Theater Review: "tick, tick....BOOM!' at Brookfield Theater

By Nancy Sasso Janis

Brookfield - “tick, tick…BOOM!” is the work of “Rent” composer Jonathan Larson. He wrote the book, music and lyrics for this show, with David Auburn as the script consultant and vocal arrangement and orchestrations by Stephen Oremus. “tick, tick…BOOM!” was originally produced off-Broadway in 2002. There was a 2009 production at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Connecticut. (It was directed by Scott Schwartz, who directed the original off-Broadway production, and starred Colin Hanlon as Jon, Wilson Cruz as Michael, and Pearl Sun as Susan.)

The Brookfield Theatre for the Arts production is directed by Beth Bonnageau and is marvelously musically directed by Sarah Fay.

The musical is set in 1990 in New York. It tells the story of a waiter and aspiring composer named Jon about to turn 30 and worried that he has made the wrong career choice to be part of the performing arts. He reveals that he is nervous about an upcoming workshop of his newest musical, “SUPERBIA.” The story is semi-autobiographical. Larson's father writes in the liner notes of the cast recording that Larson had been trying to establish himself in theater since the early 1980s.

Larson, who was an acting major while at Adelphi University, began to perform the piece as a solo work in 1990. During the performances of this show, Larson met Stephen Sondheim, who later helped him to produce “Rent.”

After Larson’s untimely death in 1996, “tick, tick…BOOM!” was revised and revamped by playwright Auburn as a three-actor piece that was produced off-Broadway. Since then, the show has had an Off West End production, a West End production, an American national tour, two Off-Broadway revivals, and numerous local and international productions.

The three performers in the cast work together so very well to tell this story and each one has the singing voice to easily cover Lawson’s score. When they sing together as a trio, they blend wonderfully, and bring out the delightful comedy in the brunch song “Sunday.”

David Anctil tackles the role of Jon. Anctil is a singer’s singer, making every note heartfelt and perfect. His is a most memorable performance. Anctil appeared on this stage as Johnny in “American Idiot” and as Trunchbull in “Matilda” at the Warner Theatre. He can also be found “behind the table” directing and music directing throughout the region, and has turned into a bit of a Larson historian who is in the process of adapting his show “SUPERBIA.”

Laura Majidian makes her Brookfield Theater debut as Jon’s girlfriend Susan and various other female roles. It is she who wears the “Green Green Dress,” and who covers the role of Jon’s agent Rosa Stevens. As “SUPERBIA” workshop actress Karessa Johnson, she performs “Come to Your Senses” and Anctil and Majidian make the difficult duet “Therapy” look easy.

Bennett Glenn Cognato is excellent as Jon’s roommate and best friend Michael, as well as the male roles (and Rosa Stevens, briefly.) He is perfect as Jon’s (Jewish) dad. Michael has purchased an apartment in the classy Victory Towers that he tours with Jon in the fun number “No More.” Cognato gets a snazzy guitar solo in that one.

By day, the actor is in his seventh year of teaching elementary students in Hartford; he notes in his program bio, that as Larson dedicated his life to creating music and theater that would bring people together, he hopes that “this performance inspires audiences to rise above fear and to choose doing what you love together with the world.” Cognato will appear in Brookfield Theatre’s production of “Fun Home” in Dec. 2023.

There is a grand piano onstage that is beautifully played by Anctil for “Why,” well, because he can.

The music director leads the onstage band while playing keyboards. She is a keyboardist, singer and music educator who holds a Master’s degree in music education from Western Connecticut State University. University of Connecticut grad John Hoddinott plays guitar, recent Naugatuck Valley Community College graduate Josh Rodis plays bass and Christian Peragine, the son of a professional drummer, plays drums. The band sounds great throughout the performance, only overwhelming the (microphoned) singers for a handful of bars of music. A fun touch was that the musicians got to be part of the brainstorming session

Sound design by David Jurman and Lou Okell includes a recording of the voice of the late Stephen Sondheim (Jon’s idol) leaving a message on Jon’s answering machine. I enjoy trying to catch all of the Sondheim references in the script, including “West Side Story” and “Sunday in the Park with George.”

The lighting design by Stephen Cihanek (“Disaster!”) is quite beautiful in spots and the actors store their props in piano benches.

“tick, tick…BOOM!” continues in Brookfield through Nov. 5, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The performance runs a little over an hour and is presented without intermission.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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