Navigating adulthood and friendships as an aspiring artist in Jonathan Larson’s other musical.

Before smash hit musical Rent, Jonathan Larson was very much a struggling composer trying to catch his big break in New York City. Fast approaching 30 years old and saddled with the fear of never making it big in life, Larson’s story is a familiar one to many similar hopeful young artists looking for their shot at stardom, feeling the constant countdown of the clock as each year goes by. As it turns out, it also made for ideal material for Larson’s autobiographical musical tick, tick…Boom!

Staged in Singapore by Sight Lines Productions, and directed by Derrick Chew, tick, tick…Boom! is highly metatheatrical, referencing Larson’s own life story as it follows main character Jonathan, 29 years old on the verge of his big 30th birthday, living in New York. On the horizon is a workshop for his massively ambitious sci-fi rock musical Superbia, which could finally mean he’s headed for Broadway, if a willing producer takes a chance on him. But if that doesn’t happen, then what exactly has he been working himself up to this entire time? Joining him on this journey are his girlfriend, dancer Susan, who plans on leaving town for a more stable career, and his childhood best friend Michael, a former actor who’s ‘sold out’ and joined the corporate life. Both of them want to see Jonathan succeed, but have no idea how to help him as they watch him obsess over ‘success’ as he approaches the day of the workshop.

Set designer Eucien Chia is well-known for his attention to detail, and in this production, once again excels at evoking a dingy New York apartment, filled with the books and paraphernalia of a musical theatre star wannabe, a graffiti-strewn chair under weathered windows and walls, while an ‘outside’ segment displays the brick facade of the building, with a balcony for characters to muse upon. Towards the back of the stage, we see iconic posters such as Read My Lips (Boys) for AIDs activist group Act Up, hinting at a key plot point, while a compact, cozy office space for Michael slides away to reveal a mini stage with sound system during Jonathan’s workshop, revealing the live band behind (led by Joanne Ho, alongside Daniel Chai, Brandon Wong and Rizal Sanip). All of this works to immerse and transport us to New York in the 80s, and makes for a tight, well-crafted visual and sonic experience.

The heart of a musical however, lies in the performance. The entire cast is capable of singing, with their technical ability to hit the right notes impressive, particularly considering the wide range of genres Larson composed across the soundtrack, whether it’s the rock ’30/90′ opening song, the Sondheim-inspired ‘Sunday’, or the showstopping ‘Come To Your Senses’. For the latter song, performed by Vanessa Kee (as Susan) and Beatrice Jaymes Pung (as Karessa), both actresses have done very well to capture both the emotional resonance and power of the song, their voices gelling well with each other and the standout performance of the night. Ryan Ang plumbs some degree of emotional depth for his moving rendition of ‘Real Life’, while the cast as a whole manages to squeeze in some cute choreography by Tan Rui Shan, showcased in numbers such as ‘Sugar’ where everyone gets a chance to show off some sweet moves.

As a self-proclaimed ‘rock monologue’ however, so much of tick, tick…Boom!‘s success hinges on the performance of its lead – Jonathan. Playing Jonathan is Preston Lim, still a relative newcomer to the scene, who presents a version of Jon that focuses a lot more on his quirks and tics. While the audience inherently understands that Jon is suffering from intense anxiety, Preston’s portrayal often feels very intentionally performed rather than genuine and natural, his voice and facial expressions never quite hitting the emotions necessary to garner that empathy for Jon. As a result, even when he sings, and does so well at getting the songs right on a technical level, the build-up simply isn’t there to support the songs’ emotional journey, and any potential payoff feels empty rather than earned. This is seen particularly with ‘Why’, meant to recall his years of friendship with Michael, yet the chemistry between both actors is never strong enough to justify that outpouring of regret and hope present in the lyrics.

In addition, while the cast initially hits their respective accents (Beatrice does an especially good job as Jon’s Jewish agent with a thick accent), this is inconsistent, often dipping towards the end of the show, and at times even obscures the acting from coming through, once again focused more on performing the accent, rather than allowing themselves to feel the emotional resonance of the dialogue and script. As a whole, the cast aren’t bad performers, but simply require stronger chemistry with each other onstage, and ultimately feel more like colleagues than people who’ve known each other for years. Credit given where it is due: both Beatrice and fellow newcomer Eric Larrea are clearly excited to be onstage, and bring a youthful energy and enthusiasm to their performances that extends to the audience as well, and makes us feel excited to see how their theatrical journeys will play out, when it’s only just beginning.

With tick, tick…Boom! and their upcoming staging of Catch Me If You Can, Sight Lines Productions seems to be entering a new era, and is set to establish themselves as yet another company attempting to enter the musical theatre scene, especially in line with their school Sight Lines Academy. tick, tick…Boom! showcases a degree of technical proficiency on the music side, and actors who are relatively well-cast for their roles, and still capable of much more in other performances – perhaps the formula simply needs to be tweaked a little to access their true abilities, and turn an ok performance into a great one.

tick, tick…Boom! plays till 14th July 2024 at KC Arts Centre. Tickets available from SISTIC