A MUSICAL THEATRE EXPLOSION
San Francisco’s New Conservatory Theatre Center is presenting a musical by the late Broadway composer, lyricist and playwright Jonathan Larson. If you have heard of the runaway smash hit Rent then you are familiar with Larson’s style. tick, tick… BOOM! predates Rent by a few years, but the tight harmonies and quick key changes that would define Larson’s style are evident.
tick, tick… BOOM! was originally written as a one-man show, Larson performed it in the early nineties, but after his death at 35 in 1996 the show was rewritten and restaged as a more traditional musical with three cast members. The new version opened Off-Broadway in 2001. Since then it’s popped up in two Off-Broadway revivals, an Off-West End Production, a US National Tour, and experienced a resurgence in popularity in 2021 when Lin Manuel-Miranda directed a Netflix version starring Andrew Garfield.
The show is said to be semi-autobiographical, and through that lens we can see many of Larson’s early insecurities on display.We meet an aspiring Broadway composer living in Manhattan with big dreams of rubbing elbows with musical theater titans like his hero, composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. Fast approaching his 30th birthday, he is preparing to workshop his new musical SUPERBIA (a real-life unproduced Larson piece) while wrestling with some of life’s big questions about his career, family, and ultimately happiness.
A majority of tick, tick… BOOM!, as written, takes place in a SoHo apartment; NCTC’s intimate subterranean theater is a perfect environment for that kind of storytelling. This is Broadway on a small scale but Michael Kieko Sinclair’s staging is still immersive, allowing the audience to forget where they are and get lost in the story.
Director Cindy Goldfield has assembled a strong cast led by Chris Morrell as Jon. Morrell seemed effortless in the actual characterization of Jon, but at times when belting high notes struggled with pitch. I saw the show 12 nights into the run (including previews), so vocal exhaustion and tiredness may have played a role as this show requires a fair amount of the actor’s upper register.
Michael (Marcus J. Paige) is Jon’s friend who chose the seemingly easy way out by getting a high-paying but ultimately unsatisfying career, a nice apartment and a sweet car. Paige is a solid actor and vocalist and embodies the role with the obvious nuance of someone who made a conscious choice to be safe vs taking a leap toward something bigger.
Susan, played with charisma by Catalina Kumiski is the vocal powerhouse in NCTC’s production of Rent, tick, tick… BOOM! rounding out a harmonically impressive ensemble.
As with Rent, tick, tick… BOOM! is a must-have stamp in your Broadway passport, and NCTC’s production is a fitting tribute to both Larson and the play itself.
photos courtesy of NCTC
tick, tick… BOOM!
New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness Ave in San Francisco
Wed & Thurs 7:30, Fri & Sat at 8, Sun at 2
ends on June 9, 2024 EXTENDED to June 16, 2024
for tickets ($25-65) visit NCTCSF
Christopher J. Beale is an award winning journalist,
producer, and podcaster based in San Francisco
