Tick, tick ... BOOM!
Tick, tick ... BOOM! (official lettering tick, tick… BOOM! ) is a musical by the American composer Jonathan Larson (known from Rent ). Tick, Tick… Boom tells the story of the aspiring composer Jon, who lives in 1990 in New York . The story is autobiographical, as Larson's father writes in the Cast Recording booklet.
Larson began the play as a solo work in 1990. After his death in 1996, it was reworked as a three-person play by the playwright David Auburn and premiered off-Broadway in 2001 . Since then there has been a London production, an American tour and numerous other productions.
history
Tick, Tick… Boom was first performed Off-Off-Broadway in September 1990 at the Second Stage Theater and the New York Theater Workshop and The Village Gate (November 1991). Larson showed the show as a rock monologue , a completely new form of theater at the time. The play caught the attention of young producer Jeffrey Seller , who from now on became a fan of Larson's work. In 1995 he saw Rent's New York Theater Workshop production and decided to bring it to Broadway.
After Larson's death in 1996, producer Victoria Leacock hired David Auburn, author of the Pulitzer Prize- winning piece, Proof , to redesign Tick, Tick… Boom . Auburn conceived the monologue as a three-person musical . One actor takes on the role of Jon and the other two, besides Susan and Michael, all other roles in the play. In addition, the libretto and the score have been tightened and revised. This new version of the play premiered on May 23, 2001 off-Broadway at the Jane Street Theater .
content
Jon is an aspiring musical composer based in SoHo , New York. He is shortly before his thirtieth birthday and worries about aging and his previous achievements and works as a waiter. Michael, Jon's best (homosexual) friend, gave up acting for a lucrative job in market research. His friend Susan is a dancer and teaches ballet to “rich and untalented children”.
Jon has very high hopes for his new musical Superbia , whose workshop premiere is imminent. While Susan would rather move to the country with Jon and start a family, Jon knows that he can only make it to Broadway if he stays in New York. While Michael has made it to a certain degree of prosperity through his new job, Jon is ready to take on all the hardships in order to hold on to his big dream.
Songs
- 30/90 - Jon, Susan, Michael
- Green Green Dress - Jon, Susan
- Johnny Can't Decide - Jon, Susan, Michael
- Sunday Ensemble
- No More - Michael, Jon
- Therapy - Jon, Susan
- Times Square - Jon
- Real Life - Jon, Susan, Michael
- Sugar - Jon, Karessa
- See Her Smile - Jon
- Superbia intro - instrumental
- Come to Your Senses "- Karessa
- Why - Jon
- 30/90 recapitulation - Jon
- Louder Than Words - Jon, Susan, Michael
Remarks
- Sunday , Jon's song in the café, is based on the finale of the first act of Sunday in the Park with George by Stephen Sondheim . Larson wrote it as a humorous homage to Sondheim, one of his strongest musical influences.
- Another allusion to Sondheim can be found in Why . In addition to a quote from West Side Story, it contains the same tritone made famous by the West Side Story song Maria .
- The titles Superbia Intro and Come to Your Senses originally come from Larson's earlier musical Superbia .
- The cast recording features another track from the song Boho days , one of the few published recordings with Larson's voice. It comes from a demo tape, which Larson while working on Tick, Tick, Boom ... recorded.
Productions (selection)
- 2001 Off-Broadway premiere (Jane Street Theater): Jon: Raúl Esparza / Joey McIntyre, Michael: Jerry Dixon, Susan: Amy Spanger / Molly Ringwald / Natascia Diaz, director: Scott Schwartz , choreography: Christopher Gatelli
- 2003 American tour (including Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, East Lansing, Michigan, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Hershey, Pennsylvania, Nashville, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Boston): Jon: Christian Campbell, Michael: Wilson Cruz , Susan: Nicole Ruth Snelson, Director: Scott Schwartz
- 2005 London Premiere (Menier Chocolate Factory): Jon: Neil Patrick Harris / Christian Campbell, Michael: Tee Jaye, Susan: Cassidy Janson, directed by Scott Schwartz
- 2005 Canada Premiere (Poor Alex Theater Toronto): Jon: Dean Armstrong, Michael: Michael Dufays, Susan: Daphne Moens, Director: Mario D'Alimonte
- 2009 London West End Premiere (Duchess Theater): Jon: Paul Keating, Michael: Leon Lopez, Susan: Julie Atherton, Director: Hannah Chissick
- 2003-2004 European premiere (open-air theater in Pécs , Hungary): Jon: Attila Németh, Michael: István Fillár / Tamás Gregorovics, Susan: Lilla Polyák. Direction: Tamás Balikó, musical direction: Zoltán Bókai
- 2007 Denmark premiere : Jon: Mads Æbeløe Nielsen, Michael: Thomas Bay Pedersen, Susan: Christina Elisabeth Mørkøre, director: Jens Frausing
- 2009 Mexico Premiere (Teatro Rafael Solana): Jon: Marco Anthonio, Michael: Beto Torres, Susan: Natalia Sosa
- 2010 Germany premiere (March 11th in the auditorium of the high school in Kerpen , Kerpen near Cologne ): Jon: Oliver Morschel / Daniel Wichmann, Michael: Sascha Odendall / Joshua Vithayathil, Susan: Marina Schmitz / Michaela Berg, director: Barbara Franck / Marco Maciejewski, musical director: Philipp Polzin
- 2012 Switzerland premiere (March 8th in the auditorium of the Oberwil high school , Oberwil near Basel ): Jon: Adriano Leanza Michael: Anthony Hehir , Susan: Lea - Sina Bühler , director / musical director: Tobias Stückelberger , choreography: Anneke Brunekreeft
- 2014 Theater Sellawie Enns (March 6th in the castle cellar); Austrian premiere, German translation: Sebastian Brummer ; Jon: Marcel-Philip Kraml ; Michael: Rafael Albert ; Susan: Glenna Weber ; Director: Sebastian Brummer; musical direction Daniel Große Boymann
Web links
- Tick, tick ... boom! in the off-Broadway Database (English)
- Content more information about MTI shows and (English)