Performance

Venue	Menier Chocolate Factory
	Also: The Mixing Room
Town	Outer London
County	Greater London
From	31st May 2005
Opened	9th June 2005
To	28th August 2005
When	Tue-Sat 20:00. Sun 18:00
Prices	From £20.00. To £20.00.
Menier Chocolate Factory (V341546307)
Current/Future Listings
Listings Archive

tick, tick... Boom!

Work:: tick, tick... Boom! (S01567096019)

Before Rent, there was tick, tick... BOOM! An aspiring composer questions his life choices on the eve of his thirtieth birthday in Jonathan Larson's autobiographical rock musical. The Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winner tells the story of the sacrifices he made to achieve his big break in theatre. His girlfriend wants to get married and move out of the city, his best friend is making big bucks on Madison Avenue and yet Jon is still waiting on tables and trying to write the great American musical. Set in 1990, this compelling story of personal discovery embraces the ideal of holding onto your dreams through life's most difficult challenges. Containing fourteen songs, ten characters, three actors and a band, tick, tick... BOOM! takes you on the journey that led to a Broadway blockbuster.

Author

Jonathan Larson

Production:: (T1867122123)

Producer	David Babani
Producer	Danielle Tarento (for Menier Chocolate Factory)
Director	Scott Schwartz
Music	Jonathan Larson
Performer	Christian Campbell (Jonathan)
Performer	Cassidy Janson (Susan)
Performer	Tee Jaye (Michael)

Listing:: L1086084956

Current production:Work

Reviews

: 16Jun05:
What an excellent show. Great songs, a really involving story and superb performances. If you can, I suggest that you make the journey and go see it as it wont be there for ever and you\'ll kick yourself if you miss it.
This is the struggling (autobiographical) story of a young composer trying to get a rock musical finished and performed. Book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, who wrote Rent and died just shy of his 36th birthday virtually on the eve of Rent\'s premiere. It is in part this real story which so informs and strengthens the musical and shich ensures that the final success seen by the composer is actually twinged with a touch of sadness.
All three performers, Neil Patrick Harris (Jonathan), Cassidy Janson (Susan) and Tee Jaye (Michael) have superb stage presence and lovely, versatile voices with Cassidy and Tee dobling as a number of the minor characters and showing real versatility. Staged simply, with the band (except the poor drummer!) on stage all the time and only a few minor props this is a clean, fun, upliffting show. Scott Schwartz\'s direction keeps the pace up and the lack of an interval helps as this would have lost us momentum. Love it!
Robert Iles

p.s. sorry about the delay posting this review ... I was moving house/office!

User Reviews

USER (16Jun05): What an excellent show. Great songs, a really involving story and superb performances. If you can, I suggest that you make the journey and go see it as it wont be there for ever and you\'ll kick yourself if you miss it.

This is the struggling (autobiographical) story of a young composer trying to get a rock musical finished and performed. Book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, who wrote Rent and died just shy of his 36th birthday virtually on the eve of Rent\'s premiere. It is in part this real story which so informs and strengthens the musical and shich ensures that the final success seen by the composer is actually twinged with a touch of sadness.

All three performers, Neil Patrick Harris (Jonathan), Cassidy Janson (Susan) and Tee Jaye (Michael) have superb stage presence and lovely, versatile voices with Cassidy and Tee dobling as a number of the minor characters and showing real versatility. Staged simply, with the band (except the poor drummer!) on stage all the time and only a few minor props this is a clean, fun, upliffting show. Scott Schwartz\'s direction keeps the pace up and the lack of an interval helps as this would have lost us momentum. Love it!

Robert Iles

p.s. sorry about the delay posting this review ... I was moving house/office!

CORONAVIRUS: All venues in the UK were shut down on March 16, 2020, and the restrictions were finally lifted on July 19, 2021. It is important to mention that the UK Theatre Web archive listings (iUKTDb) from March 2020 to July 2021 might not be accurate due to the lack of information regarding rescheduled and cancelled shows.