We pursue personal success until we find something of actual value to do with our lives.
In Tick, Tick… Boom! by Jonathan Larson, the protagonist wants to be a successful Broadway composer. The tick, tick he hears is time ticking away until the boom of his 30th birthday. With the stakes so very low, only certain audiences will find this set-up emotionally engaging.
But it’s a musical, so the story’s not really why we’re here. And it’s a micro-musical: cast of three, band of three, all in the cosy environment of the Old Fitz. The fact that such a genre even exists is a delight, and this production, directed by Kurtis Laing, does serious hardcore delight.
Larson’s music is good fun and, under the musical direction of Iris Wu, the band is super tight. (Volume issues meant that occasionally I couldn’t make out the lyrics. But, extrapolating from my earlier comments about the show’s thematic concerns, I’m not sure that’s much of a problem.)
Performances by Brodie Masini, Tessa Olsson, Hamish Wells are wonderful, both vocally and physically. With the aid of movement director Juliette Coleman, Laing’s use of space is superb – it’s both beautiful and bubbling with energy. Accidentally open the door to the theatre from the pub outside and it’d seem as though you’d sprung the lid of a jack-in-the-box; unexpectedly jumping out at you would be a deliberate, orchestrated exuberance.
I try to respond to theatre in a way that suggests the producing company hasn’t simply outsourced the writing of their marketing copy to me. I try to look at dramatic structure and consider the overall meaning of the piece. It’s not an approach particularly suited to a show like this. It’d be the equivalent of attempting a dramaturgical analysis of sunlight on sea spray. (Excepting, of course, that this particular evanescent sparkle is the result of considerable artistic talent.)
Paul Gilchrist
Tick, Tick… Boom! by Jonathan Larson
At Old Fitz until 26 July, as a late night show
Image by Robert Miniter
Theatre Red 