Review Roundup: Neil Patrick Harris-Directed TICK, TICK... BOOM! at the Kennedy Center

Jonathan Larson's tick, tick... BOOM! is now on stage at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The musical is directed by Emmy® and Tony Award® winner and New York Times bestselling author Neil Patrick Harris.

The production stars Tony Award® winner Brandon Uranowitz (Leopoldstadt, Falsettos) as Jon, Tony Award® nominee Denée Benton (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1912, The Gilded Age) as Susan, and Tony Award® nominee Grey Henson (Shucked, Mean Girls) as Michael. 

tick, tick… BOOM! will play the Center’s Eisenhower Theater January 26–February 4, 2024, with an additional performance added on February 4, 7:00 p.m. 

tick, tick… BOOM! is RENT author Jonathan Larson’s explosive, semi-autobiographical musical about life, death, and the necessity of art. The show follows Jon, a composer struggling to break into New York City’s theater scene, and is filled with unforgettable songs including “30/90,” “Johnny Can’t Decide,” and the Sondheim-inspired “Sunday.” This new production of tick, tick …BOOM! features new orchestrations and vocal arrangements and has been expanded to include an ensemble comprising Kenedy Caughell, Kelvin Moon Loh, Yael “Yaya” Reich, and Nikhil Saboo. 

The production, produced by Broadway Center Stage Artistic Director and Kennedy Center Vice President and Executive Producer of Theater, Jeffrey Finn, features a band with musicians from the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and include choreography by Paul McGill, musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, and music direction by Ben Cohn, Scenic and Projection design by Paul Tate DePoo III, Video and Projection design by Nathan Scheuer, costume design by Andrea Hood, lighting design by Cory Pattak, and sound design by Haley Parcher. Michael Passaro serves as the Production Stage Manager, Matt DiCarlo as associate director, with Garret Healy as associate music director, and Emilio Ramos as associate choreographer.  Casting is by Geoff Josselson and Katja Zarolinski of JZ Casting.

Let's see what the critics have to say!

Chris Klimek, Washington Post: As a director, Harris is more interested in making the material as accessible as possible than in interrogating it in any substantial way, which results in some clunky choices. At the end of Larson’s loving Sondheim pastiche “Sunday,” for example — set during a long weekend shift at the Moondance Diner, where Jon and his namesake waited tables — a projection of Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” flashes up briefly, underlining the link between the song we’ve just heard and “Sunday in the Park with George.” It reads as obvious for those who already know the context, and confounding for those who don’t.

Jared Strange, DC Theatre Arts: Under Harris’ direction, Larson’s stripped-down confessional has reemerged in its lushest stage form yet. Nathan Scheuer’s projections expand Jon’s world with detail and color, balanced by Andrea Hood’s simple (but, in the case of a certain green dress, ill-fitting) costumes. Harris and choreographer Paul McGill use the cast to maneuver an array of setpieces designed and assembled by Paul Tate DePoo III, transporting the company from Jon’s apartment to a hotel lobby to Michael’s advertising firm with clockwork precision. 

Keith Loria, TheatreMania: Harris obviously has a special affinity for Larson and this show (he appeared in the 2005 London production). He has managed to put a winning stamp on it, making it his own without losing any of the heart or hope of the original. Don’t let Tick, Tick pass you by, as the explosive musical must close on Feb. 4.

Peter Rosenstein, The Georgetown Dish: This is the first time I have seen tick, tick, BOOM!. It won’t be the last. Seeing it just added to my immense appreciation of the talent of Jonathan Larson. His work has made a difference in so many lives. Both the actors that played the roles, and sang the songs, he wrote; and the audiences who watch and listen to them. His work makes us think about our lives; the good, the tough, the hope, and the despair.  His work makes you feel something, and that is what good theater, good art, should do.

Pamela Roberts, BroadwayWorld: We are in tremendous hands with Brandon Uranowitz as Jon. While we’ve seen the device of the camcorder video monologue in Rent here it’s an especially smart choice, allowing even the audience seated in the very back of the 1,161-seat house to see the nuanced performance of Uranowitz, a strong and subtle actor with a huge range (evidenced by award-winning performances in productions as diverse as Leopoldstadt, Falsettos, The Band’s Visit, Burn This and an early-career Torch Song Trilogy at Studio Theater which earned him a Helen Hayes nomination). 

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