Tick, Tick … Boom!
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Cititour.com Review
Reality inevitably intrudes on any production of “Tick Tick…Boom,” now being given its first major Off-Broadway revival by the Keen Company at the Acorn Theatre. In practically every moment of this 90-minute piece’s self-aware dialogue and each note of the remarkable score by Jonathan Larson, one is acutely aware of just how tragic the writer’s unexpected death was in 1996, just as his masterwork “Rent” made its Off-Broadway debut. So while, had circumstances been different, this highly appealing and clearly autobiographical musical might otherwise might be perceived as just one piece of a much larger puzzle, it is now a major part of Larson’s legacy.
Originally conceived in 1990 as a monologue by Larson, the work was later re-structured into its current three-actor musical form by Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn. We immediately meet Jon (the often explosive, consistently engaging Nick Blaemire in a true star-making turn). a struggling musical theater composer facing a number of pivotal turning points in his life: he’s turning 30; his girlfriend of two years, Susan (Ciara Renee), is making noises about wanting to move to New England; his lifelong best friend Michael (George Salazar) is moving on up and out of their apartment (and urging Jon to abandon theater for a career in marketing), and Jon’s new musical, “Superbia,” is set to get a full-on workshop after five years.
So, it’s no wonder that over a couple of weeks, he’s full of angst (“30/90”), anger (“Sunday,” a brilliant parody of Stephen Sondheim’s song of the same name), sadness (“See Her Smile”) and doubt (“Why”). Blaemire perfectly captures each of Jon’s emotions and mood swings without ever losing our empathy, and also executes Christine O’Grady’s athletic choreography flawlessly/
One of the plusses of Jonathan Silverstein’s simple, sincere production is how well it brings out the true depth of friendship between Jon and Michael, who is gay, even as their life’s paths begin to diverge. Much credit here also belongs to the excellent Salazar who brings incredible pathos to his role; when he reveals the big underlying reason for why he’s chosen his “new life,” it’s heartbreaking.
Renee is a bit too bland as Susan, who should possess a bit more edginess (even if she’s decided to abandon New York). Nonetheless, she does a dynamite job in playing all the show’s other female characters, including Michael’s marketing colleague, Judy, and Jon’s highbrow agent, Rosa, and she does a superb job delivering the devastating ballad “Come to Your Senses” (which is meant to be part of “Superbia,” and sung by yet another minor character, Karessa).
“Love or fear?” ask the characters in the show’s final number, the gorgeous “Louder Than Words.” That song, like the “booms” that haunt Jon, will linger in the ears long after the cast’s final bow – as will the sobering, saddening realization that Larson had so little time on earth to experience both emotions.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.keencompany.org/ticktickboom
Cast
Nick Blaemire, Ciara Renée, George Salazar
Open/Close Dates
Opening 10/4/2016
Closing 12/18/2016
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Theatre Row
410 W. 42nd St
New York, NY 10036
Map
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