International City Theatre opens its 2023 season with a powerhouse, terrifically performed tick, tick… BOOM!, a musical glimpse into Jonathan Larson’s creative and personal life before Rent (and his premature demise at the age of 35) made him a Broadway legend.

The year is 1990, and a then 29-going-on-30 Jon was the quintessential starving artist, having devoted seven long years to writing Superbia, an ambitious musical that ended up going nowhere to the composer-playwright’s soul-crushing chagrin.

Rather than throw in the towel, however, Jon put his feelings about turning 30 without any notable career success into the one-man show that serves as the basis for tick, tick … BOOM!, adapted as a three-performer musical by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Auburn five years after Larson’s untimely death.

“The sound you are hearing is not a technical problem,” Jon (Ernesto Figueroa) tells us as he sits in front of his keyboard, the tick tick ticking of a clock echoing in the background. “It is not a musical cue. It is not a joke. It is the sound of one man’s mounting anxiety. I … am that man.”

With his 20s-ending birthday fast approaching, Jon can’t help comparing his still unsuccessful life with that of his childhood bff Michael (Phillip J. Lewis), a successful business executive with a fancy sports car and more brand name outfits than he could possibly count.

Meanwhile, girlfriend Susan (Samantha M. Lawrence) is thinking about giving up her Manhattan job teaching ballet to “wealthy and untalented children” and moving out of the city.

tick, tick…BOOM! follows Jon as he prepares for the Superbia workshop, flirts and quarrels with Susan, learns that Michael has worries far exceeding his own … and eventually finds the strength to persevere.

Unfolding as a series of vignettes, tick, tick…BOOM! features over a dozen songs in which the composer-lyricist’s signature sound rings forth loud and clear.

“Johnny Can’t Decide” has Jon, Michael, and Susan harmonizing about their inability to take concrete steps forward in their lives, “Therapy” gives an at-odds Jon and Susan the chance to air their long-simmering differences, and “Sugar” is Jon’s ode to his favorite Hostess treat. (“They’re not unlike rice cakes, only cylindrical and injected with cream.”)

And these are only three of the autobiographical gems that get performed on the ICT stage by a gifted young cast under the once again inspired direction of Kari Hayter, fresh off glowing reviews for La Mirada Theatre’s the big-stage, big-cast Grease but in a far more intimate mode this time round,

Hayter elicits a particularly rich star turn from Figueroa, instantly likable in a role I’ve rarely heard sung with such powerful, rock-meets-legit pipes, most particularly in a deeply felt, heart-wrenching “Why.” (That Figueroa can strum the guitar and tickle the ivories like a pro is icing on the cake.)

 Lawrence captivates as Susan, sparkles as Superbia star Karessa, whose power-belted “Come To Your Senses” brings down the house, and delivers a delicious pair of cameos as Jon’s chain-smoking agent Rosa and his worried mom.

Lewis completes the cast to powerful, touching effect as Jon’s bestie-for-life, is every bit his costars’ vocal equal, and gets to amuse in brief gems as Jon’s father and as a character previously played by Lawrence.

Anthony Zediker earns high marks as music director while leading a rock-concert-ready onstage band: Cody Cadena on guitar, Khris Kempis on bass, Nicole Marcus on percussion, and Zediker himself on piano.

Rather than a series of realistic, minutely detailed locales, scenic designer Matt Scarpino’s simple but effective set takes us inside Jon’s head as he reflects on his past, present, and future.

Kimberly DeShazo uses costume accessories galore to differentiate between cameo roles, though Jon does in fact not appear in t-shirt and suspenders as seen in production stills. (A good, apparently last-minute decision.)

Patty and Gordon Briles provide just-right props, Donna Ruzika’s lighting design is another ICT dazzler, and Dave Mickey’s sound design is as crystal-clear as musical mixes get.

tick, tick… BOOM! is produced by caryn desai. Anthony Gagliardi is hair and wig designer. Donna R. Parsons is production stage manager and Caitlyn Nguyen is assistant stage manager. Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

I’ve loved tick, tick… BOOM! since I first discovered it up at the Rubicon back in 2005. Its latest incarnation at International City Theatre (the eighth I’ve seen so far) is not only an energizing, moving revival of a bona fide crowd pleaser, it’s a powerful reminder of how much more Jonathan Larson might have given the world had he lived to celebrate turning 63 this year.

International City Theatre, Long Beach Performing Arts Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. Through March 5. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00. Sundays at 2:00.
www.InternationalCityTheatre.org

–Steven Stanley
February 17, 2023
Photos: Kayte Deioma

Tags: David Auburn, International City Theatre, Jonathan Larson, Los Angeles Theater Review