tick, tick… BOOM!
These are the sounds, representing anxiety, that main character, and playwright of tick, tick… BOOM!, Jonathan Larson hears in his head. This semi-autobiographical story depicts Jonathan Larson’s experiences preceding the first major breakthrough in his career. Jon, deals with copious amounts of anxiety and stress regarding his changing close relationships, his future career as a playwright and director, and his impending thirtieth birthday.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Folks
This hour and a half long story takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Starting in a place of high stress, Jon continues to experience events that make him question his purpose in life. His girlfriend wants to move from New York, his best friend since childhood gives him terrible new, his father constantly brags on his successful sister, and his talent agent tells him “Better luck next time,” right after he presents Superbia, the play that he poured his heart into.
The Station Theatre in Urbana put on a phenomenal performance of tick, tick… BOOM!, starring local actors Aaron Godwin as Jon Larson, Kimmy Schofield as Susan, Jon’s girlfriend, Cedric Jones as Michael, Jon’s best friend, Anika Nims as Karressa, an actor in Jon’s, and Kiah Johnson as Rosa Jon’s talent. Each actor brought a lot to the table and, whether it was their dramatic and dynamic acting, or their strong singing voices, each actor’s performance was polished and immersive.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Folks
As an audience member, I noticed how much detail each actor put into their role. The smallest intricacies that the actors decided to include gave their characters life. While watching their performance, there were moments when I forgot that the actors on stage were acting and almost felt that they were actually living the story. During the show, not a single actor forgot their line or had an awkward pause. Everything flowed smoothly from scene to scene.
The actors gave an impressive performance, but no show is complete without its crew. For tick, tick… BOOM!, there were three times as many crew members as actors. A live band of four members played for the entirety of the show, and eleven more crew members helped behind the scenes. The director of the show, Benny Zielke, gave the actors a lot of free reign to develop the characters on their own, according to actor Kimmy Schofield.
The cast and crew started working together in the middle of August this year, giving them just over six weeks to practice before opening night. Performances took place four times a week, opening on September 22nd and closing on October 9th. A total of twelve shows were performed.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Folks
Photo courtesy of Jesse Folks
According to Aaron Godwin, the lead, the most difficult parts in preparing for the show were line memorization and building up stamina. During the hour and a half long production, Godwin was on stage almost the entire time. With lots of monologues, Godwin had to figure out ways to practice his lines. “I traced the route Jon takes through Time Square on a map to visualize the path that these events line up with.” Said Godwin. His commitment to the role shown through his performance. “I’ve admired Jonathan Larson for a long time now… I resonate with him.” told Godwin.
Cedric Jones, who played Michael, described how each actor pulled from their past theater experiences, even though some of them hadn’t performed for up to five and six years due to the pandemic.
Urbana’s The Station Theatre gave an excellent performance. The actors give it their all and the community showed up to support them, with not an empty seat to be seen. Stay up to date on all Station Theatre news by checking out their website or following them on Facebook.
Olaf Schwink
Prospectus Reporter
