‘Tick, Tick ... BOOM!’ brings offbeat humor to intimate crowd

Where orchestral instruments would normally be, a drum set, guitar, piano and bass were in their place. Yes – this is a pit for a musical, but not an ordinary Rodgers and Hammerstein show. 

Instead, a small audience went to see “Tick, Tick ... BOOM!” a contemporary rock musical written by Jonathan Larson on Thursday at the John Waldron Arts Center.

The show was produced by Hoosier Musical Productions and will run through Sunday.
The show, an edited version of Jonathan Larson’s original one-man production, is a semi-autobiographical take on his life as a starving artist in New York City. Larson, who is known for his hit Broadway show “Rent,” produced and starred in the show alone before it was modified to include more than one actor.

The show is located in the Waldron’s black box theater, the Rose Firebay Room. House manager John McLaughlin said the location caused confusion for some attendees, who arrived at the Waldron on Thursday night to see “BOOM,” a Cardinal Stage Company production being performed in the Waldron Auditorium two floors up.

“Yeah, ‘BOOM’ is going on upstairs; it’s caused some problems,” McLaughlin said.

The show opened with the ticking of a clock and lead part, Jon, played by freshman Bradley Strohmeyer walked out on stage to address the audience. Throughout the performance, Jon acts as narrator through a series of upbeats numbers, telling the story of Jon’s woes of living in Soho, New York in 1990 with no money and what he believes is time running out on his dreams and becoming a successful playwright.

Songs such as “Therapy” told of Jon’s troubles with his girlfriend Susan, played by sophomore Stephanie Cohen, via telephone, while “Sunday” described Jon’s mundane job at a diner.

The show brought friends, family and regular theater-goers out to the Waldron to appreciate its offbeat brand of humor.

Two audience members, freshmen Kathleen Lee and Danielle Wooding, said they were excited to see the show and actor Bradley Strohmeyer, who plays the lead part of Jon.

“We came to support our friend,” Lee said. “We’re so excited to see him perform.”

Jonathan Lerner, the shows director and organization’s executive director said despite some setbacks during production, everything came together for the opening performance. The show’s original musicians backed out only weeks before the show opened, but Lerner was able to find replacements.

“Thankfully, I’ve had my stage manager Samantha, who has been extremely helpful,” Lerner said. “A lot of people have been so vital to the whole process. We were able to find a pit of stellar musicians.”

McLaughlin said he had heard the singers perform Wednesday night, but heard the full pit of musicians for the first time on Thursday during their warm ups.

“It’s really great,” McLaughlin said. “It’s a really poignant show; it really gives you a glimpse into where Larson was going before he wrote ‘Rent.’”