The Ritz Theatre Company Shares The Story Of Jonathan Larson In TICK, TICK... BOOM!

Before Rent, there was Tick, Tick... BOOM! Presented by The Ritz Theatre Company as part of the organization's "Grand Reopening" season, this autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning creator of Rent, is the story of a composer and the sacrifices he makes on the road to the proverbial big break. Helmed by Ritz Associate Artistic Director Matthew Weil, the show runs at The Ritz from March 18th through April 3rd.

"Aging can be no fun. Throw in a dash of dread about your lack of accomplishment and you have a recipe for many unhappy birthdays," muses Mr. Weil. "Tick, Tick... BOOM! explores this feeling through the eyes of Jonathan, a young, aspiring composer who is wrestling with the reality that his lot in life isn't quite meeting his expectations and the looming possibility that it may never happen. Time is finite and we all long to carve out a place for ourselves or leave something behind that will enshrine our impact on the world. These themes are universal for all ages, and although the source material for this musical was written in 1990, millennials all over the country are fighting feelings very similar to Jonathan's."

Tick, Tick... BOOM!, then titled Boho Days, first premiered as a workshop production with Second Stage Theater in September 1990. Following the workshop, Larson revised the developing piece, changed the title, and personally performed the show at several venues over the next three years. Larson staged the show as a "rock monologue," a new form of theatre for the time. After Larson's untimely death in 1996, David Auburn, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Proof, restructured the show into a three-actor musical, with one actor playing Jon and the other two actors playing Susan and Michael, as well as all the other roles in the show. Now considered somewhat of a musical theatre "cult classic," the show has been revived on numerous stages since, even moving into the mainstream spotlight this past year with the successful Netflix film adaptation directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and starring Andrew Garfield as Jon (a role that has now earned him his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor).

Tackling the role of Jon in this Ritz production of Tick, Tick... BOOM! is local actor AJ Klein, who, despite returning to the acting arena after a four-year hiatus, imbues his depiction with passion and fire to spare. "I'm able to make a lot of connections from my personal life and use them to feed my version of the character. Anxiety is rocket fuel. It's a bug in my brain that propels me to work harder and energizes every action I take, but it's volatile and can just as easily send me crashing down. This idea is something I wrestle with daily, but never had the words to define clearly before this production."

Joining Mr. Klein on the stage are versatile performers Sara Viniar (Susan) and Jerrod Ganesh (Michael), who help flesh out the story of Jon from a variety of different perspectives. The production team includes music/vocal director Kristy Joe Slough, costumer Megan Iafolla, lighting designer Jen Donsky, and stage manager Brian Gensel. All are extremely eager to bring their director's vision to full-fledged life on the Ritz stage.

"It is my hope that this production challenges and inspires you to do that thing that you've been afraid to do," concludes Mr. Weil. "I hope it gives you a push to follow your dreams-perhaps even with a little reckless abandon. Time is short-too short to not do what you love, which is what I'm trying to do with this show."

Learn more at www.RitzTheatreCo.org

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