Photos: Jonathan Larson's TICK, TICK… BOOM! Begins Previews Tonight At International City, Opens Friday

Before there was Rent, there was tick, tick... BOOM!. International City Theatre opens its 2023 "Embracing the Future" season with a pop/rock musical by Jonathan Larson about the courage it takes to follow one's dreams.

The director is Kari Hayter, and music director Anthony Zediker helms the live band. tick, tick... BOOM! opens this Friday, February 17 at ICT's home in the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, where performances continue through March 5. Two low-priced previews take place tonight. Wednesday, and tomorrow, Friday.

tick, tick... BOOM! is Larson's funny, moving, autobiographical work about an aspiring composer trying to write the great American musical, even as time and life seem to pass him by. Originally written and performed by Larson as a musical monologue, it was adapted into a three-person musical by playwright David Auburn (Proof) after Larson's death. The result is a revealing look at the man who would go on to posthumously receive three Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his revolutionary rock musical, Rent.

Jon (Ernesto Figueroa) is an aspiring composer living in SoHo and waiting tables, his first big break on the horizon but always out of reach. His best friend (Phillip J. Lewis) is making big bucks on Madison Avenue, and his girlfriend (Samantha M. Lawrence) wants to get married and move out of the city. But Jon continues to hold fast to his dreams - even as he questions his life choices on the eve of his 30th birthday.

Tick, tick... BOOM! features book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, with vocal arrangements and orchestrations by Stephen Oremus. David Auburn is script consultant. The creative team for the ICT production includes set designer Matt Scarpino, lighting designer Donna Ruzika, costume designer Kim DeShazo, sound designer Dave Mickey, prop designer Patty Briles, and hair and wigs designer Anthony Gagliardi. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA and Richie Ferris, CSA. The production stage manager is Donna Parsons. tick, tick... BOOM! is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com.

tick, tick... BOOM! runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., February 17 through March 5. Tickets are $49 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (except February 17, opening night, for which tickets are $55 and include a post show reception), and $52 at Sunday matinees. Ticket to the Wednesday and Thursday night previews are $37.

International City Theatre is located in the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center at 330 East Seaside Way, Long Beach, CA 90802. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (562) 436-4610 or go to www.InternationalCityTheatre.org.

Photo Credit: Kayte Deioma

Phillip J. Lewis, Ernesto Figueroa and Samantha M. Lawrence

Ernesto Figueroa, Phillip J. Lewis and Samantha M. Lawrence

Ernesto Figueroa, Samantha M. Lawrence and Phillip J. Lewis

Samantha M. Lawrence, Phillip J. Lewis and Ernesto Figueroa

Ernesto Figueroa and Phillip J. Lewis

Ernesto Figueroa

Ernesto Figueroa and Phillip J. Lewis

Ernesto Figueroa and Phillip J. Lewis

Ernesto Figueroa and Phillip J. Lewis

Samantha M. Lawrence and Ernesto Figueroa

Ernesto Figueroa, Samantha M. Lawrence and Phillip J. Lewis

Phillip J. Lewis and Ernesto Figueroa

Samantha M. Lawrence, Ernesto Figueroa and Phillip J. Lewis

Samantha M. Lawrence, Ernesto Figueroa and Phillip J. Lewis

Ernesto Figueroa and Samantha M. Lawrence

Phillip J. Lewis, Ernesto Figuero and Samantha M. Lawrence

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