The dorms and classrooms at the University of Northern Colorado may be vacant thanks to the start of the summer break, but the cast and crew of the Little Theatre of the Rockies, LTR, are busy preparing for the theatre’s upcoming season.
Tick, Tick.Boom! Though he’s most well known for his smash-hit musical Rent, Jonathan Larson wrote two other works in his lifetime: Superbia, which never received a full production, and Tick, Tick…Boom!, a semi-autobiographical musical that was recently adapted into a film starring Andrew Garfield as Larson. The musical tells the story of an aspiring composer named Jon who resides in New York City as he contemplates his life choices and tries to make it big in the theater scene without much luck. Musical numbers like “Louder Than Words” and “Why” showcase Larson’s internal struggle with mental health and the hardships he faced while working to become a professional composer. Larson was never able to see the impact of Rent or Tick, Tick…Boom! before he died in 1996, but this EWU Theatre production is a great introduction to Larson’s work and a reminder that love and perseverance will always prevail.
After ‘Rent,’ Portland Center Stage shows ‘tick tick … BOOM!’, Local Features, Portland local Features, Breaking Features alerts for Portland city.