The verdict: An outstanding cast brings Jonathan Larson's autobiographical tale to life, and raises questions about what might have been
Having seen Jonathan Larson's two most significant contributions to American Musical Theater - Rent and Tick Tick Boom - on back to back weekends, one can't help but ask a few questions:
First, just what did the world miss out on because of this talented auteur's early death (Larson famously died from an undiagnosed heart condition just prior to the first public performance of Rent in 1996).
Second, would he have found a way to bring his unique but very time-and-place-bound world view to a broader story? Surely, after Rent, Larson would have been ready to move beyond the story of frustrated bohemians in New York trying to find their voice and their purpose.
And third, how eerie is it that premature death plays such a prominent role in his work? Both shows feature characters who's life potential is unnaturally cut down (or will be shortly) by early death.
Unlike Rent, with its sprawling story of over-lapping loves and relationships, Tick Tick Boom is a more intimate and focused. But both shows cover much of the same ground. The comparisons to Rent are inescapable (again, having seen the two shows on consecutive weekends, those comparisons are perhaps more inevitable in my case than they might normally be). Both shows feature lead characters who are struggling to find their creative voice in the face of poverty and the world's indifference. Both feature characters dealing with disease and near-certain death. Both feature central relationships that falter in the face of life's pressures. And both feature an improbably upbeat turn at the end (moving as it is, Mimi's miraculous resurrection in Rent is less believable and 'real' than Jon's unexpected phone call from a certain beloved Broadway composer near the end of Tick Tick Boom).
Tick Tick Boom focuses on one character - an aspiring Broadway composer named Jon (the show is admittedly autobiographical, and Jon in the play is meant to represent Jonathan Larson). Jon is played by the extremely talented Tristan Rumery, who just a couple of weeks ago was brilliantly playing addled hippie speller Leaf Coneybear in Runaway Stage's 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He is ably aided by Nancy Zoppi, who plays his girlfriend Susan and by New Helvetia Theatre's founding artistic director Connor Mickiewicz, who plays Jon's roommate and best friend Michael.
All three actors are outstanding in this production. In the play Jon is on the verge of turning thirty, and he is struggling with his lack of commercial success, with his girlfriend's desire to move away from New York and to settle down somewhere "near the ocean," and with his envy of his best friend's suddenly upwardly mobile turn in life. Rumery plays him with a nice mix of doubt, insecurity and determination, even as he is buffeted by various setbacks and interpersonal struggles. Rumery is also a great singer, and puts emotion into Larson's often demanding vocal requirements.
Zoppi is truly outstanding, not only as the playful but earnest Susan, but also in a host of other fleeting parts. Both Zoppi and Mickiewicz often step into other roles to move the story along, and Zoppi shines as the ingenue Karessa and as Jon's chain-smoking agent, among other roles. I found her particularly engaging as the leader of the brainstorming session at Michael's market research firm, coaching the co-workers (which included, humorously, the members of the onstage band) as they tried to come up with a marketing strategy for a new fat substitute (Jon's breakthrough suggestion: Chubstitute!). Watching her spouting marketing cliches in an overly self-important manner, I couldn't help thinking "I know that woman!"
Mickiewicz is also excellent, but with fewer opportunities to shine. The singing of all three actors was outstanding, and the harmonies were spot on and impressive. The band, under Graham Sobelman's direction, was also outstanding.
The set was spare. The company effectively uses some elements of its black box set up, including turning the walls and floor, at various times, into chalkboards upon which the cast writes and paints with multi-colored chalk.
For those familiar with the more pervasive and popular Rent, much of the score will sound familiar. Larson has distinctive sound, but he effectively uses rock music to deliver his vision (and true rock music, too, as the lead character points out early on in the show). The opening number "30/90" and the playful "Green Green Dress" are highlights, and the humorous "Therapy", in which Jon and Susan explore their inability to communicate with each other, is truly brilliant.
Tick Tick Boom isn't exactly new in its subject matter - Sondheim's Company, to cite one example, covered much of the same ground more effectively - but, thanks to this impressive cast and band, it tells an engrossing story in an effective and entertaining way. And it is fascinating as a glimpse of Jonathan Larson's development into a powerful storyteller. It underscores the tragedy of his early death, and, taken together with Rent, can't help but force you to wonder what might have been.
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