by Jonathan Larson
May 21, 2010
May 21, 2010
Shimberg Playhouse
Straz Center
For those of you who have already eclipsed the Everest of ages that is 30, do you remember what you thought about the week leading up to it? And for the bright eyed twenty-somethings completely scarred beyond belief about turning the big 3-0, what is it you’re planning on accomplishing before that day arrives?
tick, tick...Boom is a three character “rock monologue” written by the creator of RENT, Jonathan Larson. Well before the smash hit that RENT became, Larson was a struggling composer working tirelessly to achieve a glimpse of success. In the failure of obtaining the rights to produce a musical based on George Orwell’s 1984, Larson set out to vent his frustrations in an intimately orchestrated monologue complete with love, loss and getting older. Tackling such topics as poverty, ambition, homosexuality, loneliness and failure, Larson’s message is as poignant today as it was in 1990 where the story is set.
tick, tick...Boom follows the story of Jon, a self proclaimed “promising young composer” during the final week of his twenties. Jon struggles to make ends meet in New York City while doing his best to produce his rock musical Superbia. Jon wrestles with his decision to pursue a career in musical theatre as his roommate Michael has moved on from his acting dreams to become a successful marketing executive. Jon’s girlfriend Susan has aspirations of taking her dance career outside of New York City and suggests Jon to join, which only adds more questions to Jon’s already pensive disposition. As the story unfolds, we learn about what makes each character choose their path in life.
Originally created to be performed by Larson himself, tick, tick...Boom has become three actors performing the roles of ten characters over the course of the musical. With the majority of the story being narrated by Jon, Michael and Susan take on different characters such as Karessa, an actress in Jon’s musical; Rosa, Jon’s agent; Jon’s father; a convenience store clerk and a host of marketing executives. Expertly performed with subtle changes including different headbands, sweaters and slouching, the cavalcade of characters never blurred and was clear.
This brilliantly performed musical is quite the night out at the theatre. The cast of tick, tick...Boom consists of Michael Indeglio as Jon, Fred Ross as Michael and Alison Burns as Susan. I found Indeglio’s delivery of large chunks of text to be flawless and well performed. Given the task of narrating, singing the majority of the songs, and interacting with each of the characters is no easy task. Bravo Michael. Fred Ross’ ability to change from Michael, to Jon’s father, to the store clerk, to the over friendly marketing assistant and even a scene as Rosa the agent was well played. Michael’s ability to alter his voice or demeanor never crossed over between characters and we always knew who he was portraying. Alison Burns' performance as Susan was excellently executed. I really enjoyed Alison’s solo of “Come to Your Senses”. The cast of tick, tick...Boom each brought a fantastic element to the production which made for a wonderfully entertaining show.
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All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed tick, tick...Boom. With the net proceeds of this production being donated to the American Cancer Society, it made it that much better. As always with show being performed in the Shimberg Playhouse, the in-your-face and intimate nature of the setting lets you relate to the actor in ways you can’t with larger stages. The cast did a fantastic job of creating a story with music and lyrics with an unadorned set. I can’t wait to see it again.
To make a point, the power of Larson’s words can translate without the help of sets or superfluous technical support. This production of tick, tick...Boom was performed on the set of Eurydice also playing at the Shimberg.
tick, tick...Boom will be playing until May 29. This four show engagement is being presented at the Shimberg Playhouse at the David A. Straz Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are selling fast, so please contact the Straz Center sooner rather than later for ticket information.
Straz Center
For those of you who have already eclipsed the Everest of ages that is 30, do you remember what you thought about the week leading up to it? And for the bright eyed twenty-somethings completely scarred beyond belief about turning the big 3-0, what is it you’re planning on accomplishing before that day arrives?
tick, tick...Boom is a three character “rock monologue” written by the creator of RENT, Jonathan Larson. Well before the smash hit that RENT became, Larson was a struggling composer working tirelessly to achieve a glimpse of success. In the failure of obtaining the rights to produce a musical based on George Orwell’s 1984, Larson set out to vent his frustrations in an intimately orchestrated monologue complete with love, loss and getting older. Tackling such topics as poverty, ambition, homosexuality, loneliness and failure, Larson’s message is as poignant today as it was in 1990 where the story is set.
tick, tick...Boom follows the story of Jon, a self proclaimed “promising young composer” during the final week of his twenties. Jon struggles to make ends meet in New York City while doing his best to produce his rock musical Superbia. Jon wrestles with his decision to pursue a career in musical theatre as his roommate Michael has moved on from his acting dreams to become a successful marketing executive. Jon’s girlfriend Susan has aspirations of taking her dance career outside of New York City and suggests Jon to join, which only adds more questions to Jon’s already pensive disposition. As the story unfolds, we learn about what makes each character choose their path in life.
Originally created to be performed by Larson himself, tick, tick...Boom has become three actors performing the roles of ten characters over the course of the musical. With the majority of the story being narrated by Jon, Michael and Susan take on different characters such as Karessa, an actress in Jon’s musical; Rosa, Jon’s agent; Jon’s father; a convenience store clerk and a host of marketing executives. Expertly performed with subtle changes including different headbands, sweaters and slouching, the cavalcade of characters never blurred and was clear.
This brilliantly performed musical is quite the night out at the theatre. The cast of tick, tick...Boom consists of Michael Indeglio as Jon, Fred Ross as Michael and Alison Burns as Susan. I found Indeglio’s delivery of large chunks of text to be flawless and well performed. Given the task of narrating, singing the majority of the songs, and interacting with each of the characters is no easy task. Bravo Michael. Fred Ross’ ability to change from Michael, to Jon’s father, to the store clerk, to the over friendly marketing assistant and even a scene as Rosa the agent was well played. Michael’s ability to alter his voice or demeanor never crossed over between characters and we always knew who he was portraying. Alison Burns' performance as Susan was excellently executed. I really enjoyed Alison’s solo of “Come to Your Senses”. The cast of tick, tick...Boom each brought a fantastic element to the production which made for a wonderfully entertaining show.
.jpg)
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed tick, tick...Boom. With the net proceeds of this production being donated to the American Cancer Society, it made it that much better. As always with show being performed in the Shimberg Playhouse, the in-your-face and intimate nature of the setting lets you relate to the actor in ways you can’t with larger stages. The cast did a fantastic job of creating a story with music and lyrics with an unadorned set. I can’t wait to see it again.
To make a point, the power of Larson’s words can translate without the help of sets or superfluous technical support. This production of tick, tick...Boom was performed on the set of Eurydice also playing at the Shimberg.
tick, tick...Boom will be playing until May 29. This four show engagement is being presented at the Shimberg Playhouse at the David A. Straz Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are selling fast, so please contact the Straz Center sooner rather than later for ticket information.
Music of the Post - I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business
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