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Tick, tick, BOOM!
The Old Joint Stock
**** “The sound you are hearing is not a technical
problem. It is not a musical cue. It is not a joke. It is the sound of
one man's mounting anxiety. I . . . am that man.” OPENING to a
metronomic ticking this is a timely production of Jonathan Larson’s
autobiographical musical, marking next week’s 20th
anniversary of his untimely death. It started life as a one man show in 1990,
performed by Larson; a monologue with music about a would-be songwriter
and composer who is questioning whether he is ever going to be a success
in musical theatre or wondering whether he should sell out his creative
soul and get a proper job. It was ironic that
Larson, still largely unheralded, was to die, aged 35, the morning of
the premiere of the off-Broadway production of
Rent, his
other creation, which was to run for 12 years after transferring to
Broadway and grossed more than $280 million. After Larson’s death in
1996 tick, tick, BOOM!
was revised and reworked into a three hander by playwright David Auburn
which brings together, in this fine production, West Bromwich born
Joshua Dowen as Jon, Jessica Singer, who hails originally from Solihull,
as his girlfriend Susan – as well as every other female part – and Rhys
Owen as gay flatmate and high-flying marketing executive Michael – and
every other male part . . . and a female one when pushed. The three work well together in a minimal set, a
sort of theatre in a corridor style with two rows of seats lined up
against the side walls with the stage between and, at times, within
them. It
But the trade-off is that you are watching a
musical with the actors, at times, literally within touching distance as
they move around the stage – this is like theatre in your own front
room, with the inevitable eye contact with actors making it somehow
personal, and the trio do not disappoint, building a relationship with
their audience so that you start to care about them. There is Dowen’s Jon, a dreamer who wants to
write songs and whose hopes are pinned on the workshop performance of
his musical SUPERBIA – Larson liked upper case - five years’ work
resting on one performance.
He is broke, struggling
along waiting on tables with his own, less than complimentary view of
the clientele of his SoHo diner with the song
Sunday. We
are never quite sure if it is envy or admiration for Michael who is
moving out to a new downtown apartment, a walk in closet, and has just
acquired a new BMW. To add to his insecurities, Jon is almost thirty
and refuses to play happy birthday at his party as it is somehow an
admission he is growing old. Owen’s Michael is a pragmatist, an actor who gave
up acting because he was not good enough and now plays the corporate
game and wants Jon to do the same, constantly creating openings for him
at his marketing firm. Then there is Susan, Jon’s dancer girlfriend
whose income is augmented by teaching “wealthy and untalented children”.
Singer’s Susan wants a family, a normal life and that is never going to
happen with the hand-to-mouth, impoverished lifestyle of Jon who wears
the mantle of the struggling artist with a sort of pride. She wants to
move to New England where life would be less hectic, less expensive and
where “I’d still be a dancer but I’d be a dancer with a dishwasher”. There is humour with Owen’s Michael having some
of the best lines as both Jon’s father and, taking over the role from
Singer, as Jon’s female agent Rather like Jason
Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years
we see the relationships develop and
adjust as everyone follows their own dreams and goals with the
performance of SUPERBIA the catalyst for change, but change to what? Jon considers joining Michael in the alien world
of the suits and, for the first time Michael implores his friend to
stick with his music. It is a reversal of roles with perhaps Michael
regretting his own choice. Incidentally, in the
snatch of SUPERBIA, Singer, as Karessa, one of the actors in the show,
produces a fine solo with the bittersweet,
Come to your senses. All three have fine voices in their respective
solos while the duets and ensemble pieces are most impressive which is a
tribute both to the cast and to musical director Jack Hopkins while
director Adam Lacey has kept a good grip on both music and narrative
keeping up good pace for the 90 minute show. The result is a performance where you develop an
emotional involvement, you care about the characters and what happens to
them, and want to know what happens next. This is intimate theatre at
its best. The Old Joint Stock has moved up a few notches
over the past year or so to become an influential pub theatre, a
permanent Birmingham fringe, the city’s own off-Broadway theatre and
this show can only enhance its reputation. To 30-01-16 Roger Clarke
22-01-16 Jonathan Larson had
been suffering chest pains, dizziness and breathing difficulties in the
days leading up to his death but a medical centre and a Manhattan
hospital ran tests and misdiagnosed it as either being flu or stress
related. In the early hours of January 25, 1996 he suffered a fatal
aortic dissection which, medical investigators concluded, he would have
survived had it been properly diagnosed. The off-Broadway production of
Rent opened that night.
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s
an interesting concept although inevitably there are times when necks
are having to be craned in an attempt to see the action, not always
successful if the actors are in the seats on your side or down the far
end.