Tick, Tick…BOOM!
Tick, Tick…BOOM!
By Jonathan Larson
Directed by Stephen Halpin
Musical Direction by Don Hopkinson Jr.
Starring: Bret T. Fox, Ariana Morales and David Brooks
Baggy Pants Theatre at The Roth JCC, Maitland FL</strong>
Before Jonathan Larson wrote “Rent,” there was this angst ridden NYC hipster romance / musical. Jon (Fox) is turning thirty and his musical theater writing career has gotten him as far as a single off-off -Broadway workshop. His best friend and roommate Michael (Brooks) sold out for a high paying marketing gig with a nice apartment and a Beemer while girlfriend Susan (Morales) wants to marry and move to Cape Cod. They only do summer stock out there, and John has bigger dreams plus there are plenty of cute actresses waiting table in the Big City. While he may never get to The Great White Way but there’s plenty to agonize over as his biological clock ticks away. If only Steven Sondheim would drop by…
I listened to the original soundtrack to this show a while ago, and it left me cold but tonight’s arrangements by local music guru Don Hopkinson brought these songs to life. While nothing here is a toe tapping hit, the effect overall is quite pleasant if you can get over the incredibly awful microphones the cast sang though. :”Johnny Can’t Decide” lays out Jon’s central dilemma in an urgent rock style, “Therapy” gives Jon and Susan a fun and sexy duet, and the big number “Why” pushes Jon down his post show journey. Poor Michael never gets his own song, although he contributes to the bruncable “Sunday” as well as the very Rent-sounding “No More.” If you ignore the sound issues (drop outs, distortion, feedback, and delays) this is a solid production of a musical that rarely sees the stage these days. It’s clearly autobiographical and a time capsule of the New York of 1990, although the tension between bohemian starvation and a soulless corporate corner office spans the centuries. The show has a few laughs, a few tears, a few nice songs, and a few lost girlfriends. I just would have preferred the cast to lose the microphones and project.
For more information on Baggy Pants Theatre, please visit http://www.baggypantstheater.com
