‘Tick, Tick... Boom’ a relatable musical at Butler MTG
It’s New York City at the end of the 1980s. Jonathan had been trying to break into the city’s musical theater scene for years, and is on the cusp of debuting a musical that could be his big break, “Superbia,” while tensions in his personal life build to a boiling point.
It’s a theater in the round stage in the corner of Butler Memorial Park. The set is minimal, there are only three actors and a handful of songs help tell the semi-autobiographical story of playwright Jonathan Larson over the course of about 80 minutes.
The Musical Theatre Guild of Butler will debut its production of “Tick, Tick... Boom,” in October, bringing the story of the writer of “Rent” to audiences of the area for the first time.
Jessica Sanzotti, the musical’s music director, said during a rehearsal on Tuesday evening, Sept. 16, that she advocated that the guild produce the show because it’s a small cast and fun music, but the show has a resonate message as a whole.
“There are ballads, but I think they're easy to connect with and relate to and have the closing is called ‘Louder than Words,’ so how does that resonate with all of us now,” Sanzotti said. “There's also fun and silly songs. There's a parody of ‘Sunday in the Park with George,’ it's silly they're in a diner. And it's short, it's one act, 80 minutes, so that's always appealing to me as an audience.”
The musical stars Jeremy Poynton as Jonathan, Anna Gergerich as Anna and Jack Cipriani as Michael. Gergerich and Cipriani also play smaller roles throughout the show.
Poynton said the story behind the musical helps make the show even more interesting, because people can connect Larson’s life with the events happening on stage. Additionally, he said he can relate to that story behind the story.
“Outside of the context of Jonathan Larson, this show really resonates with me as someone who has done theater and performing and music my whole life as a passion,” he said. “In the context of Jonathan Larson and his life, he was just a well-loved and the whole story of ‘Rent’ was he was along for the whole rehearsal process and he passed like the day before it opened, it kind of shook the musical world.”
“And ‘Tick, Tick... Boom’ became popular after that because of that, so it's just a glimpse into this life of this person we've learned to love.”
Cipriani described the musical’s plot, saying that it somewhat follows the real-life story of Jonathan Larson and his goal to be successful before turning 30 years old. All the while, Jonathan’s personal relationships are reaching convergence points.
“His friend Michael, who is his best friend since elementary school, used to be an actor before he decided to sell out and become a business executive, and his girlfriend Susan, she wants to get out of New York City and move to Cape Cod and find a more stable job,” he said. “So that tension builds between the two over the show as Jon's workshop gets closer and closer.”
Even though the story of the musical has high stakes for our main character — and the real life story ended in Larson’s untimely death — the cast and crew of “Tick, Tick... Boom” can attest that the music is varied and constantly entertaining.
“I probably listened to ‘30/90’ a hundred times,” Cipriani said.
Poynton said that although the musical is about the juxtaposition of passion and time, he thinks anyone could relate to his character’s internal struggle, because many people have come to the crossroads of art versus income in their lives, himself included.
“The struggle I took as a child was I'm going to pursue the science and math side of my education that really resonated with me, and it was a hard choice to say 'I love music and this is something I would love to do with my life, but it's more stable,’” Poynton said. “Now as an adult I get to keep that passion alive outside the context of my work and income, so I really see the struggle.”
“Tick, Tick... Boom” shows at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10, 11, 17 and 18, and at 3 p.m. Oct. 19, at the Musical Theatre Guild of Butler, 100 Memorial Drive in Butler.
“Tick, Tick... Boom” contains adult language, and runs about 80 minutes with no intermission. For tickets, visit mtgbutler.org.
