Tick, Tick… Boom!

Tick, Tick… Boom! is like a blueprint for a musical about life and love, sketched on the back of a napkin, caffeine-fuelled by cinnamon coffee at the Moondance Diner in New York’s SoHo. It is fast-paced and collage-like, pulling in bits of what works and what might, experimenting with musical styles to find a fit. Of course its writer, Jonathan Larson, would famously find that perfect fit a few years later with his ground-breaking stage musical RENT. This makes 1990’s Tick, Tick… Boom! a fascinating early work, scattered with little clues and gems. In a genius move, Larson’s original monologue form was revised by playwright David Auburn (Proof) to a three-character piece. Following last year’s sold-out shows at the Old Fitz Theatre, the Sydney- and Brisbane-based Good Time Theatrics brings Queenslanders William Kasper (Jonathan), Nykita O’Keefe (Susan) and Hamish Wells (Michael) back to Brisbane and PIP Theatre so that we can enjoy their well crafted and honed performances. You really do believe that these three characters are best friends – and this show is a treat from start to finish!

Fresh out of National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), director (and Good Time Theatrics founder) Kurtis Laing has assembled a creative team of young and vibrant talents, and he has chosen very well. As the audience settles into the intimate PIP space, William (as Jonathan) greets us as if we are part of the workshop audience in a SoHo loft. The set design by Brigitte Bennet and Vicki Tecsh creates a busy apartment/studio space strewn with musical posters and sheet music. We meet Jonathan’s girlfriend, Susan, and his best friend and theatre bud, Michael, before we zip around 1990’s New York City just before Jonathan’s dreaded 30th birthday party. These three performers are on stage for the total 90 minutes and perform more than a dozen energetic and three-part harmony-infused songs. And they do not miss a note! Their performances and physical endurance are simply amazing and they deserved the enthusiastic standing ovation they received on opening night for their ability to remain pitch perfect, often while dancing –  choreography by Juliette Coleman, with associate, Hannah Crowther – and also creating moments of high comedy and heartfelt drama. The audience is invited in like friends and the action is narrated to us by Jonathan directly or as asides or dream sequences – psychological spaces succinctly defined by Yasmin Elahi’s excellent lighting design.

The first song ‘30/90’ sets the frenetic pace, followed by New Wave rock-inspired ‘Green Green Dress’, and shades of Sondheim with ‘Sunday’ a hilarious brunch scene at the Moondance Diner. The musical numbers hit their stride mid-way with the emotional ‘Real Life’ and we see the friendship triangle fracturing as each of the characters move into different phases. As in RENT, the composer freely shows his many musical influences and it’s a fascinating soundscape to dive into. This is made even more enjoyable by the live band on stage for the show’s duration – musical director, Nate Stevenson also plays keys, with Joel Sanchez-Carn and Dylan Pinti on guitar, Jess Hobbs on bass, and Rachael Jory and Marcelle Gunning on drums. Sound design by Peter van Brucken plays an important part too in defining the cityscape and urgent sense of time passing too quickly for the trio as they each face their own personal crises. The time does speed by, leaving you wanting MORE time with these characters and the brilliant performers who fondly bring them to life.

You don’t have to be au fait with the latest Netflix interpretation of this piece, and it's not just musical theatre fans who will enjoy this production – anyone who has ever sat through a tedious board meeting pondering ‘there must be more to life than this’ will appreciate Jonathan Larson’s pursuit of his passion. My biggest dilemma? How to sneak in a second viewing of this wonderful show before it closes its too-short run.

Beth Keehn

Photographs by Britainy Hetherington