"I'm a composer. Sorry, a 'promising young composer.' I should have kids of my own by now, a career, but instead I've been 'promising' for so long I'm afraid I'm starting to break the f--ing promise."
So begins the New Repertory Theatre's "tick, tick ... BOOM!" directed by Stephen Nachamie, Jonathan Larson's autobiographical precursor to "Rent." The show is about Jon (played by Guy Olivieri), a struggling 29-year-old musical composer living in New York City and working at a diner.
His roommate and best friend, Michael (Brian R. Robinson), was an actor, but he abandoned his passion to become successful in the marketing business. Jon's dancer girlfriend Susan (Aimee Doherty) keeps dropping hints about moving to New England and giving up the starving artist life. The stage is set for Jon's pre-mid-life crisis as he enters his 30th year, still unsuccessful in his dream of reinventing musical theater.
Anyone who has seen "Rent" - and if you haven't, wake up your laptop and visit ticketmaster.com immediately - knows that Larson's music is fun, poignant and eerily relevant to a variety of people. His dialogue, however, is sadly lacking. Such is the case for "tick, tick" as well.
The show opens with a young man dressed in full musician failure regalia (Converse, baseball tee, etc.), seated at an electric keyboard. He begins an angst-ridden, semi-pretentious monologue about his fears of turning 30 in just a few weeks and not yet having revolutionized his craft.
To be fair, the dialogue isn't that terrible, just a bit juvenile. The subject matter lends itself to self-pity. Thankfully, Guy Olivieri as Jon saves the audience from such a performance and instead delivers his lines frankly and matter-of-factly. Olivieri manages to eschew nearly all angst, leaving behind an honest monologue about genuine fears before launching into an energetic full-cast number that both addresses and makes light of his fears: "Turn thirty, 1990/ Boom! You're pass?©/ What can you do?"
The emotional and lively musical numbers are really the heart of "tick, tick." The pit orchestra is seated prominently on stage and consists of a rock band instead of the customary classical musicians. Amazingly, the three-actor cast still manages to blow the audience away with their strong voices and range without the use of microphones.
The songs vary from fun and celebratory to rich and poignant. As should be expected, the faster songs are comedic, the slower songs make one think.
Especially effective is Michael's song, "Real Life," in which he wonders if he has made the right choice by entering the marketing business. The success of this song lies in the lyrics, as well as in Robinson's candid delivery.
The lyrics are just ambiguous enough to apply to a number of people in a variety of situations so that anyone with a glimmer of doubt about the course of his or her life can relate. Robinson keeps the audience connected to his story by standing still on stage and allowing the music to have its own unique effect on each audience member.
To offset the heavier numbers like "Real Life," many fun and lively songs are interspersed throughout the show. When Michael buys a new apartment and Jon goes with him to check it out, a hilarious rock celebration of parquet wood floors and dishwashers ensues.
As is the case with most musical theater composers, Jon idolizes Stephen Sondheim. He makes prominent any and all contact he has ever had with the guru and doesn't even dare to say his name. (Instead, he says "Steve- Sond-.")
As a tribute to his idol, Larson writes "Sunday," a hilarious reworking of a song of Sondheim's from "Sunday in the Park with George" to apply to, instead of neo-impressionist art like the original, a diner on Sunday morning.
Though the cast is small, it is ample for this production of the show. Whenever another character is necessary, one of the three cast members dons glasses or a hat and an instant supporting character is available. Especially successful in this practice is Doherty, snapping instantly from Jon's girlfriend to Rosa, his cigarette-smoking agent who bears no resemblance to Doherty's mild-mannered Susan.
The New Repertory Theatre intended to reach youthful audiences with "tick, tick." And while it is relevant to younger generations, the themes are so pervasive that it has widespread appeal.
So grab a friend, sibling or even grandparent and head over to the Arsenal Center for the Arts for a truly excellent show.
