Review: TICK, TICK...BOOM! at Portland Center Stage

Who hasn't at some point experienced the gnawing anxiety of time passing too quickly, of wondering what you have to show for your years on this earth? In Jonathan Larson's TICK, TICK...BOOM!, the person grappling with these feelings is an aspiring musical theatre writer about to turn 30. But even though the show is about art and creativity, the doubts and anxieties will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to find their passion and their purpose and - perhaps most importantly - to have it taken seriously.

When Jonathan Larson was alive, he performed TICK, TICK...BOOM! as a solo show. It's a semi-autobiographical account of his effort to break into the musical theatre world, as well as an homage to Stephen Sondheim. After Larson's death, playwright David Auburn turned the show into a three-actor musical which had a successful run off-Broadway.

By ending last season with RENT and starting this one with TICK, TICK...BOOM!, Portland Center Stage is clearly trying to attract a new and younger audience to the theatre. Both shows are set in the early '90s, which writer Kevin Potts calls "a decade of noise and nihilism," when the culture - at least for those of us who were teenagers at the time - was one of general angst. The '90s are having a resurgence at the moment among Gen Z because today's young people are feeling the same sort of anxiety and uncertainty about their future. So it's a good time to be staging Larson's shows, both of which, in their own very different ways, offer hope that things are going to be okay.

If you're a fan of movie musicals, you might know that TICK, TICK...BOOM! was made into an excellent movie released on Netflix last year. So, why venture out and vie for parking to see this production?

The reason (in addition to supporting local businesses and live performance) is Lauren Steele. A Drammy-winning actor (and also a massively talented singer-songwriter) with a powerhouse voice, Steele steals this show as Susan and a handful of other characters. Her solo, "Come to Your Senses," is the high point - her voice is gorgeous, expressive, and big enough to fill the whole theatre, backstage area included - but every moment she's onstage is better than every moment she's not.

Jesse Weil (Jon) and Tyler Andrew Jones (Michael plus various smaller characters) round out the cast. On opening night, it seemed to take Weil some time to warm up, but he found his stride soon enough. Jones's time to shine comes in playful moments when he flirts with the audience and gets to deliver the show's sauciest lines.

The aspect of this production that I found least successful was the scenic design, by design collective dots. The show starts in front of a curtain close to the front of the stage, and then the curtain opens to reveal the cavernous area that's typically backstage. The first space felt too small, while the second was definitely too big. This was especially apparent in "Why." The song is the show's emotional climax, and Weil performs it beautifully, but it loses impact because the piano is set so far away. It's not the only time there's some sort of barrier or expanse between the performers and the audience, and it felt like we were being held at arm's length.

Overall, I think TICK, TICK...BOOM is a great musical, and honestly I was happy to immerse myself in 1990 and Jon's quarter-life crisis rather than think about the impending doom that seems to surround us today. And, of course, there's Lauren Steele.

TICK, TICK...BOOM runs through September 18. More details and tickets here.