BWW PREVIEW: TICK, TICK...BOOM at Desert Stages Theatre

Scottsdale's Desert Stages Theatre presents TICK, TICK...BOOM in a limited engagement through May 16th. It's a rare opportunity to see this small cast pop-rock musical by the author of RENT, Jonathan Larson. Larson, of course, passed away from an aortic dissection the day of RENT's first off-Broadway preview. After the tremendous success of RENT on Broadway, attention was turned to Larson's early work, specifically his 1990 auto-biographical, one-person show, TICK, TICK...BOOM. Playwright David Auburn re-worked it into a three-person show that opened off-Broadway in 2001. While Larson's immediate association will always be RENT, TICK, TICK...BOOM feels superior in a handful of ways.

Like another 20th Century rock musical HAIR, RENT championed tremendous social and political change only to eventually become a period piece more associated with its era than its message. TICK, TICK...BOOM is RENT's counterpoint companion. Same theme, different means. It's RENT in the Star Trek mirror universe, exact opposites and exactly the same. RENT is epic. TTB is personal. RENT paints with broad strokes. TTB feels like it's happening in the real world. RENT simply has not aged well, TICK, TICK...BOOM has.

The most prolific musical theatre couple in the Valley, Mark and Lynzee Foreman, co-direct the show. It's the perfect match for their athletic choreography and vocals, and their expertise in Broadway-Style Rock.

If you are (or were) a fan of RENT, there is a lot to love about TICK, TICK...BOOM. You'll see how far Larson was out of his comfort zone writing RENT and what a varied canon his talent might've produced. Musical theatre fans will have only eight chances to see this production starting Friday May 7th and closing May 16th at Desert Stages Theatre inside Scottsdale Fashion Square.