Before Jonathan Larson wrote “Rent,” he wrote and performed a “rock monologue” called “Tick, Tick … BOOM!” first presented Off-Off Broadway in 1990. The huge success of “Rent” came soon afterward, but Larson never lived to see it. Ironically, “Tick, Tick … BOOM!” dramatizes Larson’s own apprehensions about turning 30 with little to show for it artistically or professionally — the ticking sound he hears is time running out. That knowledge adds to the poignancy of this piece, which was revised as a three-character musical in 2001 and has been a staple of smaller theaters ever since. OFC Creations gives it a try this weekend with three local musical-theater stalwarts in the leads: Carl Del Buono as Jon(athan), Alec Powell as his best friend Michael, and Brynn (Lucas) Tyszka as his girlfriend Susan.
OFC Creations presents “Tick, Tick … BOOM!” Friday, August 1, and Saturday, August 2, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, August 3, at 2 p.m. at RAPA, 727 East Main Street. $15-$20. 325-3366; rapatheatre.org.
This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2014.
