CCRI Players Bring to 'Tick Tick Boom' to Stadium Theatre

Talented CCRI Players will team up with the for the first time next month, to bring you 'Tick, Tick… BOOM!,' Jonathan Larson’s  autobiographical musical about a young composer on the brink of turning 30 who still has yet to “succeed.”

The CCRI Players will stage the musical by Larson, of “Rent” fame, from Dec. 1 to 4 at the Knight Campus in Warwick. The Players will also present a special showing at the Woonsocket theater on Dec. 30.

Ted Clement, assistant professor at CCRI and director of the CCRI production said, “'Tick, Tick, BOOM' holds a special place in my heart as it was introduced to me while I was scraping out a living in New York City trying to pursue my dreams of making it big on the acting scene."

"My friend said it would speak to me, and it certainly did as both the main character Jon and I were 30 year old starving artists in New York City. Tick, Tick truly reflected my life, but it also has the strange ability to reflect the lives of most people who watch it. For the most part we all have been in that place, getting older and wondering what in the world we are doing with our lives. We have all struggled to hold onto our dreams at one point or another.”

Clement also said that the musical has become a very powerful, personal experience for his students as they prepare to perform for the first time on the Stadium’s big stage.

“My students see Tick, Tick as a commentary of their own lives and their current struggles to become successful in the theatre arts during the recession. Through this play they are seeing what it sometimes and perhaps most often takes to become a professional actor. You have to sacrifice the finer things in life for your dreams… sometimes you have to eat a lot of Ramen Noodles.”

Clement continued, “My students are really proud and excited to be performing on the Stadium’s stage. They have never performed in such a grand environment and they’re considering the experience to be the icing on the cake. All of their effort and hard work will be paid off when they step out onto that stage for the first time and perform at the historic Stadium Theatre.”

The show, originally known as “30/90” for Larson’s age and the year when it was written, is a one-man autobiographical musical. “Tick, tick ... BOOM!” is Larson’s personal saga that takes the audience on the playwright/composer’s journey that eventually led to the Broadway mega-hit “Rent.” The play's popularity was soon eclipsed by the success of the legendary "Rent.”

A press release from the college tells the story: 

Jon is a young composer on the brink of turning 30 and falling into oblivion. His girlfriend, Susan, wants to get married and move out of the city and his best friend, Michael, is making big bucks on Madison Avenue. As one of the legions of musical theater writers who has aspired to find his way to Broadway, Jon must deal with an assortment of sacrifices – emotional as well as economic – and struggles. 

He doggedly resists the temptations of a high-paid corporate job and of a nice house in the country (and the wife that goes along with it) in favor of waiting tables in a diner and ascending to a grimy fifth-floor walkup when he finally gets home. He looks upon his life choices with, as one of the characters in the show puts it, a “raging mix of envy and contempt” as he single-mindedly pursues his lifelong dream of writing the great American musical.

Set in 1990, the performnce is filled with melodies including a unique blend of pop and musical theater styles. Its first full staging, revamped from Larson’s solo version to accommodate three performers, opened off Broadway in June 2001.

For the CCRI production, Clement also has incorporated a small ensemble to portray the range of incidental characters whom Jon encounters on his journey. The cast features Alexander Rotella of Cranston as Jon; Laura Minadeo of Warwick as Susan; Billy Flynn of Providence as Michael; and Megan Cook of Warwick as Karessa. Members of the ensemble are Paige Barry of Woonsocket; Ryan Burniston, James Fontaine and Stephanie Rougier of Warwick; Jimmy Gracik of Providence; and Samantha Pike of Greene.

 Performances at the college will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, Dec. 1 to 4, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. Reserved-seat tickets cost $10 for the general public and $8 for students and senior citizens. Telephone reservations may be made by calling 401-825-2219 at any time.

The Players presentation of “Tick, Tick ... BOOM!” at Stadium Theatre will take place at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30. For additional information and reservations for this performance, call the Stadium at 401-762-4545 or visit www.stadiumtheatre.com.