Anaheim’s Chance Theater debuted their rendition of Jonathan Larson’s theater musical “Tick, Tick…Boom!” on Feb. 1. Set in the 90s, the story delivers a sensationally intimate tribute to the late composer, who wrote much of the script based on his own life, struggling to cement himself as a composer of real merit. Director H. Adam Harris manages to elevate the raw themes of the original over a backdrop of whimsical stage design and a small, dynamic cast.
The award-winning musical initially debuted off-Broadway in 2001 but has garnered a wider audience in recent years with the release of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2021 film adaptation starring Andrew Garfield. The story follows Jon (Luc Clopton), a struggling composer living in New York City surrounded by the bohemians of the city during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Susan (Lena Ceja) is a dancer and Jon’s more practical girlfriend who dreams of stability outside the arts while his best friend, Michael (Mario Houle), has quit theater to work a corporate job in marketing.
Set against the backdrop of Jon’s impending 30th birthday, his anxieties about cementing a legacy as an artist drive the narrative. Can harboring fantastical, creative ambitions compete with the prospect of a waning youth? How much longer can he wait tables to write the perfect song, the catapult to success? Throughout, Jon hears the echoing tick of a clock, urging him to become recognized for his life’s work before he can be dismissed as geriatric.
“30/90” introduces this premise, a vibrant performance that introduces the astonishingly talented cast of three. Meanwhile, “Johnny Can’t Decide” puts a point on this frustration, exploring the stakes artfully, “Johnny’s up and pacing / Compromise or persevere?” as Michael and Susan harmonize with him, sharing the space of his contemplation. While Larson’s original script had been performed as a single monologue, David Auburn posthumously adapted that script into a three-person script which revolutionized theater adaptations for the musical.
Music Director Lex Leigh’s leadership is the essential guidepost for the show. Every musical number seamlessly blends with the dialogue and the instrumentals sync to the actors’ voices effortlessly. Niko Montelibano’s choreography only complements the collaboration between the actors and the music. Brimming with rehearsed antics, the three consistently meet their cues with ease and bounce off each other in an organic manner.
This is particularly true for the eclectic and upbeat “No More,” when Jon and Michael are endearingly stunned by the luxury of an apartment building they’re scouting. The number easily boasts the most resourceful use of stage space and the highest entertainment value. In the movie version, the characters would just spawn into the various scenarios they sing, something far trickier to manage on a stage.
Yet somehow, in the rolling shelves, shapeshifting couches and simple costuming props, the number reinvents itself by putting the focus on Clopton and Houle’s electric stage presence. The two demonstrate a memorable vibrancy — jumping onto counters, hopping off bar stools and running around the stage in high, goofy spirits, elevating the number’s distinct rock n’ roll energy.
A similar music showmanship colors “Therapy,” which is written in a comedic who-said-what style, coloring the tension in Jon and Susan’s argument with humor. Clopton revealed that it was the “toughest” number to rehearse.
“[It’s] the one that requires the most consistency between Lena — who plays Susan — and I,” Clopton said in an interview with New University,
“There was a moment where we were sitting on complete opposite sides of the stage, just going up and down at different times,” he said, a technique that would’ve been much less effective than the interruptive, overlapping singing that conveys their jumbled communication.
With Clopton and Ceja, the synchronization looks effortless — every exaggerated emphasis and gesture deliberately punctuating the words they sing. Having long earned the audience’s approval with the sweet and sultry “Green Green Dress” introducing their romance, their terrific chemistry makes up for the rest of the fun. You’ve become invested when the all-too-familiar scene plays: a couple’s miscommunication.
Jon soon starts to experience the disintegration of his close relationships as he grows overly fixated on the success of a workshop where he’ll showcase the musical he has worked on for eight years, “SUPERBIA.” Themes of life, death and the indispensable nature of art all begin to intertwine at this point. Jon’s workshop is received well but does not result in a production offer and Susan wants to leave and settle down. Dejected at the situation, Jon confides to Michael that he is ready to give it up, resulting in an argument where Michael reveals he is HIV positive.
The most poignant performances of the show emerge from this portion of the musical, with Ceja’s rendition of “Come to Your Senses” making the ballad incapacitating. She alone carries the moment, with only her powerful voice and heart-stopping sincerity filling the theater.
Michael’s news sends Jon barreling down memory lane in a heartfelt rendition of “Why.” He then realizes that his love of theater is tied inextricably to spending his best days with Michael performing.
While the musical is undoubtedly a love letter to Broadway and the artists who fashion its success, Jon’s character makes it timelessly accessible — resonant of the restlessness and uncertainty of youth. The persistent fourth wall breaks and sporadic soliloquies reveal his ranting, agonizing, haunting and sometimes hilarious personal truths. The particular style allows audiences to glean into Jon’s most vulnerable moments as he often compares his station in life to others who “made it” by 30.
More importantly though, the peek-ins tie the audience together; we are all in on his perspective, privy to his privacy. This is what elevates the experience of a live assembly, of bearing witness to a theater production, especially one as intimate. Jon’s address to the audience has him tossing Twinkies into the crowd during a performance of “Sugar,” one of which someone had Clopton sign at the end.
For a chance at your own signed Twinkie, “Tick, Tick… Boom!” is running at the Chance Theater in Anaheim, California until Feb. 23.
Maryam Qazi is an Arts and Entertainment Intern for the winter 2025 quarter. She can be reached at qazimf@uci.edu.
Edited by Lillian Dunn.