Andy Mientus, Krystina Alabado & Noah J. Ricketts to Star in TICK, TICK...BOOM! at Bucks County Playhouse

Andy Mientus ("Spring Awakening"), Krystina Alabado ("Mean Girls") and Noah J. Ricketts ("Disney's Frozen") will star in a new production of Jonathan Larson's "Tick, Tick ... Boom!" as part of Bucks County Playhouse's 2023 Season. The production will run at the historic New Hope venue June 23 - July 15.

The Playhouse's Executive Producer Robyn Goodman, Producing Director Alexander Fraser, and producer Josh Fiedler recently announced details of the production, which will be directed by Eric Rosen (BCP's "American Jade") and choreographed by Paul McGill ("Bullets Over Broadway"). In addition to his Playhouse directorial debut in 2022 with "American Jade," Rosen was co-founder of Chicago's About Face Theatre and is the former Artistic Director of KCRep. "Tick, Tick ... Boom" will be choreographed by Paul McGill.

Bucks County Playhouse Executive Producer, Robyn Goodman was one of the original producers of "Tick ... Tick... Boom!" Off-Broadway in 2001.

"Before 'Rent' I gave Jonathan Larson his very first reading of 'Boho Days' which later became 'Tick... Tick... Boom!'," says Goodman. "I have always loved his music and how he captured that moment when a brilliant artist turns 30 and still waiting for his real life to begin."

"Tick, Tick ... Boom!" is a high-octane rock musical that follows the life of a young composer facing 30 with little to show for it. Based on his life before he wrote "Rent," Jonathan Larson's "Tick, Tick ... Boom!" is a youthful, vibrant, and moving rock musical reminding us that sometimes dreams can come true.

"Tick, Tick ... Boom is a celebration of Larson's brilliance, an evocation of the bohemian life of the late 1980s in New York, and, with this powerhouse cast, a personal and deeply felt statement about the necessity of art in challenging times" says Rosen.

"Jonathan Larson has been my idol since my days as a teenage 'Renthead', so to embody the man himself, in 'Tick, Tick ... Boom', is a dream come true and a challenge I've been eager to tackle for my entire career," says Mientus, who will star in the role of Jonathan. "I can't imagine better teammates for this adventure than Krystina and Noah, who are first class talents and dear friends. And I'm especially excited to finally take the stage in person at the Playhouse, having made a digital debut there during the pandemic in 'Ladies of the Canyon.' Guided by this stellar creative team, our 'Tick, Tick ... Boom' is going to be a total labor of love and, I hope, a real treat for audiences at the Playhouse."

Andy Mientus

Mientus recently completed shooting the live action television adaptation of "Grendel" based on the award-winning Dark Horse comic book. He can be seen in "Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: Two Doors Down" (GLAAD Media Award) and in the series recurring role of Hartley Rathaway (a.k.a. The Pied Piper) on the hit CW series "The Flash." Mientus made his television debut as composer Kyle Bishop on the NBC musical drama "Smash" and was also a series regular on the NBC/Universal series "Gone." Other recurring roles include on "Anger Management" (FX) and "Chasing Life" (Freeform). On Broadway, Mientus starred as "Marius" in the revival of "Les Miserables," and as "Hanschen" in Deaf West Theater's revival of "Spring Awakening," which he also co-conceived with director Michael Arden. Other stage credits include the National Tour of "Wicked," the title role in "Tommy" at The Denver Center, Moisés Kaufman's revival of "Bent" at Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, and the Off-Broadway revival of "Carrie" at MCC. In 2019, Andy made his London stage debut in the new musical "The View Upstairs" at Soho Theatre. He is a founding company member of The Forest of Arden and was associate director of their first commission, "ALIEN/ NATION," at Williamstown Theatre Festival. He can be heard on "The Jonathan Larson Project" (Ghostlight Records).

Krystina Alabado

Krystina Alabado will play Susan. She was most recently seen as Dot/Marie in "Sunday in the Park with George" at Pasadena Playhouse. On Broadway, Alabado is best known for her role as Gretchen Wieners in "Mean Girls." She was also seen in the Broadway productions of "American Psycho," and "Green Day's American Idiot," as well as the national tours of "Evita," "American Idiot," and "Spring Awakening." Off-Broadway credits include "The Mad Ones," "Ain't No Disco," and "David Bowie's Lazarus." "Other Kiss My Aztec" at Hartford Stage, "Miss You Like Hell" at La Jolla Playhouse, "Mystic Pizza" at Ogunquit Playhouse, "Burn All Night" at A.R.T., "Songs For A New World" at NCT. Her television and film appearances include "The Zombie Wedding" (coming 2023), "Better Nate Than Ever" on Disney+, "First Reformed," "God Friended Me" on CBS, "Monster High" on Nickelodeon, "Mecha Builders" on HBOMax, "Tyrant" on FX, and "Voltron" on Netflix.

Noah J. Ricketts

Noah J. Ricketts will play Michael. Ricketts was most recently seen on Broadway as Kristoff in "Frozen: The Musical" and in "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical." He appeared off Broadway as Omar in "To My Girls" at Second Stage. His television credits include Frankie in the upcoming Showtime series "Fellow Travelers," Kai in "American Gods" on STARZ; "High Fidelity" on Hulu and "Christmas Déjà vu" on BET. His film work includes the horror comedy "Summoning Sylvia," "The Sixth Borough," "The Fiji Incentive" and as Zaki in the upcoming Indie film "Friends and Foes." Noah has appeared in concert with The Houston Symphony, The Kentucky Opera and Stage Entertainment Russia.

Musical Director is Rodney Bush. Jack Magaw (BCP's "American Jade" and "Tommy and Me") is Scenic Designer. Lighting Designer is Paul Miller (Broadway's "Amazing Grace" and "The Illusionists"). Costume designer is Devario Simmons (Clubbed Thumb's "Tumancho"). Ashton Michael Corey (BCP's "Million Dollar Quartet Christmas" and the National Tour of "On Your Feet") is Sound Designer. Stivo Arnoczy (BCP's "American Jade") is Projection Designer. Peter Wolf is Production Stage Manager. Jason Carroll is Assistant Stage Manager. Casting is by Paul Hardt.

Jonathan Larson received the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for "Rent". He also won the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical and the 1994 Richard Rodgers Award for "Rent" and twice received The Gilman & Gonzales-Falla Theatre Foundation's Commendation Award. In 1989 he was granted the Stephen Sondheim Award from American Music Theatre Festival, where he contributed to the musical "Sitting on the Edge of the Future." In 1988 he won the Richard Rodgers Development Grant for his rock musical "Superbia," which was staged at Playwrights Horizon. He composed the score for the musical "J.P. Morgan Saves the Nation," which was presented by En Garde Arts in 1995. Mr. Larson performed his rock monologue "Tick, Tick... Boom!" at Second Stage Theatre, The Village Gate and New York Theatre Workshop. "Rent," his rock opera based on "La Boheme," had its world premiere on February 13, 1996, at New York Theatre Workshop. Mr. Larson died unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm on January 25, 1996, ten days before his 36th birthday. His music (including songs cut from his shows) is archived in the Library of Congress.

Tickets can be purchased at BucksCountyPlayhouse.org or by calling 215-862-2121.

ABOUT BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE

Steeped in a theatrical history that stems back to its founding in 1939 by a roster of theatrical royalty, Bucks County Playhouse is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its 2012 re-opening and restoration. With more than 75,000 patrons walking through its doors every year, the Playhouse is leading the economic resurgence of New Hope and the surrounding community. In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser, Robyn Goodman and Josh Fiedler took the helm of the Playhouse, reclaiming its reputation of attracting Broadway and Hollywood artists. Playhouse productions of "Company" starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" were named by Wall Street Journal to its "Best of Theatre" list for 2015. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal again hailed the Playhouse and Artistic Associate Hunter Foster in its Best of the Year listings for its production of "42nd Street" and in 2019 labeled the Playhouse "one of the best regional theaters on the East coast." Box office records have been repeatedly broken by Signature Productions of "Steel Magnolias" directed by Marsha Mason, "Mamma Mia!" directed by John Tartaglia and "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," "Million Dollar Quartet," "42nd Street," and "Guys & Dolls" (all directed by Hunter Foster). In 2021, the team developed and presented Candace Bushnell's "Is There Still Sex in the City?," which the Playhouse then partnered to move to New York. The creative teams who come to create new productions at the Playhouse are among the most talented artists working in the professional theatre today and relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, and Jessica Walter began their careers.