tick, tick…BOOM!
Bridge House Theatre
30th Sept – 27th October 2019
“Jon’s girlfriend, Susan, wants to get married and move out of the city, his best friend, Michael, is making big bucks on Madison Avenue and yet Jon is still waiting on tables and trying to write the Great Musical Blockbuster…
‘tick, tick… Boom!’ is an autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, who went on to win a Pulitzer and three Tony Awards for Rent. It’s the story of the composer on the brink of turning 30, his fear of falling into oblivion, and the sacrifices
he made to achieve his big break in the theatre. Set in 1990, ‘tick, tick … Boom!’ is a compelling, endearing and personal story of discovery that embraces the universal ideal of holding onto your dreams through life’s most difficult challenges.”
Review by Richard Lambert, 5 Stars
Travelling to Penge to the Bridge House Theatre for the 1st time was really easy. That was the 1st surprise for the evening. The pub is lovely, the theatre lovely, and only 3 mins walks from the station and 20 minutes train from Victoria. I’m now wondering why I haven’t done this before. The 2nd surprise was the quality this show.
The lights go down and Alex Lodge opens the show.
Well, what can I say? It was an absolute delight! From start to finish, tick, tick…Boom! is in the very safe hands of a group of experienced professionals who know how to produce a musical.
The lighting, sound, cueing – all what you’d hope for. The Musical direction spot on. And the singing is delightful with wonderful vocal skills, acting, harmonies, through song. And who wouldn’t want to be 3 rows or closer from this brilliant cast?
Alex Lodge as Jon never leaves the stage. In addition to his acting, movement and singing he also plays the keyboard and the guitar. His character is the auto-biography of the show’s writer, Jonathan Larsen, so of course he gets to be downstage and centre and have the best story. Alex Lodge excels in this role and is just soooooooo cute! A heart-breaker if ever there was one!
James Hume playing Michael, and other characters, has a thinner story but again is fantastic in all the roles, and Georgie Ashford playing Susan and other roles has an almost non-existent story but many scenes performed brilliantly of multiple characters, notably as Jon’s agent Rosa.
The plot may wander a little aimlessly and introduce story lines that aren’t explored but in the hands of director Guy Retallack when the music is this good you don’t really worry about that. Musical direction by Jamie Ross, Set Deign by Natalie Johnson, Lighting by Richard Williamson and Sound by Phil Lee complement this production.
Definitely a production worth catching!!!!
Cast
Georgie Ashford
James Hume
Alex Lodge
(Photos by Jamie Scott-Smith)
Further Information
