarney tenors, music-theater divas with freaky 
high registers, extravagantly gowned lady string players performing 
Strauss waltzes under the baton of a smarmy long-haired bandleader, 
or a skinny little Flemish Elvis impersonator, the appeal has always 
been depressingly middle-of-the-road.

But now there's Blast.

It's hard to know what to call this theatrical extravaganza: 
drum-and-bugle corps halftime show meets Stomp meets Ondekoza taiko 
drumming ensemble meets Riverdance. But this viewer was bedazzled 
from the first minute when fine-looking brass players began 
sidestepping across the stage, hips swiveling to, God help us, 
Ravel's BolŽro.

A little history for those of us benighted Northeasterners who may 
not be familiar with what seems to be a tradition from the heartland: 
international drum-and-bugle-corps competition. Blast is the 
brainchild of James Mason, who with businessman Bill Cook founded the 
champion band unit Star of Indiana. Like some latter-day Professor 
Harold Hill, these two created the corps to benefit the youth of the 
Bloomington area. Then Mason decided to create an indoor theatrical 
entertainment that would offer opportunities to twentysomething band 
players who might otherwise have no performing outlet. Encouraged by 
a touring production he engineered with the Canadian Brass and the 
Star of Indiana, he and his creative team put together Blast.

Comprising 68 handpicked brass and percussion players as well as 
dance/color-guard performers, Blast has no name stars, just a 
stunning ensemble. The brass players, even those lugging the largest 
tubas, move like dancers. The percussionists are wild men, engaging 
in feigned martial combat, indulging in playful high jinks, beating 
out furious drumrolls with sticks balanced on their tongues. The 
"visual ensemble" not only dances but twirls, throws, and catches 
flags, light sticks, and every possible variation on the majorette's 
baton.

The visual element is stunning. The designers deploy elemental shapes 
(squares, rectangles, circles) and everyday objects (folding chairs, 
for example) with imagination and style. The curtain rises on a bare 
stage with a backdrop of blue and lavender squares. A single silver 
snare drum is spotlit, center stage. Later, the backdrop lifts to 
reveal another grid, this time six stacked compartments -- each a 
different color -- filled with percussion instruments and their 
players.

Although the musical selections tend toward pop favorites, the 
endless variations of BolŽro make for an effective curtain raiser as 
well as introducing all the sections of the instrumental ensemble. 
And the performance and visual brilliance make the finale, Malague–a, 
work despite its hoky Spanish flamboyance. The creators have even 
devised their own 100th-birthday salute to Aaron Copland, with a 
mostly vocal arrangement of "Simple Gifts"/Appalachian Spring.

At one point brass players, in black coveralls and sunglasses, 
materialize on stage, pushing closed blue folding chairs under blue 
light. (Are we going to get some blues? Yes, we are.) They slither 
over to stage right, open the chairs, and drape themselves over the 
backs and seats, playing all the time. Others enter stage left. Then 
a solo trumpeter is slowly lowered, standing, on a folding chair from 
the fly loft. In another number, a single snare drummer dressed in 
something like a karate gi enters and bangs out an intricate, ever 
faster beat punctuated by vigorous body English. He juggles his 
sticks, plays overhand and underhand, behind his back and under his 
leg, even with his tongue. Another comes out and they engage in 
battle, one charging the other with sticks serving as bull horns. 
When it seems things can't get any more exciting, a whole chorus line 
of drummers emerges, and their sticks lift, lower, and cross, as fast 
and perfectly coordinated as a Rockettes kick line.

The breathless pace seldom let up -- even during intermission, 
several of the percussionists entertained at the base of the Wang 
Theatre's grand staircase. Banging on wooden barstools and plastic 
garbage cans, they whipped up a furious clamor to the delight of 
listeners. Young kids pushed to the front to get a better look at the 
evening's heroes. After the performance, youngsters sought out 
players stationed in the lobby to get autographs.

Maybe this is what I loved most about Blast. Here were all these 
terrific instrumentalists, most of them classically trained. Far from 
seeming like band geeks, they came across as the coolest, sexiest of 
stars. What's the last time that happened?


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


BLOOMINGTON (INDIANA) HERALD-TIMES
September 16, 2000

Drum corps at new level

By Michelle Henderson,
Herald-Times Staff Writer

The trumpets remain, as do the tubas and bugles and twirling batons 
and flags. But last night's production of Blast! proved just how far 
you can take a drum corps from the field.

Watching the cast of 60 or so performers is a bit like seeing a mirage.

One can't help but notice all the familiar components of a dazzling 
marching band, while seeing their astonishing transformation into 
something new.

Artistry abounded in the music, the dance and the show's overall 
themes. But the cast possessed enough energy to rival Mount Saint 
Helens.

Their combination of polished musicianship, synchronized movements 
and dynamic choreography made for a Blast! of a night.

The elaborate stage was a character in its own right, set with three 
tiers of surround-stage lighting and a two-tiered backdrop of blocks 
similar to the set of the "Hollywood Squares." Each was filled with 
all manner of percussive instruments from gongs to xylophones to 
anything else that might carry a sound.

The performers had a real talent for connecting with the audience.

Of course, with a selection of popular songs ranging from "Bolero" to 
"Marimba Spiritual" to "Officer Krupke" to Chuck Mangione's "Land of 
Make Believe," the audience couldn't help but be drawn in.

But added to the musical array was a clear understanding of the 
dynamics required for dramatic scenes.

One number incorporated much of the moody, exotic feel of Asian music 
before breaking into a high-energy Latin motif.

They've incorporated many of the elements of Stomp, Riverdance and 
the Kodo drummers and transformed them into something that's 
completely their own.

The performers spilled out into the audience with horn blowers, 
dancing up the aisles and with streamers whipping in circles over the 
crowd. The energy rose into a finale that encompassed the entire 
audience. Prepare to be dancing up the aisles with the cast when you 
leave and to be reaching over to hug them at the door.

They'll have one more performance tonight at the Indiana University 
Auditorium and then Blast! is off on a North American tour.

But tonight they'll offer one heck of a show, and the best thing 
about these talented artists is they're homegrown. For tickets, call 
the Auditorium box office at 855-1103.

Reporter Michelle Henderson can be reached by phone at 331-4371, or 
by e-mail at mhenderson@heraldt.com.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


BILLBOARD.COM
September 2, 2000

ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING
Blast!: An Explosive Musical Celebration
Producer(s): James Mason
RCA Victor 63723
Genre: POP
SPOTLIGHT
Originally reviewed for week ending 9/2/00

This soundtrack to the smash British theatrical piece provides 
stateside listeners a preview of the production before it begins a 
North American tour this fall. PBS television viewers have already 
feasted on this innovative musical journey via a one-hour special 
that aired Aug. 22. The piece draws its material from well-known 
classical, symphonic, Broadway, world, and pop music compositions, as 
interpreted by an exuberant 68-person company of dancers, singers, 
and brass instrumentalists. Recorded in December 1999 at the London 
Apollo Hammersmith and in July 2000 at the Indiana University 
Auditorium, the set's numerous highlights includeMaurice Ravel's 
"Bolero," Samuel Barber's "Medea," and Aaron Copland's "Simple 
Gifts." Truth be told, this collection resonates far better after 
having witnessed what critics agree is a truly remarkable theatrical 
experience. As a piece of music on its own merit, one would have to 
be an ardent fan of the material covered in order to fully embrace 
the recording without seeing the production. That said, start lining 
up now for tickets to this truly worthwhile creative endeavor.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


INDIANA DAILY STUDENT
Friday, September 15, 2000

'Blast!' brings music and dance to IU
Touring show involves several alumni from University

by Ashley Keen
Indiana Daily Student
Published Friday, September 15, 2000

Cast members can't explain what makes "Blast!" such a unique and 
powerful show.

It could be the magical blend of so many different genres of 
performing arts. Cast members dance, sing, do flips and even hang 
suspended by wires, all while playing their instruments. Costumes and 
lighting only add to the effect.

Students can see the magic for themselves this weekend, when the 
performance comes to the IU Auditorium Friday and Saturday.

"What's really fun about 'Blast!' is that we actually get intimate 
with the audience; we actually communicate to them," said Ben 
Harloff, a cast member and 1999 IU graduate. "It's a very personal 
show."

"Blast!" features a singing, dancing, colorful onstage brass band ' a 
unique combination called brass theatre. It also includes a variety 
of musical genres, from jazz to blues to techno-pop.

"It's a celebration of music," Harloff said. "Expect many different 
genres of music, expect a lot of dancing, a lot of acting onstage."

The performance comes to IU as part of its pre-Broadway tour, direct 
from its premiere in London's West End, where it received glowing 
reviews.

"Imagine the air spinning with superbly manipulated sabres, flags, 
streamers and rifles all tossed up in perfect unison and timed to 
drop to the nanosecond and you might just get some idea of the show's 
intricate synchronized choreography," wrote Roger Foss in What's On 
In London. "Try to imagine all of this going on while the vast, 
disciplined army of hunky musicians blow a storm or beat their drums, 
and simultaneously do cartwheels or run backwards, and you are still 
only half-way there."

"You can't describe all we do in 'Blast!'" Harloff said. "We'll make 
you laugh, we'll make you cry, just a million things."

That success started right here in Bloomington in 1984, with a group 
called Star of Indiana. Founded to benefit young people in music 
education, the drum corps became the first ever to place in its first 
year among the top 10 at the Drum Corps International World 
Championships. In 1991, it won the world championship.

After reaching the peak of success in that area, Star of Indiana 
shifted focus, evolving into a theatrical show that brings outdoor 
pageantry onstage.

Most of "Blast!'s" 60 cast members are in their 20s, and 75 percent 
were members of a world championship drum and bugle corps. Each 
member fills one of three roles, as part of the brass, percussion or 
visual ensemble.

"It's a bunch of talented people doing what they love to do," said 
Jennifer Ross, who put her studies at IU on hold to be a part of the 
cast.

"Some weeks we perform daily," Harloff said, "and it's just a great 
experience _ I get to learn so much just being on stage."

"Blast!" will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and at 2 and 8 p.m. 
Saturday. Tickets range from $20 to $50, with a $10 student discount 
available for select levels. Tickets are on sale now at the IU 
Auditorium Box Office and at all Ticketmaster locations.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


INDIANA DAILY STUDENT
Monday, September 18, 2000

'Blast!' excites audience

by Ashley Keen
Indiana Daily Student
Published Monday, September 18, 2000

"Blast!" begins with a lone drummer under a single spotlight on a 
dark stage. It appears unassuming and simple. But that one drummer 
becomes two, then three, and suddenly the stage is leaping with the 
most talented, vibrant musicians ever to perform in Bloomington.

The performance deserves every ounce of the praise it received for 
its London premiere, and then some. Bloomington's audience Friday 
evening gave the performers three standing ovations, twoin the middle 
of the performance, and the show deserved even more applause than 
that.

"Blast!" radiated energy from beginning to end. The opening number -- 
"Bolero" -- included trumpeters who walked across the stage on their 
knees and drummers who established apersonal connection with the 
audience through their facial expressions. Not to be outdone, other 
musicians leapt across the stage and played catch with their 
instruments, all while playing a flawless musical number.

It was a fitting first piece for a wonderful show, which brought the 
audience to its feet more than once.

"Battery Battle," a collection of drum pieces, earned a standing 
ovation right in the middle of Act 1. It was more than deserved. The 
piece featured dueling drummers, and one who played the drums with -- 
believe it or not -- his nose. A string of drummers performed under 
the glow of a blacklight, until drum sets descended from the ceiling. 
The musicians capped the breathtaking performance under a strobe 
light; it was the show's best and most energetic number.

The music of "Blast!" offered something for everyone. "Everybody 
Loves the Blues" was reminiscent of the best in blues clubs, while 
pieces such as "Lemontech" were more contemporary. The performance 
wasn't devoid of show tunes. "Gee Office Krupke" of West Side Story 
was a hilarious, slapstick number that left the audience rolling in 
its seats. Other pieces had a more bohemian, tribal tone.

"Blast!" is expertly staged, which was most apparent in the closing 
number of the first act, "Medea." The music's angry, warlike chords 
complemented stark lighting and cold, metal props.

The geometric shapes and poles appeared as sharp lines on the stage, 
creating a powerful and moving image of war.

Every single aspect of "Blast!" was in harmony. The "visual ensemble" 
-- the equivalent of a guard in a marching band -- wore vibrant 
colors to match the mood of each piece. "Lemontech" featured bright 
yellow flags, costumes, sabers and poles, a celebration of a single 
color. Other pieces, including "Color Wheel" and "Color Wheel Too" 
displayed and celebrated every color in the rainbow, giving each its 
own unique personality.

"Blast!" also had more quiet moments, with muted colors and a more 
somber atmosphere.

"Loss," for example, was a quiet piece. It featured a trumpeter 
suspended in air by wires, one soul hovering above a somber stage of 
musicians. The image was more than effective. And "Simple 
Gifts/Appalachian Spring" featured bell solos and a singing cast; in 
this piece, something as simple as a synchronized arm gesture became 
a beautiful art form.

The most striking aspect of the performance is that it wasn't 
confined to a stage, but rather took place at times in the very midst 
of the audience. One piece featured a trombone player who rode around 
the audience on a unicycle, and the visual ensemble waved flags over 
the audience members' heads during another song.

Performers wandered throughout the auditorium during intermission, 
playing on trash cans and stools, and exited to the lobby to shake 
hands with the audience after the performance. This close interaction 
with the audience was unique and engaging and drew guests into the 
performance in a way no other Auditorium show ever has.

The one flaw of "Blast!" was that it came to IU for only one weekend; 
this reviewer, for one, would love to see it again and again. The 
show led the audience through a wide range of emotion, color and 
music, and was truly an engaging and exciting show.

The cast might soon be headed for Broadway, where "Blast!" is sure to 
impress even the most theater-savvy. With so much talent and such a 
unique premise, it is certain to be a phenomenon.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL
September 27, 2000

'Blast' explodes with color, sound of all kinds

By Elaine Schmidt
Special to the Journal Sentinel

Imagine a stage alive with bits of drum and bugle corps precision, a 
brass choir, drill team flags and rifles, choreography from modern 
dance and flamenco, a choral ensemble, and flashes of vaudeville and 
circus acts.

Now add saturated colors, put the whole thing in constant motion and 
crank up the volume.

The result would be "Blast," the high-energy 
cross-over-and-back-again ensemble that opened a weeklong run Tuesday 
at Uihlein Hall, replacing the canceled "Sound of Music."

The group presents a wildly creative, exhaustingly energized two-hour 
show that is sound and motion from front to finish. The repertoire is 
as eclectic as the ensemble's performance style. Numbers flow from 
one to the next with barely a beat in between, as classical music, 
jazz, blues, Broadway and a good deal more are served up in a 
uniquely enhanced style.

The performers are not content with merely taking the stage; they 
must fill it - with sound, color and motion. When the boundaries of 
the stage become too confining for this much raw energy, the group 
spills and splashes out into the house, surrounding the audience on 
several levels with sound and color.

"Blast" manages striking effects with remarkably simple means. There 
are none of the million-dollar special effects of latter-day theater. 
Instead, the group uses glowing staffs on a darkened stage, 
maneuvered in absolute precision.

Stylized and glowing versions of drill team rifles and sabers are 
flung high into the air and snatched back in perfect time with 
eye-popping effect. Handbells mounted on walking-stick-length wands 
are props and melodic instruments at once.

Drill team flags in vivid colors extend the group's visual impact 
upward, as does a multilayered set that houses a battery of 
percussion instruments. Use of stage space beyond the proscenium arch 
as well as occasional ventures into the orchestra pit also extend the 
group's reach.

Musical instruments - which, by the way, group members can indeed 
play - become as much a part of the visual impact as the musical one. 
From piccolo trumpet to concert tuba, the brass family is 
well-represented and intensely choreographed. A number featuring the 
Australian didgeridoo, actually a theater full of them, creates yet 
another remarkable effect.

The group splashed into intermission as well, with a small percussion 
ensemble performing on wooden stools and a trash can in the lobby and 
hallways.

"Blast" runs through Oct. 1 in Uihlein Hall at the Marcus Center. For 
ticket information, call the Marcus Center box office at (414) 
273-7206.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


DETROIT FREE PRESS
October 1, 2000

It's half-time all the time for the cast of
'Blast'

October 1, 2000

BY MARTIN F. KOHN
FREE PRESS THEATER WRITER

Do good work at the college newspaper and there's probably a real 
daily out there that'll give you a job. Demonstrate exceptional skill 
passing or tackling and the NFL might come calling. But what if you 
really enjoy performing with the marching band, playing music while 
you move? How do you get a job doing that?

Until recently, you didn't. Then, along came a show called "Blast!" 
Yes, with an exclamation point.

"I had wished there was something like this I could do. I always had 
a lot of fun doing marching band and drum-and-bugle corps," says 
George Hester, a Canton native and University of Michigan graduate 
who plays trumpet, cornet, mellophone, didgeridoo and a bit of 
percussion in "Blast!"

"I really thought I'd be sitting down playing orchestral repertoire 
for the rest of my life," says Hester, who majored in music 
performance and who at 23 can afford to wait a bit before he sits 
down and plays Mahler's Fifth Symphony or Vivaldi's Concerto for Two 
Trumpets in C Major.

For now, he's too busy moving while he plays and playing while he moves.

So "Blast!" which opens a three-week run Tuesday at Masonic Temple, 
is what? Like a halftime show on nutritional supplements? And at 
intermission two teams come out and play football?

"If you take that idea and push your imagination as far as you can 
push it, and leap beyond that ...it's probably far from that," says 
James Mason, the Bloomington, Ind., band and drum-and-bugle corps 
director who established "Blast!"

Perhaps this will help: Think about the step-dancing extravaganza 
"Riverdance," Mason says. Now think about all those folks executing 
their intricate moves "while playing the drums."

There are 60 performers in the "Blast!" cast.

"Everybody has multiple skills," Mason says, but that doesn't mean 
they all dance while playing the drums. St. Clair Shores native Bryan 
Sutton doesn't play drums at all as he dances. As a member of the 
visual ensemble, he throws objects in the air or performs complicated 
motions with flags, or sabres or wooden rifles. Or sticks that glow 
in the dark.

"We throw props that rotate up to six times" and go as high as 20 
feet. And, of course, Sutton and company also catch the props when 
they come down.

"It's a very specialized skill," says Sutton, 26. He started young, 
in freshman year at Lakeview High School, joining winter guard, a 
spinoff of the marching band. He also performed with a drum-and-bugle 
corps.

In "Blast!" he also sings.

"Everybody in the cast sings," he says, but, "thank God, it wasn't 
part of my audition." He has no vocal solo, but "we all sing the 
theme to 'Simple Gifts, " he says.

All in all, "it's a dream come true. I never expected this to 
happen," says Sutton, who explains that most drum-and-bugle corps are 
for people under 21. Once you age out, "you have a couple of options: 
You can do senior drum-and-bugle corps or you can teach." He chose 
the teaching route, winning championships with corps he directed in 
California, Massachusetts and Colorado.

Sutton has been with "Blast!" since it started in 1999. Although it's 
an American production, "Blast!" premiered in London last December. 
Because the show is hard to describe, it didn't have much of an 
audience at first.

"When we started it was very minimal," Sutton says. "Then we did a 
couple of TV shows," including an appearance on what Sutton calls 
"their equivalent of David Letterman" and "Blast!" ended up running 
for eight months in London.

The show began its American tour Aug. 23 in Boston.

"You've never seen anything like it before. It's entirely new, even 
for people who know drum corps." It's as if "the orchestra pit comes 
alive," Sutton says.

Hester agrees: "It's all about movement to music -- different music, 
different styles, different moods." When Hester submitted his 
audition tape, "I really had no idea what it was about. I thought it 
was just a stage show where you'd just play tunes and stood still."

Not only hasn't he stood still, Hester finds himself working out in 
the gym and running "pretty much every day." Being in the show 
"forces me to stay in shape. I do push-ups and sit-ups and watch what 
I eat. That's a really big part of the job."

Members of the visual ensemble have to do even more, Sutton says. 
"They offer weight training, and there's a ballet class we have to 
attend every day, a daily dose of an hour-and-a-half." Not that he's 
complaining.

"I'm going to do this as long as they let me," he says; "as long as I 
can do it."

Contact MARTIN F. KOHN at 313-222-6517 or kohn@freepress.com.

All content copyright © 2000 Detroit Free Press Inc. and may not be 
republished without permission.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


DETROIT FREE PRESS
October 5, 2000

'Blast!' shows off unflagging energy

Marching, dancing band drums up a hit

October 5, 2000

BY MARTIN F. KOHN
FREE PRESS THEATER CRITIC

In these days of presidential debates, it is entirely possible to 
experience an evening of flag-waving and people tooting their own 
horns and never see a candidate.

That would be "Blast!," the always-on-the-move brass, percussion and 
prop-tossing spectacle that does for trumpeters and snare drummers 
what electricity did for guitarists: allow them to jump, gyrate and 
pose as they play.

Where else would you find a unicyclist playing a horn, a whole pack 
of instrumentalists spinning the folding chairs they're about to sit 
on and a trumpeter performing while standing on a chair suspended by 
an unseen wire? (So, if you can't see it, how do you know a wire is 
there? It's either that or you believe in magic.)

Showgoers may feel disoriented before "Blast!" begins. Purple 
searchlights sweep across the audience as if police were looking for 
perps, but not too hard, and floodlights glare down from either side 
of the hall, suggesting that someone parked a couple of Subarus in 
the balcony and left their headlights on.

This has nothing to do with the show, although later, during a 
rollicking rendition of "Gee, Officer Krupke," from "West Side 
Story," those perp-seeking searchlights, yellow this time, again scan 
the audiences.

Whether musician or member of what the show calls its "visual 
ensemble," there isn't a person in "Blast!" over the age of 31, which 
implies (accurately) that a prodigious amount of energy is required. 
Nowhere is this more evident than in the show-stopping number called 
"Battery Battle." First a snare drummer steps out from the darkness 
and plays incredibly fast. Then he plays incredibly fast with a 
drumstick held behind his back or through his legs or, in a sublime 
moment, between his teeth.

A second snare drummer takes the stage and plays incredibly fast 
while simultaneously juggling his sticks. Hoo boy. Eventually these 
dueling drummers make peace, join hands and continue to play 
incredibly fast with their remaining hands.

And then a whole percussion ensemble comes out. Using sticks that 
glow in the dark, the musicians proceed to play in unison (incredibly 
fast), often whacking the drum the next person is holding. So things 
have progressed from mock conflict to selfless cooperation, which is 
progress indeed.

This is not to imply that "Blast!" is a message show. It's more a 
combination of a football game halftime show and an over-the-top but 
G-rated Las Vegas revue. What makes "Blast!" more than an evening 
full of gimmicks and dressed-up baton-twirling and banner-waving is 
that the music is beautifully played and the energy somehow transfers 
itself to the audience. You leave the theater thoroughly invigorated.

It almost makes you believe in magic.

Contact MARTIN F. KOHN at 313-222-6517 or kohn@freepress.com.

Copyright © 2000 Detroit Free Press Inc.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


PLAYBILL ONLINE (PLAYBILL.COM)
October 13, 2000

Brass Dance: Blast! Stomps Through Detroit, Chi, D.C.;
B'way Next?
13-OCT-2000

The national touring company of the march-crazy Blast!, in a wild formation.

Maybe you caught them on PBS. Maybe you thought they were Riverdance 
with instruments or Stomp with a brass section. And Blast! is, to a 
degree, both.

This new musical extravaganza, which uses drum and bugle corps the 
way Riverdance uses Irish step dancers, is currently traveling the 
country with an eye on Broadway. From its U.S. premiere at Boston's 
Wang Center, it has stopped in Milwaukee and currently finds itself 
at Detroit's Masonic Temple Theatre, where it will run through Oct. 
22.

Chicago's Ford Center-Oriental Theatre follows (Oct. 24-Nov. 5) with 
the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC next (Dec. 19-Jan. 14). After 
that is anyone's guess, but the producers are interested in a New 
York run. Beyond that, Broadway details are nil, according to a press 
representative.

Born in the heartland - Bloomington, Indiana, to be exact - Blast! 
evolved from the drum corps Star of Indiana. The group's artistic 
director James Mason, after carrying the company to a world 
championship at the Drum Crops International World Championships in 
1991, began to shape Star of Indiana from a 128 member group to a 
theatrical show. In 1999, Blast! debuted at the Apollo Hammersmith in 
London in a 68-person version.

The U.S. touring company has been pared down to 60, performers 
ranging in ages from 18 to 31, a majority of them having played their 
instrument since the age of 11. A vast array of musical impliments 
are used in the show from the familiar - trumpet, trombone, snare 
drums - to the exotic like mellophones, euphoniums, a large surdo, 
mark trees and the vibraphone.

The music is complimented by traditional marching band flag and sabre 
corps, who fling their brightly colored banners and wooden rifles to 
the flys in choreographed routines. The musicians too get involved in 
the marching.

Blast! consists of some 15 numbers, including one musical theatre 
number, "Gee, Officer Krupke" from West Side Story. Also on the 
program:

Ravel's "Bolero"
Lee's "Color Wheel"
Talbot's "Split Complimentaries"
Ferguson and Lane's "Everybody Loves the Blues"
Ellis' "Loss"
Copland's "Simple Gifts/Appalachian Spring"
Hannum-Lee-Rennick's "Bettery Battle"
Barber's "Medea"
Ponce's "Color Wheel Too"
Vanderkolff's "Lemontech"
Epperson and Venderkolff's "Tangerinamadidge"
Mangoine's "Land of Make Believe"
Miki's "Marimba Spiritual"
Spiro's "Earth Beat"
Lecuona's "Malaguena"

A dozen of those numbers have been preserved on an RCA Victor 
recording, available in the U.S. since Aug. 22. The recording was 
made both in December, 1999 at the London Apollo Hammersmith and in 
July, 2000 at the Indiana University Auditorium. Blast! was also 
broadcast on PBS in August, 2000.

For tickets to see Blast!, please contact the individual venues. 
Blast! is represented on the road by Dodger Theatricals. Blast! is on 
the web at http://www.blasttheshow.com.

- By Christine Ehren

Copyright © 1995-99 Playbill Online. All Rights Reserved.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


BROADWAY.COM
October 13, 2000

Blast! to Broadway?

Blast!, a drum and rhythm spectacular, may be coming to New York. 
According to the show's creator, James Mason, the touring production 
of the musical is currently looking for a Broadway house.

"The intent is to take it to Broadway," Mason told Broadway.com. 
"Though to my knowledge plans haven't been negotiated firmly." Mason 
is working with Dodger Theatrical about the proposed New York visit. 
A production spokesperson confirmed to Broadway.com that while "no 
dates have been set" for a Broadway run, the show is, indeed, 
expected to come to New York.

Blast! is currently touring the United States after premiering last 
year in London. In Mason's words: "Blast! is a show that takes over 
all the senses. We surround you with sight and sound." The 60-member 
cast of Blast! all play instruments and visually interpret the music. 
Whether holding flags or drums, everyone on stage is constantly 
moving.

When the Blast! tour stopped in Boston in August, Ellen Pfeifer of 
the Boston Phoenix wrote, "It's hard to know what to call this 
theatrical extravaganza: drum-and-bugle corps halftime show meets 
Stomp meets Ondekoza taiko drumming ensemble meets Riverdance. But 
this viewer was bedazzled from the first minute when fine-looking 
brass players began sidestepping across the stage, hips swiveling to, 
God help us, Ravel's BolŽro." Pfeifer went on to call the show 
"stunning."

Blast! is currently at the Masonic Hall in Detroit, Michigan through 
October 22. From there it will go to the Oriental Theatre in Chicago, 
Illinois (October 24--November 5) and the Kennedy Center for the 
Performing Arts (December 19--January 14). Could Broadway be the next 
stop? Stay tuned.

© 2000 Broadway.com, Inc. (Broadway.com is a division of Hollywood.com)


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
October 20, 2000

Having a `Blast!'

October 20, 2000

BY MIRIAM Di NUNZIO WEEKEND PLUS EDITOR

Sometimes, a show comes along that truly defies description. It's not 
exactly theater, it's not exactly dance, it's not exactly a concert. 
Such is the case with "Blast!," a musical celebration that starts a 
two-week run at the Oriental Theatre on Tuesday. While the show 
possesses the rhythmic precision of "Riverdance," and the explosive 
instrumentation of "Stomp," it's not accurate to categorize it 
alongside the two, says its creator, James Mason.

"It's just this musical spectacle featuring the pageantry, the music 
and the precision of a 60-piece drum and bugle corps. . . . But it's 
not exactly that either," Mason said.

"We're tracing the heritage of drum and bugle corps and marching 
bands and combining them with this enormous pageantry and music. 
There's never been anything like this on a theater stage before."

Mason could be right. In London, where the show played for 22 weeks 
to critical and public acclaim, reviewers were hard-pressed to put a 
label on "Blast!" which combines rock, jazz, techno-pop and blues 
with the precision of world class marching bands and, in a way, the 
athleticism of rhythmic gymnastics.

"Most of the cast is multi-skilled, and are doing more than one task 
at a time," Mason said. "But basically we feature three ensembles: a 
visual ensemble that manipulates props--they spin things, throw 
things, catch things; a percussion section that just beats the heck 
out of everything, and then there's the brass section. Of course 
there's crossover among the three groups as well."

Still confused? You're not alone. In fact, Mason said he still can't 
find the perfect words to capture all that "Blast!" encompasses.

"This is not your average marching band," he says with a laugh. 
"That's maybe where some of our foundation came from, but while these 
kids are moving [as a unit] across the stage, they're lurching, 
lunging, crawling. They have this great repertoire of movement that 
creates these patterns and colors."

Mason is a lifelong veteran of drum and bugle corps, having worked 
with Star of Indiana corps since it's founding in 1985. After winning 
numerous world championships with the corps, Mason wanted a new arena 
in which to celebrate his passion.

"I had this background in drum and bugle corps and pageantry and 
thought my only option was to teach it," Mason said. "There were no 
other professional opportunities waiting out there. So we toured with 
the Canadian Brass quintet for a summer; we went to the Hollywood 
Bowl, to Ravinia, to Lincoln Center in New York, and the tour taught 
us a lot about staging and sound and lights and production. [The 
quintet] encouraged me to pursue my dream of placing this massive 
drum and bugle corps on the stage in a real stage production. Which 
is just what I did."

More than 5,000 people sent audition tapes to Mason when word of the 
production became public. From that, he and his staff finally 
whittled it down to the top 60 musician-performers in the country. 
The cast ranges in age from 18 to 31, and the entire company lives 
and trains in Bloomington, Ind., in a former elementary school that 
was converted into dormitories and rehearsal spaces.

"These are the best at what they do," Mason said, "but it's not 
enough to be the best trombonist; you have to be the best trombonist 
who's an athlete too, because you have to play it while riding a 
unicycle. You have to be a great French horn player, but can you do a 
one-handed cartwheel while playing it?

"Unlike `Riverdance,' where they have this single repetitive theme of 
moving their feet, we're jumping, lurching, playing these musical 
instruments and hurling them across the stage. It's more like 
`Fantasia' come to life, if you want a true comparison."

The ensemble plays 280 different instruments, everything from talking 
drums and snare drums to piccolo trumpets and the Didgerydoo. The 
music, Mason said, represents the reds of passion, the greens of the 
Appalachian Mountains, the yellows of springtime.

"That's why we utilize music like Ravel's `Bolero,' or Copland's 
`Simple Gifts.' The whole show is really a celebration of music that 
overwhelms the senses with sights, sounds and color."

With so much happening on stage at the same time, Mason says there 
luckily have been few mishaps, though the opportunity is always there.

"There are probably 10,000 opportunities to drop things on the 
stage," he said. "They're up there throwing everything from flags to 
trumpets, about 25 feet into the air. It's all very exciting and the 
precision these kids have is unmatched anywhere in the world."


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


COOK NEWS RELEASE
October 24, 2000

Blast Invited To Return To Europe For Appearances At Two Elite Events

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Blast, a new stage show blending elements of drum 
and bugle corps with contemporary music, staging and special effects, 
will return to Europe in December for appearances at two elite 
entertainment venues.

The show, created and performed by Bloomington, Ind.-based Star of 
Indiana, has been invited to perform before England's Prince Charles 
and other notables at the annual Royal Variety Performance on 
Tuesday, December 5. The 60-member cast of blast will be among the 
featured performers at London's Dominion Theatre that night. The 
show, which last year featured such all-star performers as Barry 
Manilow, Andrea Bocelli, the cast of The Lion King and others, will 
be broadcast nationally in the British Isles on BBC television.

The group made its international debut in December 1999 at the Apollo 
Hammersmith Theatre in London, drawing critical acclaim and large 
audiences. The show's popularity in London was a key factor in the 
group's invitation to perform at the prestigious Royal Variety 
Performance.

Following that show, the group will travel to Germany for a coveted 
appearance on one of German television's most popular programs, 
"Wetten Das" - which translates in English to "Wanna Bet?" Blast will 
perform on the show, which previously has hosted such musical stars 
as Madonna and Michael Jackson, on Saturday, December 9.

Following these two European performances, the cast and crew will 
return to the United States to prepare for its engagement from 
December 19 to January 14, 2001 at the Kennedy Center for the 
Performing Arts (Opera House) in Washington, D.C. Tickets for that 
show range from $20 to $79 dollars and are on sale now. For tickets 
and more information on the group's U.S. tour, please visit 
www.blasttheshow.com.

Blast is presented by Star of Indiana and Cook Group Incorporated of 
Bloomington, Indiana.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


CHICAGO TRIBUNE
October 26, 2000

RIVER CITY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

Chris Jones
October 20, 2000

When some of the good, theater-going people of Milwaukee showed up at 
the Marcus Center for a little Broadway entertainment late last 
month, a surprise awaited. A sign in the lobby reminded them that the 
show on offer would not be the advertised production of "The Sound of 
Music" but would, instead, be a strange something called "Blast."

If shows don't sell, they cancel (witness Chicago's recent loss of a 
planned December engagement of "The Rhythm Club"). And the 
programming change had already been announced in the Wisconsin press. 
But judging by all the audible pre-show gripes in the lobby on Sept. 
29, this "Blast" affair would not have an easy night. After all, an 
intensely conceptual (and largely unknown) piece that originated in 
London but is based around the American culture of marching bands is 
a shock to someone expecting to hear "My Favorite Things."

By the end of the first act, though, the Wisconsin audience had 
already been on its feet. Such enthusiasm has been the general 
reaction to a phenomenally successful show that's been one of the 
strongest performers on the touring circuit this fall. "Blast," which 
begins performances on Tuesday at the Oriental Theatre for a two-week 
run, has done especially well so far in the Midwest, where theater 
bookers are thrilled with the show's potential.

"Marching bands and flag corps are very, very big in this part of the 
country," says Gina Vernaci, director of programming at Cleveland's 
Playhouse Square Center. "It will do very well here."

"We called every marching band in the State of Michigan" says Al 
Lichtenstein, who booked the show for Detroit (where it completes a 
very profitable three-week stand this weekend). "We had to educate 
the audience."

So what exactly is "Blast"?

"It's a celebration of music," says James Mason, the fellow from 
Bloomington, Ind., who had the good fortune to create the whole 
thing. "Our aim is to embrace our audience and engulf them with 
sound. It seems to work. British audiences were gobsmacked."

That meant taking marching-band arrangements, familiar color-guard 
choreography and some hot-dogging percussionists and churning that 
mix into big-scale theater with a lighting plot, set design and sound 
system that would not shame a Pink Floyd tour. By any standards, this 
is a very big -- and very loud -- show.

Mason, who founded the Star of Indiana marching band, dislikes and 
disavows all comparisons to pieces like "Stomp," but "Blast" is 
actually somewhat in the same style. It could also reasonably be 
described as the "Riverdance" of marching bands.

The young (and non-union) cast was culled mainly from the ranks of 
former collegiate band players and/or dancers. But "Blast," which 
uses 60 people taken from an initial pool of more than 5,000, clearly 
was cast with looks in mind.

And even though sensuality is generally downplayed in the 
stereotypically wholesome arena of bands, "Blast" took an 
intentionally different tack by including some revealing costumes and 
emphasizing a sassy attitude.

"Look, marching bands are a very physical activity," Mason says. 
"That cuts certain people out of the mix. I just wanted to take these 
talented young people and add all the theatrical elements. I wanted 
it to stand alone as a piece of theater. I thought that would be 
thrilling."

Mason says his work at Star of Indiana, one of the top 10 marching 
bands in the country in national competition, revealed a dilemma of 
the art. Once band people graduated from college, they are usually 
stuck without any outlet for their art.

"Kids spend their entire life performing and creating," Mason says. 
"They were being tossed aside at the ripe old age of 21."

Already, the well-funded "Blast" has come a long way from its origins 
as an attempt to put the Star of Indiana on a proscenium-theater tour 
with the Canadian Brass. Mason is hoping that the show's hipness will 
be a recruiting boon for band teachers everywhere. And if everything 
continues at the current heady pace for the hot-and-sizzlin' "Blast," 
the ultimate revenge of the band geek will be Broadway. For the best 
-- and best-looking -- practitioners of the art, it should push the 
retirement age well beyond 21.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


NETWORK CHICAGO
Thursday, October 26, 2000

Critic's Choice with Chris Jones
WFMT-FM

Blast!

If you travel regularly to Broadway, you'll know that show business 
has changed pretty drastically in the last decade. One of the biggest 
developments (which some do not see as an improvement) has been the 
demise of the book musical. In the days of Annie Get Your Gun (which 
is currently playing in revival at the Shubert Theatre), anyone with 
a new show needed a script, a logical series, and a dramatic arc; but 
anyone who watches music videos or goes to theme parks (or has kids 
has do) will appreciate that tastes in entertainment have 
progressively become much more, well, experiential.

Younger audiences, in particular, seem to crave spectacle, a sensual 
assault on the ears, and a conceptual approach to theater. We still 
want performers to exhibit a great deal of skill for our ticket 
money, but a lot of shows these days don't need what used to be 
called a book. Consider Stomp, Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, Forever 
Tango, Tap Dogs, and anything by Cirque du Soleil. All of these shows 
contain extraordinary levels of dancing and presentation, but they 
don't have narratives. It's also fascinating how hot rhythm has 
suddenly become-these days, whole shows can be based around 
percussion.

The latest such show to try and wide this wave is Blast!, a 
distinctive and really quite impressive new piece that arrives in 
Chicago this week. The show, which was a monster hit in London, is 
rooted in culture of the Great American Marching Band. As anyone 
involved with this world knows, marching bands like the Star of 
Indiana, for example, are very developed forms of entertainment with 
their own choreography and striking costumes.

Blast!, which includes a massive cast of some 55 young 
post-collegiate performers, has souped up the form to at least the 
level of Riverdance, if not a concert by The Who. This is a massive 
and quite spectacular show, thanks to the efforts of the British 
design team, which has surrounded horn players, hot-dogging 
percussionists, and the best color guard you ever saw, with 
state-of-the-art lights, set and sound. The result is a very loud and 
impressive night that literally bursts out of the proscenium confines 
to surround the audience with noise.

Blast!, which I saw in Milwaukee, draws on a traditional marching 
band repertoire, including the Shaker Hymn, Ravel's Bolero, and 
excerpts from both Copland and Samuel Barber, but it does so in a 
very hip and sexy manner. These performers look great and they have a 
sassy attitude that makes a very effective leap from a generally 
staid form into hot Broadway-style entertainment.

Purists may find this show overly hyperkinetic and, be warned, it is 
very, very loud; but if there is someone in your family who thinks 
that band geeks never got the respect they deserved, then Blast! will 
be an affirmative revelation.

Blast! runs October 24 to November 5 at the Ford Center for the 
Performing Arts Oriental Theatre 24 W. Randolph (corner of State and 
Randolph)

For tickets, call (312) 902-1400.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
Thursday, October 26, 2000

'Blast'
by Hedy Weiss, theater critic

"Blast" may not be exactly what Professor Harold Hill had in mind 
when he arrived in River City to extol the virtues of 76 trombones. 
But the powerhouse marching band and vaudeville act that stomped and 
sashayed onto the stage of the Ford Oriental Theatre on Wednesday 
night is such an unapologetic blend of inspired madness and 
unadulterated kitsch that the wily professor might quickly have 
grasped its money-making potential.

This is entertainment for the masses, alternately seductive and 
boring. No one would mistake the spectacle for art, but few would 
deny that its cast of 70 highly disciplined performers--nearly all in 
their 20s--are bravura musicians and athletes, and deft dancers and 
singers.

The show features flashy lighting (Hugh Vanstone) and a wall of six 
eye-catching, color-drenched "percussion boxes" (designed by Mark 
Thompson). Contentwise, it is a virtual catalog of styles--a blend of 
the acrobatic new age absurdity of Cirque du Soleil; the 
banner-waving bombast of an Olympic Games ceremony; the anarchic 
energy (if not the wit) of "Stomp!"; the mindless variety program 
excess of the old "Ed Sullivan Show"; the gonzo force of a martial 
arts display, and the punch and positivism of a big university 
marching band.

From time to time, a less benign quality surfaces, and you may feel 
like a participant in a somewhat sinister rally. But for the most 
part the production is just big, loud fun--alternately dazzling and 
tedious.

"Blast," which evolved from the drum corps Star of Indiana, is the 
creation of James Mason, a veteran marching band leader from 
Bloomington, Ind., and James Prime, George Pinney and Jonathan 
Vanderkolff.

The 100-minute show features 16 numbers, set to classical music 
(Ravel's "Bolero" and Copland's "Appalachian Spring"), pop jazz 
(Maynard Ferguson's "Land of Make Believe") and show tunes ("Gee, 
Officer Krupke" from "West Side Story").

The rhythmically intoxicating "Bolero" opens the show, and there is a 
sublimely nutty grandeur in the way a huge platoon of brass and 
percussion players swivel their hips, do deep plies and execute 
complex choreography while playing at full tilt. It makes you more 
than a little giddy, and so, in a very different way, does "Loss," a 
stunning rendering of Don Ellis' otherworldly jazz piece in which a 
lone horn player, standing on a chair, is lowered over the stage on a 
wire like some temporarily fallen angel. This is great theater.

Maynard Ferguson's "Everybody Loves the Blues" gets a hip, playful 
interpretation as the brass players perch on blue folding chairs. In 
"Medea," a giant steel grid outfitted like a percussion stand is 
lowered to stage level for a serious workout. The superb xylophonists 
run riot in other pieces.

Less appealing, though impeccably executed, are the many interludes 
featuring the twirling of oddly shaped batons, phosphorescent poles 
and sculptural objects, and the manipulation of flags and silky 
winged skirts.

The show ends with the cast serenading the audience into the lobby. 
Some theatergoers danced happily out the door; others raced for the 
exit. I strolled.

Hedy Weiss, theater critic

Through Nov. 5
Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph
Tickets, $22-$70.
(312) 902-1500


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Friday, October 27, 2000

Spectacular 'Blast' mixes wild sights and sounds
By Richard Christiansen

'Blast!" And a truer word was never spoken.

In every sense, as a very loud noise and as a terrific good time, 
this new and startling show is explosive entertainment.

It is drum and bugle corps, marching band and cheerleading routines 
raised to the nth degree of show business excitement, blasted out 
with a sophisticated sound system, lit with elaborate effects that 
would shame a rock concert extravaganza and socked across by a huge, 
young cast of musicians and dancers charging the stage and running up 
the aisles with the sweaty power of Olympic athletes.

No John Philip Sousa here, but Maurice Ravel, Leonard Bernstein, 
Samuel Barber and Chuck Mangione, each selection dazzlingly 
choreographed, smartly modulated and performed in a rousing, nonstop 
mix of spectacle and sound.

The brainchild of Indiana bandleader James Mason, the show started in 
London and is now touring the United States with its cast of 60, 
non-union American players, stopping here through Nov. 5 at the Ford 
Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre. (If you miss it 
this time, don't worry. It is a huge audience hit and will 
undoubtedly return for future engagements.)

Like "Riverdance," "Stomp!" and Blue Man Group, this is nonverbal 
theater, presented with virtuoso style and pumped-up performers..

"Blast!," in fact, may be the best of this lot. Of its kind, the 
musicianship here is incredible, from the dueling drummers Nicholas 
E. Angelis and Jeffrey A. Queen to the trumpet players Andy Smart and 
Benjamin W. Harloff, who plays while standing on a tiny platform 
suspended above the stage.

Flag formations and rifle spins are executed here by a phalanx of 12 
dancers with split-second precision, joined by a unicycling 
trombonist, a cartwheeling trumpeter and percussionists who juggle 
drumsticks that glow in the dark.

The musical instruments, gleaming in the spotlights, extend from 
traditional band pieces to exotica such as didgeridoos and a guiro.

And it's not all full blast. In one of the evening's highlights, 
everybody in the show stands rooted in place, sweetly joining in the 
Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts" from Aaron Copland's music for the ballet 
"Appalachian Spring."

The fun doesn't stop with the show's two acts.

At intermission, four of the drummers put on a mini-recital in the 
lobby, and, after taking their standing ovation, the cast moves down 
the aisles and into the lobby to give the ecstatic customers a 
smiling, handshaking farewell.

It is, indeed, a blast.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


WGN RADIO 720
Friday, October 27, 2000

Blast
Oriental Theater
24 W. Randolph
Chicago
Through November 5

Reviewed by Dean Richards 10/27/00

On stage "Blast is blowing the roof off of the Oriental Theater"

You may have seen Blast on PBS but this "Dean's List Must See" is one 
you must experience in person. Blast is a flood of creativity; 
elegant and energized; unlike anything you've seen; which makes it 
hard to describe.

Blast revolutionizes traditional drum and bugle the way that Cirque 
Du Soleil revolutionized traditional circus. Blast explodes with the 
same kind of pure fun and energy as Blue Man Group with the same kind 
of pinpoint precision as Riverdance.

In this 2 hour period that you never want to end, Blast's 60 
tireless, talented, good looking dancers and musicians take their 
drum and percussion instruments to new heights while effortlessly 
going through intricately choreographed drill movements around the 
stage and around the theater; all with a backdrop of light, color and 
sound worthy of the edgiest rock and roll show.

A seamless stream of satisfaction for the eyes and ears as they 
perform 16 classics from the worlds of the blues, jazz, Broadway and 
classical music.

They play during the show; they play out in the lobby during 
intermission and then they play marching out of the theater at the 
end ofthe show where they personally thank each audience member for 
coming.

This is a perfect show for all ages that's not here long enough for 
the word of mouth to get around on what may be one of the most 
delightful shows of the year downtown. Don't miss it through November 
5th only at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts at the Oriental 
Theater, 24 West Randolph, downtown.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


DAILY SOUTHTOWN (Chicago)
Sunday, October 29, 2000

'Blast!' has sound, spectacle ... little else

Sunday, October 29, 2000

By Betty Mohr
Correspondent

As you watch "Blast!" you might feel almost like taking time out to 
get pretzels, popcorn and beer. That's because this spectacle of 
marching brass bands, blaring horns, synchronized drill, and a 
crescendo of cymbals and drums is just like the halftime show of a 
big football game.

"Blast!" - playing through Nov. 5 at the Ford Center for the 
Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre - follows in the footsteps of 
"Riverdance," "Tap Dogs" and "Stomp." This flamboyant athletic 
display is another high-octane dance and musical extravaganza, 
differing from its predecessors in that it focuses on the flashy pomp 
of baton twirling, saber-rattling, flag waving and dexterous 
drumrolls.

Because "Blast!" originated from the Star of Indiana drum corps, 
which was founded in the mid-1980s in Bloomington, Ind., it's fitting 
that its artistic director James Mason has taken the outdoor 
pageantry of halftime entertainment and turned it into a drum and 
bugle corp drill.

Yet, it's one thing to experience a drum and bugle corp parade 
outdoors in a large football stadium, and another to experience it in 
a smaller theatrical venue. With trumpets blaring, drums pounding and 
cymbals crashing, this show explodes with such sonic-boom intensity 
that it creates waves of sound that seemingly bounce off your chest 
and ricochet into your ears.

While the best seats for most shows in the Oriental are usually close 
to the stage, in the case of "Blast!" the best seats in the house are 
in the back rows of the auditorium. You get a good view from there, 
and those seats are far enough from ground zero to prevent the sound 
waves from injuring your internal organs.

The show features 60 energetic musicians and dancers who sport 
sunglasses, black workmen's outfits and a colorful variety of 
T-shirts, as well as a dazzling display of flashing colored lights.

With a different selection of music in combination with thematic 
colors, "Blast!" offers arrangements from Ravel's "Bolero" to Leonard 
Bernstein's "West Side Story" and a Latin dance number awash with red 
flags.

Besides all the high-stepping footwork and lock-step marching, the 
production also highlights a trumpeter who blows plaintive bluesy 
notes while standing on a chair that is suspended in midair, 
glow-in-the-dark maneuvers and lots of twirling and tossing of rifles 
and batons.

"Blast!" is a big and brassy demonstration of athleticism, but it 
also is a show of pounding percussion without a story line. It has 
lots of sound and spectacle signifying nothing more than sound and 
spectacle. That means there's little in emotion or meaning, and at 
times the whole thing seems as cold as the silver trumpets in the 
production's metallic drills.

The best part of this show, however, is that by its end, there's a 
good chance you'll be in the mood for a football game. Wear your 
school colors and try to see this show Friday. It'll get you ready 
for the football weekend.

Blast!

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. 
Saturday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 5
Where: The Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, 24 
W. Randolph St., Chicago
Tickets: $22-$70
Phone: (312) 902-1400


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


MARCHING MADNESS
FOR BAND GEEKS, `BLAST' IS THE BEST REVENGE OF ALL

By Anne Taubeneck
Special to the Tribune
October 30, 2000

Seventeen-year-old Manny Cordova knows that some of his schoolmates at St. Rita 
of Cascia High School think he's a geek.

A band geek.

But Cordova, a senior, said he is "having a blast" this year as drum major and
trombone player for the flashy Marching Mustangs of St. Rita, located at 7740 
S. Western Ave.

And right after seeing the opening-night performance of the musical 
extravaganza "Blast!" with the rest of the Marching Mustangs and their band 
director, Cindy Gradek, Cordova happily tossed the dreaded term into his 
impromptu review.

"This show is where band geeks go and perform, and this is their future," said
Cordova. "It was the best thing I ever saw in my life. It gave me the shivers."
For St. Rita trombonist Peter Ferreri, seeing "Blast!" was "the pinnacle of 
being in band. I'm going right home and put on the CD."

You could call it Revenge of the Band Geeks.

Take a Big Ten football game half-time show. "Stomp," the brass section of a 
big band, hyperkinetic drumming, turn the volume up, all the way, and you have
"Blast."

With musical numbers ranging from Ravel's "Bolero" to the sensuous finale,
"Malaguena," plus Broadway, jazz, blues and techno-pop in between, "Blast!,"
which plays through Sunday at the Oriental Theatre, manages to bring down the
house again and again.

"Blast!," in other words, makes band cool.

As one former percussion player for the University of Illinois' Marching Illini 
who still loves to crank Sousa on the car stereo says: "If marching band 
members could go pro, like football players, `Blast!' would be their NFL."

Northwestern University music education major Tim Fawkes, a drum major and
trumpet player for the school's marching band who also attended the opening of
"Blast!" said: "It is really wonderful that people will come see this show and 
get a different idea not just about marching bands, but also music in the 
schools. I was sitting in the theater amazed at how far this kind of activity 
has come. It started as a very militaristic thing, but to see all this 
different kind of entertainment, with the twirling and tossing and drumming and 
the variety of music, is really awesome."

Added Northwestern mellophone player Julie Dawson, a senior from Austin,
Texas, majoring in German and ethnomusicology, "It's so exciting for musicians 
to be up there onstage and have their moment in the spotlight."

Dawson, who conceded it may seem geeky to others that band members "get a kick 
out of marching around in the snow and rain," pointed out that the Northwestern 
band has "an official band geek" who is elected every year, and wears a sort of 
toy monkey on his or her back. "It's a long-standing tradition," she said. The 
geek's duties are "to act, well, geeky." (The NU band geek, a musician in the 
group, does not perform as geek on game days, confining that role to 
rehearsals, added Dawson.)

Fawkes, Dawson and two fellow musicians, who practice 15 hours a week with
their 160-member group, stood under the Oriental Theatre marquee after the
"Blast!" opening, offering their insiders' perspective on why the show makes 
being a band geek seem super-cool. They noted that, like any talented and 
well-rehearsed performers, the 60 cast members of "Blast" (average age: 23) 
make extraordinarily difficult moves look effortless, from split-second timing 
on baton catches to lunging while playing a tuba.

Kimberly Bohannon, a senior from Boise, Idaho, who plays a 42-pound
sousaphone in the NU band, said she had been watching the tubas. "I was really
impressed with the way the players moved so precisely and rapidly without 
running into each other onstage with such large instruments."

Moving and playing at the same time looks deceptively simple, explained Dawson.  
"You have to remain stationary from the waist up," keeping the instrument very 
steady to make it sound good. "I don't think people give enough credit to the 
physical energy it takes to play in a marching band," she added. "It's also 
mentally taxing. You have to be very conscious of what you're doing and you're 
blowing out the whole time. After any show, we're all breathless."

And sweaty?

"You could probably wring out a glass of water from your clothes after a long 
day of playing," said NU percussionist and Glenview native Rob Siwiec.  In 
"Blast!" cast members aren't merely marching or high-stepping, noted Fawkes, 
"they are doing all sorts of movement, leaping and tossing their horns." To 
master the high-flying catches, with several cast members synchronized on a 
single beat, "you develop a technique to control the number of spins for the 
baton," said the NU drum major. "You say, this is going to spin three times, or 
eight times or 25 times, and the timing of when you toss and when you catch is 
based on the number of spins."

And then there is the exhausted-lips challenge for brass players. "When you 
play brass for any length of time," said Fawkes, "it really creates a lot of 
fatigue in your lips. It's a big endurance issue, but I thought [the "Blast!" 
horn players] had a really great sound through the whole show."

St. Rita of Cascia High School band director Cindy Gradek had some thoughts on 
why her quick-stepping, music-loving band members seem geeky to some students: 
"That has always been a perception of people who aren't involved because they 
have no clue what the [band] kids have going for them.

"I think you tend to have your smarter kids in band and maybe some are the more 
non-athletic kids. In today's society, athletics is king, so sometimes if 
you're not involved in athletics, you're considered a geek, whether you're in 
band or chess club.

"But if you compare it to athletics, the sports teams always have a bunch of 
people riding the bench. In the band, everybody is out there performing.

"We don't have anybody sitting on the sidelines. The kids know they're going to 
be ridiculed at times, but they're confident in who they are and they feel good 
about themselves."

According to Cordova, "The football players feel we don't work as hard as they 
do because we just play instruments. And sometimes we get made fun of for 
wearing our uniforms" (which are royal blue and black with red and silver 
sashes, gloves and plumed hats).

"But mostly we just blow it off," added the drum major. "The other kids don't
understand how cool being in band is. If we could take the whole school and 
bring them to `Blast!' I bet they would have a whole different perspective."


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Blast to Blast Broadway in April 2001
01-DEC-2000

Maybe you caught them on PBS. Maybe you thought they were Riverdance with 
instruments or Stomp with a brass section. And Blast! is, to a degree, both. 

Now, this new musical extravaganza, which uses drum and bugle corps the way 
Riverdance uses Irish step dancers, is headed for Broadway. The show will play 
a ten-week run at the Broadway Theatre in April 2001, the New York Times 
reported. 

The 1,752-seat Broadway (where Miss Saigon roosts to Jan. 28) was, until 
recently, the proposed home of the Bells Are Ringing revival, which has since 
switched to the Plymouth. 

Blast! is currently traveling the country. From its U.S. premiere at Boston's 
Wang Center, it has stopped in Milwaukee and recently played at Detroit's 
Masonic Temple Theatre, followed by Chicago's Ford Center-Oriental Theatre 
(Oct. 24-Nov. 5). The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC (Dec. 19-Jan. 14) 
concludes what Dodger Theatricals spokespersons are calling the show's "teaser 
tour." A full-scale national tour is planned to start in September 2001. 

Born in the heartland - Bloomington, Indiana, to be exact - Blast! evolved from 
the drum corps Star of Indiana. The group's artistic director James Mason, 
after carrying the company to a world championship at the Drum Crops 
International World Championships in 1991, began to shape Star of Indiana from 
a 128 member group to a theatrical show. In 1999, Blast! debuted at the Apollo 
Hammersmith in London in a 68-person version. 

The U.S. touring company has been pared down to 60, performers ranging in ages 
from 18 to 31, a majority of them having played their instrument since the age 
of 11. A vast array of musical impliments are used in the show from the 
familiar - trumpet, trombone, snare drums - to the exotic like mellophones, 
euphoniums, a large surdo, mark trees and the vibraphone. 

The music is complimented by traditional marching band flag and sabre corps, 
who fling their brightly colored banners and wooden rifles to the flys in 
choreographed routines. The musicians too get involved in the marching. 

Blast! consists of some 15 numbers, including one musical theatre number, "Gee, 
Officer Krupke" from West Side Story. Also on the program: 

Ravel's "Bolero"
Lee's "Color Wheel"
Talbot's "Split Complimentaries"
Ferguson and Lane's "Everybody Loves the Blues"
Ellis' "Loss"
Copland's "Simple Gifts/Appalachian Spring"
Hannum-Lee-Rennick's "Bettery Battle"
Barber's "Medea"
Ponce's "Color Wheel Too"
Vanderkolff's "Lemontech"
Epperson and Vanderkolff's "Tangerinamadidge"
Mangoine's "Land of Make Believe"
Miki's "Marimba Spiritual"
Spiro's "Earth Beat"
Lecuona's "Malaguena" 

A dozen of those numbers have been preserved on an RCA Victor recording, 
available in the U.S. since Aug. 22. The recording was made both in December, 
1999 at the London Apollo Hammersmith and in July, 2000 at the Indiana 
University Auditorium. Blast! was also broadcast on PBS in August, 2000. 

For tickets to see Blast!, please contact the individual venues. Blast! is 
represented on the road by Dodger Theatricals. Blast! is on the web at 
http://www.blasttheshow.com/. 

- By Robert Simonson
and Christine Ehren, David Lefkowitz

Copyright (c) 1995-99 Playbill Online. All Rights Reserved.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


From WTOP'S RICHARD DAY
BLAST Kennedy Center

A new show has taken over the Opera House that is frankly hard not to like. It 
seemed just a few numbers into Blast the audience had embraced all the fresh 
young faces, voices and bodies that kept spilling out of the wings. On they 
came, until their numer hit 60. Blast has been compared, and favorably, to 
Riverdance, Stomp and even an Olympic games opening ceremony. You should 
perhaps add a Superbowl half time show since after all the genesis is a drum 
and bugle corps that performed on athletic fields. This was an outfit that 
engaged in competitions, and won many of them, until artistic director James 
Mason decided to upgrade his production and take it into theatres.

That wasn't a stretch, in fact, it works even better indoors than out. What we 
wind up with is marching bands, drum and percussion ensembles, color guards, 
brass sections so big they fill the stage and lots and lots of movement. You 
never know what's coming next, like a trumpet soloist suspended in mid-air, or 
the delightful swarm of didgerydoos that descend into the audience.

The show begins on a quiet note however, a lone snare drum sits on stage and a 
young man approaches and begins the rhythm that is Maurice Ravel's killer 
Bolero. We are off and running into nearly two hours of music, dance, and 
athleticism. Some of these exuberant performers don't even stop during 
intermission, or after the show ends.

Another thing is the sound. From Chuck Mangione's lilting Land of Make Believe, 
to the Don Ellis piece Loss and the grandiose finale of Malaguena there is a 
distinct sound. It comes from the soft mellophones, euphoniums and french 
horns, combined with the omm-pah-pah of the tubas, the muscular trombones and 
the sharp top end trumpets and coronets. Plus there is endless percussion.

Blast is a lift off into the fun zone that will put a smile on your face. Its 
hard to believe anyone won't have a good time being emersed in this 
All-American spectacle, born in the heartland and now spreading its power and 
panache from London to Boston and Washington. Enjoy!


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Big band, big noise, big blast
Musical: The Kennedy Center show is a tribute to marching bands. 

By J. Wynn Rousuck
Baltimore Sun Theater Critic
Originally published Dec 23 2000 

Forget your preconceptions about marching bands, drill teams and baton 
twirlers. Forget military-style uniforms with brass buttons and plumed hats. 
Forget football fight songs. 

Think elegance, ingenuity, exuberance and tour-de-force showmanship. If ever a 
show deserved the exclamation point after its name, it's "Blast!" the 
Broadway-bound extravaganza that's currently spilling off the stage, down the 
aisles and into the lobby of the Kennedy Center Opera House. It's indicative of 
the sheer size of the production that the conductor stands at the very back of 
the theater; the entire opera house is his stage. 

The brainchild of James Mason, co-founder of a drum and bugle corps called Star 
of Indiana, "Blast!" has been rightfully described as the "Riverdance" of 
marching bands . The show also bears some similarities, at least in terms of 
its flashy percussion segments, to "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk," but 
without the social commentary and history. 

"Blast!" is purely a loud, proud, in-the-moment display of bravura band playing 
and precision movement - minus the woodwinds, that is. What's showcased instead 
is percussion, brass and dance-like choreography and drills, performed by a 
60-member ensemble dressed primarily in black or white work clothes and 
illuminated with rock concert-style lighting. 

A few examples will give an idea of the diversity Mason and his creative team 
pack into this idiosyncratic revue. Near the end of the first half, Nicholas E. 
Angelis, a solo snare drummer, comes out, and, starting with an angry yell, 
launches into a wild - but thoroughly controlled - round of drumming during 
which he plays, in rapid succession, with a drumstick tucked under one leg, 
then behind his back and, finally, vibrating off his tongue. 

At this point the audience is in a frenzy, but before they can calm down, he is 
joined by a second snare drummer, Jeffrey A. Queen, who plays while juggling 
his drumsticks. Soon the two men are locked in an all-out drumming duel - the 
number is called "Battery Battle" - playing fast enough to wear out an entire 
battalion of Energizer bunnies. Remarkably, during intermission these two, 
joined by two others, entertain the audience in the lobby, using wooden bar 
stools and a hard rubber trash can as drums. 

The "Blast!" cast is equally focused in the show's lighter moments, exemplified 
by the rendition of "Gee, Officer Krupke" from "West Side Story." Benjamin 
Taber Griffin plays trombone while unicycling down a ramp off the stage, 
through the aisles and back up on stage; a half dozen tuba players toot out the 
song while sitting cross-legged; and another company member sounds out the 
melody using the air trapped between his cupped hands. 

The performers clearly have fun with this number, but the piece that allows 
their enthusiasm to bubble over is Chuck Mangione's "Land of Make Believe." The 
number begins quietly with a solo horn player at the front of the top balcony. 
It quickly builds to include the rest of the brass and percussion players, many 
of whom bop around, circulate through the audience, shake hands with patrons, 
then return to the stage before the soloist in the balcony brings the piece to 
a gentle close. 

"Blast!" includes what Mason calls a "visual ensemble," which performs the 
choreographed drills, using everything from swirling flags and swords to 
various brightly colored abstract-shaped objects. Precise as this group's 
execution may be, it's even more breathtaking to see the show's musicians pull 
off synchronized moves and gymnastic feats without missing a beat or a note. 

Occasional segments go on too long, particularly the dire rendition of Samuel 
Barber's "Medea," which is staged amid much smoke and solemnity, as if it were 
the last catastrophic battle in a losing war. 

But for the most part, "Blast!" takes a corn-fed, all-American style of music 
and pageantry and turns it into something even John Philip Sousa - whose music 
is conspicuously absent - could never have imagined. No half-time show was ever 
like this. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


December 23, 2000 
A giant 'Blast' of drums and horns 
By Jayne M. Blanchard
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES 

If your favorite song is "I Love a Parade" or "76 Trombones" and you go to 
football games solely for the marching bands, then "Blast" will fit you like a 
majorette's uniform.

A spirited, musically and athletically gifted cast of 60 performs in what could 
be called the "Les Miserables" of drum-and-bugle corps shows. The young men and 
women play the drums, tuba, trombone, French horn and other instruments while 
dancing like the cast of a Janet Jackson video.

Occasionally, just to keep things interesting, they execute a back flip or 
cartwheel and simultaneously execute a musical solo or twirl any number of 
objects into the air -- poles, gunlike objects, boomerangs. They also never 
stop smiling.

Much of "Blast" will remind you of "Stomp," "Riverdance" and "Bring in Da 
Noise, Bring in Da Funk" -- the voracious energy of the performers, the 
infectious rhythm, the percussive beat that gets under your skin until you 
cannot help but shake your shoulders and stamp your feet to the beat.

The heavy-duty percussive moments work the best: the snappy snare-drum standoff 
in "Battery Battle" and a joyous drumming number in which Chippendalesesque 
cast members beat and bang on every surface they can find.

The opening number, "Bolero," slowly and sensuously builds in a crescendo, the 
mounting tension of the music underscored by the precise, repetitive movements 
of the performers.

In a quieter vein, the sunny and boppy rhythms of Chuck Mangione's "Land of 
Make Believe" will send your spirits soaring.

Similar to Riverdance's spinoff, "Lord of the Dance," "Blast" contains some 
cheesily arty moments, especially in "Color Wheel," when the cast flings 
multicolored flags in ways that are supposed to be poetic and profound but 
amount to a lot of flashy flag-waving. Seeing people running to and fro waving 
green flags is agreeable, but by the time we have spanned the rainbow and have 
gotten down to yellow, we are well over the thrill.

Most of the dancing is of the cheerfully sexy, Britney Spears/Christina 
Aguilera variety, but the sight of people bumping and grinding their pelvises 
while playing the trumpet is somewhat discomfiting.

But being too harsh on "Blast" seems rather gauche, like spitting on mom's 
apple pie. It is a toothy, enthusiastic tribute to parade bands and drum and 
bugle corps, after all, not a Stephen Sondheim work.

As long as you keep your spirits high and your aesthetic expectations low, this 
extravaganza is assuredly a crowd pleaser. {*}{*}{*} WHAT: "Blast" WHERE: 
Kennedy Center Opera House, F Street and New Hampshire Avenue NW WHEN: 8 p.m. 
Tuesdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 
through Jan. 14. 

Additional matinees at 2 p.m. Dec. 27 and Dec. 28. No performances tomorrow 
or Christmas Day. TICKETS: $20 to $79 PHONE: 202/467-4600 or 800/444-1324 


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Theater
'Blast!': Big Brassy Band 
Music Overshadowed By Gimmicks Galore 
By Nelson Pressley

Special to The Washington Post
Friday, December 22, 2000; Page C01 

"Blast!," the brass/percussion/flag-twirling extravaganza that opened at the 
Kennedy Center's Opera House last night, raises the question of whether a 
high-tech halftime show can make it on Broadway. (It's scheduled for a 10-week 
engagement starting in April.) If the answer is yes, then the theater is dead.

"Blast!" has its origins in drum and bugle corps and marching band routines; 
the idea is that the musicians move around and form pretty patterns while 
they're playing. In "Blast!", the crowd is treated to the spectacle of horn 
players doing handsprings, to a trombonist on a unicycle, to the sight of a 
trumpeter playing a ballad while balancing on a chair suspended 15 feet above 
the stage, and to a chorus (singing "Simple Gifts") executing the kind of crisp 
arm movements and hip twists that you could get clever fifth-graders to do.

The four-man creative team (George Pinney, James Prime, Jonathan Vanderkolff 
and producer-artistic director James Mason) seems bent on reaching the MTV 
crowd. Rock-show lighting by designer Hugh Vanstone carves the slightly foggy 
air. Three proscenium arches (by scene designer Mark Thompson, who also did the 
Gap-style costumes) glow like neon, as do musician-filled cubes at the back of 
the stage. The young performers, in black jeans, tank tops and so forth, preen 
like narcissistic pop stars.

And from time to time, they play terrific music. The show opens with a 
condensed version of Ravel's "Bolero," in which the stage gradually fills with 
horn players in black jumpers and percussionists dressed in white. (The cast is 
huge: There are 57 names in the program, and at one point I counted 27 horn 
players on the stage, a lot more than you'll find in Broadway orchestra pits.) 
"Bolero's" famous slow crescendo is matched by increasingly frenzied movement; 
at first the musicians just sort of glide around the stage, swiveling their 
hips and pivoting their horns, but by the climax they're thrusting their 
instruments at the audience, leaping and banging as the lights go wild. It's 
cheesy, but the players really do make a rich sound worthy of the show's title.

The show also features some fancy drumming, though without the infectious 
rhythms, crackerjack deadpan comedy and continual sense of discovery that made 
the percussion show "Stomp" such a delight. Here it's all hot-dogging: white 
drums and a blur of very fast drumsticks glowing under black light, a drummer 
manipulating his stick with his tongue, and other sideshow tricks. They're good 
tricks, to be sure, but this kind of stuff comes across much better in the 
lobby at intermission, where the pretension is turned way down and a looser air 
of street theater takes over.

The show's third component, after the horns and drums, is flag twirling, and 
what can you say about flag twirling? It's a skill, but is it a Broadway skill?

The worst thing about "Blast!" is the way it shamelessly begs the audience for 
applause. Performers gesture to the crowd to "give it up" after their tricks; 
they zip up and down the aisles and shake hands with the spectators, and they 
do what they can to compel a standing ovation at intermission by raising the 
house lights while the cast stands proudly downstage. (Appallingly, it works.)

The shame is that there is an awful lot of talent on the stage. The horn 
players are capable of mellow, cushiony tones, fat bleats and plain old awesome 
roars (as at the end of "Malaguena," the show's big finish). Chuck Mangione's 
"Land of Make Believe" is bouncy and joyful, and the "Bolero" packs a fun 
punch.

But the show's subliminal and unpleasant message is that top-flight 
musicianship is not enough. Horn players lie on their backs and wiggle their 
feet in the air like so many overturned beetles, or mince around like 
butterflies or Martha Graham castoffs; "Blast!" stuns you with its restless 
onslaught of meaningless movement. (Even very good marching bands have been 
known to stand still when they're playing challenging music.)

You begin to wonder why "Blast!" is so antsy, and though part of the answer 
lies in the show's "outdoor pageant" roots, it's hard to escape the thought 
that the creative team has decided that modern audiences are antsy and won't 
sit still without the gimmicks. It's an insult.

Blast! Creative team: James Mason, George Pinney, James Prime, Jonathan 
Vanderkolff. Sound design, Mark Hood, Bobby Aitken. At the Kennedy Center Opera 
House through Jan. 14. Call 202-467-4600.

© 2000 The Washington Post Company 


-----------------------------------------------------------------------