Market Theatre’s “Tick, Tick, Boom” Full of Angst, Hope
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
How do you measure a life in progress?
It’s the question burning in the mind and heart of the almost 30-year-old Jonathan in Market Theatre’s production of “Tick, Tick, Boom.”
Set in 1990 (the original working title of the play was 30/90), the work is an extreme self-portrait of a composer named Jonathan whose life’s goal is to write a great rock opera for Broadway, a musical that will, as he puts it, ''wake up a generation.'' His dream is that his current composition “Suburbia” will fulfill this dream.
The play is a thinly veiled version of the life of Jonathan Larson, who soon after this work created the rock opera “Rent,” which helped revolutionize the art form for his generation. Sadly, Larson died at 35, two weeks before “Rent” opened on Broadway, so he never lived to see the success he so desperately desired, a clear theme of “Tick, Tick, Boom.” This play was expanded after his death for the stage.
For theater lovers, this play offers a little something for everyone.
In Market Theatre’s production, Jacob Seay as Jonathan sings that the echoes of Happy Birthday just make him “want to lay down and cry,” a theme he continues for the entire play. It also leads him to reevaluate his life, love and friendships moving into his next stage of life.
The one-act musical is a simple and ultimately hopeful play that examines the self-examination and soul searching that often accompany a milestone birthday. In Jonathan’s case, it is compounded by poverty, working side jobs to survive and nagging doubts that he will ever make it as a composer.
It’s easy to see that “Tick, Tick, Boom” was originally conceived as a one-man show. Instead, it was rewritten for Broadway as a work for three performers, who often flash notebook covers to remind the audience of character changes. The only person that does not change is Jonathan, which is telling.
The other characters in the play, Rose Mullin as Susan/Karessa and Andrew Mullin (Rose’s husband in real life) as Michael, are on stage largely to assist in the self-evaluation and worries that haunt Jonathan, alternately offering comfort served with doses of stark reality.
The play is sometimes engaging and occasionally a bit irritating. Scenes away from Jonathan’s apartment, including at the restaurant and corporate boardroom, are mostly tropes.
The same is true of the songs, which with a few exceptions, including "Louder Than Words” and ''Therapy'' are unmemorable. The golden vocal moment belongs to Mullin as Karessa who has a voice that rainbows over the material, taking average songs and turning them into compelling performances. Her solo “Come to Your Senses,” part of the “Suburbia” show, demonstrates some serious chops and is the play’s best musical moment.
Michael as Jonathan’s lifelong best friend, brings a gentle emotional edge to his performance as the former actor who has reluctantly and mournfully given up his aspirations for the stage for the security (and paycheck) of the business world, a decision that may or may not turn out to be profitable in the end. He is warm and intentionally awkward as the best friend who worries about Jonathan, but who is also not-so-secretly living out his own ambitions through the aspirations of his friend. His angst over the golden handcuffs of the corporate world feels real, and is welcome.
Seay is kinetic as Jonathan, a whir of motion and undisguised doubt and solipsism. His anxiety about turning 30 without any professional success pushes him into a place where his girlfriend Susan and best friend Michael, both who are sympathetic supporters, are pushed to the edges of his ambition. Seay infuses nervous energy and empathy, often at the same time.
His song “Johnny Can’t Decide” and duet with Susan on “Therapy” are all over the stage, in the best possible way. It’s the secret sauce of the immersive staging the Market Theatre offers, and like in the recent production of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” pulls the audience into the story in “Tick, Tick, Boom.”
The three actors are given a boost by Christopher Rose’s solid direction of and lively choreography of Bailey Tyler. The pair painted well on the surround stage canvas, with actors often less than a foot from audience members as they navigated the space, offering a rare and intimate experience..
In the end the workshopping of mythical “Suburbia” near the end accelerates the play, bringing some welcomed dramatic tension concerning Jonathan and his future.
It also plants seeds of hope.
And that is the ultimate theme of this work, not the hand-wringing of presence doubts, but of the promise of potential for brighter futures alongside a grim reminder that this it is not something afforded to all.
“Tick, Tick, Boom” continues through March 24. Tickets here.
