Created and written by Jonathan Larson, Boho Days was a one-person rock monologue that went on to become what we now know as the musical Tick, Tick… Boom!
But how?
A semi-autobiographical story about a young composer approaching his 30th birthday, concerned that he may never find success, the piece first appeared as a workshop in 1990. This intense and experimental one-hander told the story of Larson’s first attempt at a musical. He worked for several years creating a science fiction rock musical called Superbia. When industry brass told him it was too expensive for Off-Broadway and too weird for Broadway, he turned his talent to writing what would become tick, tick…BOOM!. This new project aimed to encapsulate his ever-growing concerns about time slipping away, breaking the promise of being a “promising young composer”, and gleaning everything he wanted out of life before it was too late. Larson felt increasingly burdened as time seemed to run out not just for himself, but for friends who were living with and dying from AIDS. One article shared that this script was Larson’s “life in song.”
The story focuses on Jon who is approaching his 30th birthday. Much like Larson, the character Jon is an aspiring artist and composer. He lives in New York City, working as a waiter struggling to pay rent. He wants to make everyone happy, but his passion is to achieve success as a composer by age thirty. His best friend Michael was a hopeful actor but gave up his dream and became a successful marketing executive. Michael tries to convince Jon to leave music and work in marketing with him. Susan, Jon’s girlfriend, is a dancer but wants more. She wants Jon to move out of the city with her and settle down. He is filled with doubts and fear but longs to fulfill his dream.
As the clock ticks, the words of the song “30/90” are heard:
“Stop the clock
Take time out
Time to regroup
Before you lose the bout.”
Does Jon achieve success, or does he give up on his dreams? Does Michael persuade Jon with the allure of money and economic success? Does Jon leave the city to settle down with Susan? tick, tick..BOOM! answers all of these questions.
Having workshopped the one-man version of the show Off-Broadway and attracted the attention of some producers who would later be important to his success, Larson set Boho Days aside while he finished the work that would one day make him famous: RENT.
In 1996, RENT changed musical theater for a generation by successfully combining rock and musical theatre. Tragically, Larson died the night before the Off-Broadway opening of RENT, a result of undiagnosed Marfan Syndrome. Larson passed away before achieving the success he had dreamed of for years. After his death, his friend Victoria Leacock and distinguished playwright David Auburn reworked the musical and created a new Off-Broadway production of tick, tick...BOOM!. Using Larson's copious notes and versions of the show, Auburn turned the musical into the current three-character piece, rather than the one-man show it was originally written to be. tick, tick…BOOM! went on to win the Outer Critics Circle Award: Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical and was nominated for several other awards.
Fast-forward to 2021, and Lin-Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton fame) directed a film version of tick, tick…Boom! to stream on Netflix. Miranda had often explained that Larson had an immense influence on his career. He frequently told the story of seeing RENT on his seventeenth birthday, giving him the courage to write about his New York neighborhood and community. When he was 21, he saw tick, tick…BOOM!, giving him fuel to continue his work. In a New York Times article, Miranda explained that before his Off-Broadway premier of Hamilton, he reflected:
“Jonathan, if you can hear me, you fulfilled every promise and then some. We continue to perform your work, and when we do, someone else’s life is changed. Someone else has permission to tell their story because you told yours. Someone else has permission to dream as big as you did. Someone else will struggle to do his best with the time they have. Someone else will try to find the right words to thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Now, just two years after a sellout run of Larson’s RENT, Market Theatre’s production of tick, tick…BOOM! opens on Friday, March 14, 2025, running through March 24, 2025. Directed by Christopher Rose, tick, tick…BOOM! features a stellar cast. Jacob Seay appears as Jon, Andrew Mullin is cast as Michael, and Rose Mullin is Susan. Jacob has appeared in many upstate productions including at Centre Stage, Greenville Theatre, and Mauldin Theatre. Andrew Mullin and Rose Mullin shared the stage with Market Theatre’s own Drew Kenyon at Mauldin Theatre in Hunchback of Notre Dame. All three performers are making their Market Theatre debut!
Tickets are available online and at the door. https://markettheatre.org/tickets (This show is rated PG-13. The performance contains adult language and situations.)
*The film version of tick, tick…BOOM! is currently playing on Netflix. A documentary, “No Day But Today: The Story of RENT,” providing more information on the life and work of Jonathan Larson, is available on YouTube.
