I had a memorable experience when I first listened to the CD of TICK, TICK...BOOM! I was sitting in my office at MusicalFare as these fresh sounding songs of hope, optimism, and life were spilling out into the room. I was invigorated by the rock music, the lack of pretentiousness in the lyrics, and the honesty of the songs. I was also saddened by the fact that the voice that created this music would never hear it performed by theatre companies throughout the world. Jonathan Larson, the creator of TICK, TICK..BOOM! and RENT, had died of a brain aneurysm in 1996, the night before RENT's first Off Broadway preview. TICK, TICK..BOOM!, which Larson had performed as a one man "rock monologue" in the early 1990's to very limited success, was adapted after his death by the Larson estate and playwright David Auburn and opened with a three member cast Off Broadway in 2001. A very successful London production starring Neil Patrick Harris followed in 2005.

I was born in 1959. Jonathan Larson was born in 1960. So, I guess you could call us contemporaries. As my ten year high school reunion approached, I had a similar experience to the pain and questions that surround Jon's thirtieth birthday in TICK, TICK...BOOM! I was living in New York City, struggling along with trying to make a life in the theatre. I knew my classmates were lawyers, doctors, and engineers and I was an unknown pianist/accompanist/director who mostly temped as a telemarketer. When I graduated from high school I had been voted "Most Likely to Succeed" and the potential embarrassment and difficulty in explaining my apparent lack of career progress compelled me to skip the reunion. I did have a chance to go to my fifteenth reunion when things were going better. But Jonathan Larson never had that chance. He passed away before anything in his life had real value, before he had a "real life." Or did he? Is something only of value if it is successful? Why do we put this pressure on ourselves to live up to society's view of success? These are the essential questions that TICK, TICK..BOOM! asks of us.

I have a strong belief in life after death. As I was sitting in my office that day listening for the first time to TICK, TICK...BOOM! I had a palpable feeling that the spirit of Jonathan Larson was present. How could it not be? His music and lyrics made me smile, pound out rhythms on my desk, question my place in this world. As we went into rehearsal the cast and artistic staff created an atmosphere of camaraderie, imagination and freedom. I like to think that Jon would have enjoyed our process. Maybe he did. So, for Jonathan Larson and for all of us who struggle daily with questions about our own lives, we offer this production. For you, for me, for everyone. I hope you are able to get out to MusicalFare and see it.