tick, tick... BOOM Chapel Off Chapel, Thursday April 28th 2016

tick, tick BOOM Chapel Off Chapel, Thursday April 28th 2016

"tick, tick...  Boom" at Chapel Off Chapel, Thursday April 28th 2016

"tick, tick...  Boom"  is a three hand musical with music, lyrics and book by Jonathon Larson.  This fine production is from Pursued By Bear who last year did "John and Jen" at Chapel Off Chapel, Thursday April 28th 2016 has a cast of five.

For those new to my blog I write about the holistic experience of attending the theatre.  So if you want a re-telling of the story please refer to the links for further information or for further insights.  Note, that I may provide different links for repeated main words or phrases.  I also mainly write for my memories of what I have seen.

The Chapel Off Chapel website for buying tickets needs some work to make the sequencing flow more seamless.

I was impressed that a programme seller was outside the door of the theatre at about 7.20 pm for an 8.00 pm start.  The show started within a respectable 5 minutes of the advertised 8.00 pm start.

The programme at $5.00 does not state the year 2016 on the cover.  I told this to the programme seller who asked me how I came to see the show.  I was impressed as he introduced himself as Mark Taylor, the Marketing Manager, so I told him that the year is missing from their posters, flyers and programme.  I congratulated him that each photo/bios of the producer, director and cast specified their production or acting role; which is unlike many other programmes at Chapel Off Chapel.  This company will do well with having their production team so close to understanding their current and future audiences.

The centre pages of the programme included a great photograph of the three main cast and sadly the writing is in white and is so hard to read.  Heaven forbid when I tried to see the title of a song during the show - we sat in the front row and had ample light and still could not read the titles of the songs.

Entering the theatre was a narrow passageway between strewn sheet music.

There was no pre-show announcement regarding phones etc.  The bonus was that no phones went off during the show.

Sarah Tulloch is the Creative Director and Production Designer and has designed a set that looks like a New York apartment with the sides full of everyday items.  This clever set allows for the change of locations.   There is a raised central platform with an upright piano on a revolving hinge which is reminiscent of "Beautiful The Carol King Musical" opening set.  Four chairs and a piano stool fill the main stage.  At the front of the stage were paint tins and an answering machine.  Ladders were on either side of the stage with a drop sheet.  Stage left had a microphone stand with a ladder and drop-sheets.   Up stage right were a stack of suitcases, while an upright cello and two microphone stands were more centrally located on the side.  Everyday items filled shelves giving a lived in appearance.  Sheet music bordered the raised stage which created a a physical and frame and a frame of musical reference.  Overhead are various light globes.  Sarah Tulloch is a theatre designer to watch for her ability to create designs that become portals into new worlds - full of emotional texture and depth.

Bearing in mind that Jonathon Larson died before his masterpiece "Rent" opened on Broadway, makes seeing "tick, tick...  Boom" even more poignant.  It was important to see where Jonathon Larson's work had progressed from.  These fine actors demonstrate such deep respect for this work, and perform the finale two songs with poignancy that moves us.

Luigi Lucente as Jon,  Angela Scundi as Susan and Quin Kelly as Michael created a balanced cast and were rounded off with the swings Rebecca Heatherington and Mitch Roberts providing vocals and extra characters to scenes.

"Sunday"  was a fun ensemble number that paid tribute to Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday In The Park With George" while the duet "Therapy" reminded me of the competitive duets from "Annie Get Your Gun".  This duet showed off the skills of  Luigi Lucente and Angela Scundi as they paid homage to many famous Broadway duets.

There was variable singing throughout, though the best harmonies were demonstrated in the finale "Louder Than Words".

The final lines of "30/90" remind me of the Renee Mill's book "Anxiety Free, Drug Free" with her 90 day anxiety reduction programme.  Here Jon shares with us, not only his journey, but his ability to overcome obstacles -  "ticks not being as loud".

Director, Paul Watson has used some very brave and effective staging by placing Jon  (Luigi Lucente) with his back to the audience.   Luigi Lucente is so expressive in his ability to communicate with his whole body that we do not need to see his face to feel his angst, joy and frustration.  Sometimes not seeing his face was more powerful than seeing his facial expressions.  Congratulations Paul Watson on using this device with compassion.

Luigi Lucente  sat, but mainly stood to play the piano.  Stooping over a piano is not a posture conducive for singing but was totally realistic for the character Jon.  Although  Luigi Lucente sometimes scooped onto his singing notes it did not bother me as it enhanced the truth in Jon's desperation as an artist to find his next lyric or tune.

Angela Scundi  as Susan, and voiced other small roles of Jon's agent or mother.  She differentiated between each of these characters.

Quin Kelly as Michael also played Jon's father.  Michael's revelation to Jon was played with sincerity.

The swings Rebecca Heatherington and Mitch Roberts were incorporated into the action providing vocal harmonies to the singing and provided visual characters to various scenes.  It is so rare these days that understudies are rehearsed in small scale works and I commend this company for having swings and also using them in the production.

Some of the American accents varied in quality.  Some noticeable errors included the pronunciation of Houston St in New York which as friends in New York explained to me differentiates if from Houston in Texas.  The other main word is the word - new.  (Hear examples of the differences online).  Some of the dialogue needs to drive to the end of the sentences compared to the Australian intonations.  (See "Speaking American" by Bruce Shapiro is a brilliant practical book with terrific explanation of the history of the American accents).

Musical Direction by Jess Barlow created some beautiful vocal harmonies.  The four piece band played well without drowning out the singers in this small venue.

Lighting Design by Jason Crick created atmosphere to each scene.  Sound Design by Kyle Smith created Jon's uncomfortable inner voice of the ticking sound.  There were opportunities to include some effective percussive sound effects used during the Times Square scene.  For example taxis honking and the constant crowds of people as in "On the Town".

The synopsis of  "tick, tick...  Boom" is available via this link.

I would love to see Pursued By Bear perform the two hander musical "Murder For Two" as Luigi Lucente would be ideal for one of the roles with his ability to play the piano, sing and act.

I consider buying tickets to a Pursued By Bears production is an investment rather than a cost.

Overall we gave "tick, tick...  Boom" a 7/10.