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Review: The Jonathan Larson Project is a Booming Success
March 10, 2025, 10:22.28 pm ET

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Photo: Joan Marcus

By Brian Scott Lipton

In my early days as a cabaret reviewer, I would often chastise singers who used too many unknown songs in their shows, believing that those performers were often alienating audiences who traditionally preferred the tried and true.

While musical theatre is a different animal – rarely, does one hum the songs going into the show – I still had some trepidation entering “The Jonathan Larson Project,” now at the Orpheum Theatre, which is essentially a revue of mostly never-heard-before songs by the late composer of “Rent.” As it turns out, there was no need to fear. Tick, tick, boom…this is an explosively good show!

While the show’s conceiver, author and producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper, has taken a chance by presenting the songs back-to-back while eschewing any sort of onstage narration – to learn about what you’re hearing, you’ll simply have to read the insert in the Playbill as a post-mortem – she clearly knows just how strong this material (and her five-person-cast) is, allowing them to stand beautifully on their own without explanation.

What’s revealed over a taut 90 minutes is how much depth, sensitivity, intelligence, humor, melancholy and self-awareness Larson (who died at age 36 in 1996) possessed, and how stunningly he could express these qualities in the melodies and lyrics of his songs. That knowledge is clearly shared by director John Simpkins, who uses only a few props on a bare stage (set by Michael Scheinkert), minimal costume changes (by Tracy Christensen) and some clever projections (by Alex Basco Basch) to set the scene for each mini-play.

Among the many standout numbers are “Valentine’s Day,” in which a brooding, black-clad, strong-lunged Andy Mientus ruefully admits to his commitment to the gay S&M lifestyle; “Hosing the Furniture,” in which the stupendously talented Lauren Marcus hilariously and heartbreakingly embodies a woman past the verge of a nervous breakdown while trying to please her fastidious husband; and “Iron Mike,” a chilling story-song, gorgeously enacted by Jason Tam, which “explains” how a computer breakdown led to the Valdiz oil spill in Alaska.

Equally great are “Rhapsody,” a love-hate letter to the life of a struggling artist in NYC, stunningly performed by Adam Chanler-Berat (whose resemblance to Larson is a tad eerie); “SOS,” a poignant cry for help from a suicidal man (superbly played by Mientus); and its spiritual answer, “Love Heals,” a soaring group number, rooted in R&B and gospel, that gives the wonderful Taylor Iman Jones her strongest chance to shine (and she runs with it!)

While most of these songs provoke tears or at least sadness, it’s also impossible not to smile through such numbers as the rowdy “Break Out the Booze,” in which Marcus practically channels the late Madeline Kahn; the cheeky “Casual Sex, Pizza and Beer,” led by an extremely enthusiastic Tam (whose dancing skills might have been better utilized by choreographer Byron Easley), or the satirical “The Vision Thing,” in which an unusual political candidate (Marcus) is forced to redefine her campaign over and over until it clicks with the so-called “experts.”

As Larson’s songs evoke so many different emotions, so does this must-see show. Like many shows that pay tribute to brilliant, deceased artists, “The Jonathan Larson Project” leaves us simultaneously wishing he could have contributed more to the world and feeling grateful for the precious gems he left behind.

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