So what do you do? A composer fulfills his ultimate dream. He creates a musical that develops a cult following, is the runaway hit of its season, and expands where musical theater can go.
He also dies at age 36 the day before his personal and artistic miracle receives the bow, the cherry, the confetti that mark its dazzling success.
The composer is Jonathan Larson. The year is 1996. The groundbreaking achievement is “Rent.”
The answer to the opening question is you go through his trunk material to gather completed songs and dialogue, or even scraps and random numbers, to fashion another musical that is genuinely his. After all, for many people’s sake, Mr. Larson’s in particular, there are compelling reasons to follow up on the “Rent” phenomenon. Why consign Jonathan Larson or his potential to one-hit glory?
One group of producers, including Bucks County Playhouse’s Robyn Goodman, didn’t. “Tick, Tick…Boom!,” a new Larson musical, appears off-Broadway in 2001. It might not have the scope or genius of “Rent,” but it’s authentic and, better yet, entertaining.
The explosive title refers to Larson’s, or his character, Jonathan’s, approaching 30th birthday. Not only a chronological milestone, this 30th looms as a gauge of failure vs. headway, of optimism vs. resignation, of perseverance vs. leaving purposeful composing behind. It’s a true crisis, simultaneously comic and overwhelmingly sad.
On Goodman’s Bucks County Playhouse stage through July 15, “Tick, Tick…Boom!” roars to life with vibrant energy provided by three powerhouse performances and music and lyrics that restore dwindling faith that words, in particular, can still be strung together in creative, expressive fashion.
Director Eric Rosen adroitly fleshes out what is basically a narrative in which Jonathan (Andy Mientus) relates the eventful last weeks of his birthday countdown by making the dramatic most of vignettes between Jonathan, his girlfriend (Krystina Alabado), and best friend (Noah J. Ricketts). Choreographer Paul McGill contributes with more dance, and more styles of dance, than one might expect from a work built primarily on storytelling.
This “Tick, Tick…Boom!” does not give the impression of being a piece cobbled together from Larson fragments. It has the feel of a fully realized show appearing as its composer intended. Rosen and company aim for the upbeat, letting the pace of a Manhattan setting and well-framed musical numbers dominate over the angst Jonathan feels about the self-imposed deadline he makes of 30, girlfriend troubles, suggestions he pursue a different career, comparisons to his upwardly mobile best friend, and the impending workshop of a musical, not “Rent,” that could launch his career.
To Rosen’s credit, he strategically slows the boyishness and buoyancy of Jonathan’s quirky kvetches when a genuine dilemma, such as the best friend telling Jonathan he has AIDS — this is 1990 — or the girlfriend departing for an opportunity in Massachusetts, arises. In these moments, he lets the inherent seriousness of the situation come through. The glibness that covers much of the anger and apprehension Jonathan feels gives way to honest and moving dramatic sequences.
To Larson’s credit, “Tick, Tick…Boom!” has a varied score that touches on Broadway, pop, and rock to make an interesting mix. Most of the early songs could definitely be identified as coming from a musical. They have the feel of a number, a vehicle to move a plot or give a character a way to musically express his or her deeper emotions. I feared that Larson never accomplished an objective Jonathan describes often. That is to write a song that all Americans might sing, something in his style that could be pulled from his musical and gain the popularity of, say, “The Way We Were” or “Send in the Clowns.”
My fears were allayed about two-thirds of the way through “Tick, Tick…Boom!,” when not only one, but three, tunes struck me as breakouts that might have been played on radio as we knew it in the ‘50s through mid-70s. These songs — “Real Life,” “See Her Smile,” and “Come to Your Senses” — all have qualities that allow them to stand on their own and make sense beyond the context of any show.
I mentioned my concern about lyrics being diminished to lists or clichés in 21st-century musicals. Larson doesn’t always have the poet in him, but his lyrics have texture and the ability to be direct without being oversimplified, and it would benefit most lyricists writing currently for the stage to study his.
Larson’s sense of humor, and Rosen and McGill’s shrewdness, come out in two excellently crafted numbers. From the beginning of “Sunday,” when Jonathan describes a scene as being “blue, purple, yellow, red,” your hear a great homage to Stephen Sondheim in addition to a wittily, naughtily composed takeoff on the song “Sunday” from Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George.” Rosen compounds the fun by having Alabado and Ricketts entering the stage as characters do in “Sunday in the Park” and turning the rotating projections on the stage’s back wall to slide of Georges Seurat’s “Grand Jatte” painting – the work that inspired the Sondheim musical.
Sondheim also figures into another piece, “Sugar,” in which Larson has terrific fun categorizing and mocking the guest at the diner where Jonathan works to sustain himself. Cardboard cutouts of celebrities ranging from Ronald Reagan to Bernadette Peters set the scene.
Mientus maintains a glint in his eye as Jonathan deals with the parents, agents, friends, and well-meaning advisors that populate his story. Mientus’s look indicates amusement that disguises disdain or wonder at the world’s obtuseness. It’s especially effective when Jonathan is about to answer a question that borders on the rude or unwelcomely meddling.
While Mientus makes Jonathan’s anguish clear, he also shows the character’s resolve, especially when Jonathan deals with calls to quit composing and get a job with more potential.
Mientus securely anchors Rosen’s production, but he, Krystina Alabado, and Noah J. Ricketts make a tight ensemble with Alabado and Ricketts doing fine when they leave main roles to play a raft of characters. Both are great at capturing Jonathan’s plain-speaking, unintentionally hilarious agent, Rosa.
In addition to being a solid actor who suggests a long and positive bond with Jonathan, Noah J. Ricketts is a fluid, fun-to-watch dancer. He has several strong scenes in which he supports Jonathan while encouraging him to think more about security and being able to afford a luxury or five.
Krystina Alabado has a way of refreshing the stage every time she enters it. The remarkable part about that is scenes are usually perking already. Alabado makes them stronger by being a lively presence whose focal characters, Jonathan’s girlfriend and an actress that attracts him from his musical, also bring reality to situations.
All three performers are triple threats. Singly and in combination, they draw you to every scene and sequence. Without over-intensifying matters, Mientus and company make you care about Jonathan’s serial plights while keeping the overall context bright and making their musical numbers pay.
Jack Magaw’s set is so sparse, it almost doesn’t exist. Except for the diner scene, Magaw suggests space more than establishing a sense of place. Jonathan’s apartment is often where he and his friends happen to be standing.
Devario D. Simmons keeps costumes basic while having fun with Alabado’s green dress and moving Ricketts from businessman to busy young guy about town. Paul Miller’s lighting makes Magaw’s set seem like it’s defining space and, in general, enhances the production. Rodney Bush and the band are excellent and add to the zing of Rosen’s production.
“Tick, Tick…Boom!,” Bucks County Playhouse, 70 South Main Street, New Hope, Pennsylvania. Through July 15, Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. and Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, 2 p.m. $32 to $70. 215-862-2121 or www.bcptheater.org.
