Boxes make beautiful music in "Stomp Out Loud," a pumped-up version of an off-Broadway hit that celebrates the rhythm of daily life. Photos by Craig L. Moran. Steve McNicholas, left, and Luke Cresswell guided "Stomp" from street theater to a new $28 million venue at the Aladdin.

When "Stomp" debuted in post-Margaret Thatcher Britain, some audiences tried to read populist politics into the broom-pushing antics of a cast that looked like the cleanup crew of an industrial plant.

Co-creator Luke Cresswell shakes his head at that notion.

"The only statement was saying you don't need big costumes, big lights and big sets to make an interesting theater show. And you don't need loads of money."

Then, without missing a beat, he adds, "That's a (expletive) load," as he and creative partner Steve McNicholas break up in laughter.

The joke will be obvious when ticket-buyers see the giant wheel of fortune and other toys filling the stage of a new $28 million theater at the Aladdin, where the off-Broadway hit "Stomp" has morphed into "Stomp Out Loud."

The new production that begins previews on Saturday (Nevada residents can get in for $50 through April 16) sends "Stomp" down the path traveled by the Blue Man Group when it evolved from low-budget origins to the kind of grandiose staging Las Vegas does best. The costume budget hasn't gone up, but "Stomp" creators hope bigger ideas in a 1,500-seat custom theater will create a large enough footprint to compete with Cirque du Soleil and the blue guys.

"The attraction for Vegas was this theater," Cresswell says of a previously undeveloped space on the casino's second floor. "We look at it like a playground."

Bankruptcy by the original Aladdin partners stalled a showroom and nightclub plan by different backers in 2001. The new build-out is backed by Base Entertainment, the young company that spun off from Clear Channel Entertainment and also produces "Phantom -- The Las Vegas Spectacular" at The Venetian.

"Stomp" made its U.S. debut in 1994. A touring version first came to the MGM Grand two years later and returned annually for another four years. New York theatrical producer Richard Frankel began scouting the Strip for a sit-down production in 2001. But progress was slowed by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the producers never found the right room for the smaller show before the chance to do a new one came along.

"The original show with eight people was really because we couldn't afford more than eight people," Cresswell says. "That's not a bad thing, really. That's what made the show work. But we always wanted to do things with a bigger cast. You can make them louder, bigger. Vegas is actually one of the few places in the world you can think of ideas like that and have a stab at them."

McNicholas and Cresswell have worked together since 1981, when the Brighton natives were part of a street theater ensemble called Pookiesnackenburger. McNicholas is the quieter one with a background in theater and traditional music. Cresswell is the percussionist who still flexes mighty biceps as he counts off rehearsals, this one with the dozen cast members banging away on upside-down plastic trash cans.

The two formed the music group Yes/No people in 1986, but found their short films and multimedia performances more interesting than pure audio. The Thatcher years did have one influence on their careers: Much of the broom slapping and trash-can lid pounding was choreographed for various benefits during England's years of heavy unemployment.

Creating "Stomp" in 1990 was, Cresswell says, "a case of looking back at all the stuff we'd done and suddenly going, 'Hang on a minute. We can put this in a format.' Before that, a lot of pieces were done as little 10-minute ideas put in different places and different things."

As "Stomp" came together, its rules of conduct gradually emerged. The show celebrated percussion in all facets of life, from silverware to Zippo lighters. "Everything has to be an object you recognize and any member of the audience may well have handled themselves," McNicholas says. "We never have anything electrically powered or something you modified so much it becomes something else."

And the costuming -- or lack thereof -- paralleled the grunge rock of the early '90s. The cast performed in T-shirts, work boots or camouflage pants because, well, that's the way they came to rehearsals. Even today, cast members choose their own clothes.

"We might stop 'em from wearing something: 'That looks like bloody Rambo,' " Cresswell notes.

The biggest challenge was pace and variety. "People's biggest fear is that it's 90 minutes of drumming," Cresswell says. "And then the people who have seen 'Stomp' often don't even talk about the drumming. It's the madness and comedy. They actually forget that the whole thing is held together by rhythm."

"Our biggest ally besides rhythm is dynamics. It's light and shade," McNicholas adds.

Even today, "The hardest thing to get right is to not be self-indulgent with drumming," Cresswell says. "You want to get a load of drummers and do the most complicated thing you can do. Then you realize it's absolute boring to watch."

In January, Cresswell and McNicholas took "Stomp" to a new level with an Australian production called the Lost and Found Orchestra. The instruments weren't just rhythmic, and the concept extended into contraptions worthy of the game "Mousetrap."

But the creators chose to stick with the familiar name and rules on the Strip. Outside an HBO special -- also titled "Stomp Out Loud" -- that took the action into the streets of New York, the original show never has been televised or filmed for a DVD. The creators fear it just wouldn't translate. "You need to have it in your face," Cresswell says.

"It's very nice coming back to this show after doing (Lost and Found) and having the boundary put back. It actually really makes you have to work harder," he notes. " 'Stomp' is very limiting yet an extremely creative way of working. You put these boundaries on you which really do constrain you. But because of that constraint, it's always amazing what you can do."