TICK, TICK…BOOM! is a musical. On stage are three singers, two electric guitars and two electric pianos. A drummer is hidden behind a screen. That’s fully juiced sound.
We suspect that the three in the cast are superb singers of the musical theatre genre. Sadly, they are mic-ed. The Old Fitz is a small intimate space – the last row is only about four metres from the stage. Mics are not needed. They distorted the voices. At times, the electronic instruments out-sounded the singers. What a tragedy, because the set, movements, story, timing and costumes are all wonderful.
TICK, TICK…BOOM! is so named because it is the sound that composer Jonathan Larson hears in his head as he tries to write his musical, the musical he hopes will become a Broadway hit. It eventually does become a hit, Rent!
Larson wrote the play as a semi-autobiographical story about his creation of Rent. It is also about his longtime friendship with Michael, who abandons the dream of being an actor to work for a marketing company. His girlfriend Susan urges Jonathan to leave New York and live with her to peaceful upstate New York. Jonathan is torn. Will he abandon his dream of having a Broadway hit? The audience knows the answer from the beginning, but that doesn’t really matter – most musicals have predictable endings. It should be the singing that saves a show. Sadly, the microphones don’t give the singers that opportunity.
It’s the oft–repeated mistake of over-complicating an age–old dilemma. This one is creativity versus a steady paycheck. The bells and whistles that diminish this performance are the mics and the electronic instruments. This is the Old Fitz, a small space in a pub basement that has a long and distinguished history of intimate productions where the audience is close to the action.
The musical was put together by an energetic team of NIDA graduates. The director is Kurtis Laing. The three in the cast are superbly agile, expressive and have perfect timing. Brodie Masini is Jonathan, Tessa Olsson as Susan, and Hamish Wells is Michael. The musical director is Iris Wu. Full marks to costume designer Michiru Encinas. The production company is Good Time Theatrics.
On until July 26. Performance time each night 9.30pm.
http://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/tick-tick-boom
