“Tick, Tick…Boom”. Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson. Directed and Choreographed by Ilyse Robbins. Lighting Design by Ben Rush; Sound Design by Alex Berg
Scenic Designer by Erik D. Diaz. Music Direction by Jordan Oczkowski. Presented by The Umbrella Stage Company, 40 Stow Street, Concord, through November 23.
By Michele Markarian
The world of childhood promises an open road, where any and all dreams are possible, ignoring any pesky variables, like personality, talent, looks, connections, socioeconomics, and, well, fate. Which, as Carl Jung said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate”. At some point in our twenties, we decide what kind of people we want to be and the kind of life we would like to live, as it dawns on us that we really can’t have it all. We are forced to choose, and the choosing isn’t always easy, especially for those of us who have our hearts set on a career in the performing arts.
“Tick, Tick…Boom,” an autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, takes place in early 90s New York on the cusp of Jon’s (Johnny Shea) 30th birthday. Jon is a composer who supports himself by waiting tables. He lives in a crummy flat with his roommate, Michael (Anthony Pires Jr), an excellent actor who has decided to throw it all away and make some real money by joining the corporate world, reveling in the finer things that a big salary can buy. Jon’s girlfriend, Susan (Vanessa Calantropo), a dancer, is tired of New York and wants to move to New England. When Jon protests that she is a dancer who needs to dance, she retorts, “I’d still be a dancer in New England, but I’d have a dishwasher”.
While the people closest to him know what they want and where they need to be, Jon is grappling with his life. His career feels stalled – his agent hasn’t called him in months and he’s not sure that a showcase of his musical “Superbia” will be a success, or even well attended. Tick…tick…BOOM is a refrain that plays in the back of his head constantly – “It is the sound of one man’s mounting anxiety,” Jon tells us mournfully. (It is also sadly prescient; the real Jonathan died of an aortic aneurysm five years later.) Should Jon sacrifice his dream of being a composer, or sacrifice his relationship with Susan to stay in the city? Should he follow in the footsteps of his best friend Michael, and use his creativity in the corporate world? Larson aptly describes a unique time in a young person’s life where maybe loving someone or excelling at something isn’t actually enough to make it work. The play is also fraught with the tensions of the time – George Bush is President and the AIDS epidemic is fatal, without any cure.
Ilyse Robbins directs her talented cast in an explosive, energetic ninety minutes, set against the backdrop of Erik D. Diaz’s expansive, industrial set, which is used to convey a dive apartment, an expensive rental unit, an office, a restaurant, a convenience store, and a theater. Shea really sells the character of Jon – we feel his angst, his elation, and his relief when he finally makes a decision. He has a terrific voice and imbues his musical numbers with passion. Anthony Pires Jr’s relaxed confidence is a nice antidote to Shea’s balled-up anxiety. The two men show off their dance abilities in the charming “No More”, with an easy chemistry. Calantropo is touching as the wistful Susan. She and Pires Jr play a host of other characters energetically and convincingly. The music, for the most part, alternates between dramatic and fun – “Sunday” is a laugh-out-loud sendup of Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George” – with the exception of “Green Green Dress”, a silly number that makes frequent references to twenty buttons, that for some reason don’t exist on the dress used for the show.
While “Tick, Tick…Boom” might not make you nostalgic, it will make you remember what it’s like once again to be at the crossroads of life. And if you’re not there yet, go and enjoy the energy and passion of this talented cast and know that whatever your future holds, you’ll have a strong hand in choosing. For more information and tickets, go to: https://theumbrellaarts.org/production/tick-tickboom
