Cast Announced for TICK, TICK…BOOM! at BoHo Theatre

 

BoHo Theatre will close out its 2022/2023 season with TICK, TICK...BOOM!, with music, lyrics, and book by the late Jonathan Larson, and directed by Bo Frazier. This production marks the company's first musical since BIG FISH in 2019, and the first under the leadership of BoHo's new Artistic Director, Elizabeth Swanson. TICK, TICK...BOOM! was nominated for seven Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical, and received an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical. TICK, TICK...BOOM! was originally produced off-Broadway in June 2001 by Victoria Leacock, Robyn Goodman, Dede Harris, Lorie Cowen Levy, and Beth Smith. BoHo's production will play January 12 - February 5, 2023 at The Edge Theater, 5451 N Broadway, Chicago. The press opening is Saturday, January 14 at 7:30 pm.

ABOUT THE PLAY

Before RENT, there was TICK, TICK...BOOM!

Written by the late Jonathan Larson and directed by BoHo Artistic Associate Bo Frazier, TICK, TICK...BOOM! tells the autobiographical story of Jonathan, a struggling New York composer entering his 30s. The year is 1990, the AIDS crisis is escalating, and Jonathan is growing increasingly desperate to leave his dead-end job and write the next great American musical. Jonathan's girlfriend Susan and his best friend Michael announce major life changes, and Jonathan begins to wonder if the ticking clock is running out on his Broadway dreams. In BoHo Theatre's groundbreaking production, Director Bo Frazier reimagines this gripping rock musical as a celebration of trans joy, love, and creativity.

"I am so incredibly excited to be creating this important production of Jonathan Larson's beloved musical with BoHo Theatre and this phenomenal cast of trans and gender non-conforming performers," said director Bo Frazier. "Our production is inspired by grunge rock concerts as well as the queer and trans counterculture of downtown 1990's New York City. With the hundreds of anti-trans bills being introduced across the country, it is now more important than ever to normalize TGNC representation on stage and amplify trans joy."

CAST

Alec Phan (he/they) as Jonathan
Crystal Claros (they/he/she) as Michael
Luke Halpern (they/he/she) as Susan

UNDERSTUDY CAST
Lizzie Mowry (they/them) (U/S Jonathan)
Larry D. Trice II (they/them) (U/S Michael)
Nathe Rowbotham (they/them) (U/S Susan)

PRODUCTION TEAM

Produced by Elizabeth Swanson (they/she) and Enrico Spada (he/him)

Direction by Bo Frazier (they/them), Music Direction by Harper Caruso (she/her), Choreography by Jamal Howard (he/him), Intimacy Choreography by Kirsten Baity (they/them), Scenic Design by Bek Lambrecht (they/them), Sound Design by Eric Backus (he/him), Lighting Design by Piper Kirchhofer (she/her), Costume Design by Liliana Otero (she/they), Properties Design by Noah Elman (he/him), Sound Engineering by Lynsy Folckomer (she/her), Production Management by Dalton Long (he/him), Technical Direction by Carl Herzog (he/him), Production Stage Management by Leah Geis (she/they), Assistant Stage Management by Rochelle Hovde (she/they), Casting by Catherine Miller (they/them), House Management by Patrick Starner (he/him), Covid Safety Management by Lauren Peters (she/her).

ORIGINAL CREATIVE TEAM

Co-produced by Robyn Goodman (she/her), Dede Harris (she/her), Victoria Leacock (she/her), Lorie Cowen Levy (she/her), and Beth Smith (she/her)

Script consultation by David Auburn (he/him), Music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson (he/him), Directed by Scott Schwartz (he/him), Music Direction, Vocal Arrangements and Orchestration by Stephen Oremus (he/him), Press Representation by Richard Kornberg and Associates, Production Managed by Kai Brothers (he/him), Casting by David Caparelliotis (he/him), Production Stage Managed by Ed Fitzgerald (he/him), General Management by Roy Gabay (he/him), Choreography by Christopher Gattelli (he/him), Scenic Design by Anna Louizos (she/her), Lighting Design by Kenneth Posner (he/him), Hair Design by Antonio Suddo, Sound Design by Jon Weston (he/him), Costume Design by David Zinn (he/him). Original cast: Raúl E. Esparza (he/him) as Jonathan, Jerry Dixon (he/him) as Michael, and Amy Spanger (she/her) as Susan.

General Tickets on sale now at www.bohotheatre.com. Tickets are $35 for general admission, $20 for seniors, military, and first responders, and $12 for transgender and gender non-conforming audience members, students, and educational professionals.

BIOS

Jonathan Larson

(he/him), (February 4, 1960 - January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright who resided in New York. He is most known for writing the musicals RENT and TICK, TICK...BOOM!. Between 1983 and 1990, Larson wrote SUPERBIA, which was originally written as a re-telling of George Orwell's book 1984. But, the Orwell estate denied him the rights and ultimately SUPERBIA was not ever picked up to be fully produced. His next work, TICK, TICK...BOOM! in 1991 was first performed off-Broadway at the Village Gate and at the Second Stage Theater, then on the Upper West Side. Larson's strongest musical influence Stephen Sondheim eventually came in contact with Larson, and later Sondheim would write letters of recommendation for Larson to various producers. Jonathan Larson won the Stephen Sondheim Award in 1989 from the American Music Theatre Festival. Larson passed away on January 25, 1996, the day of the first Off-Broadway preview performance of RENT. Later, Jonathan Larson received three posthumous Tony Awards, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for RENT.

Stephen Oremus

(he/him), is an American musician, musical director, and orchestrator. Oremus has composed music for many award-winning Broadway productions including, AVENUE Q, ALL SHOOK UP, WICKED, KINKY BOOTS, and THE BOOK OF MORMON. In 2011 he won a Tony Award for his orchestrations (with Larry Hochman) for THE BOOK OF MORMON. Oremus also won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for KINKY BOOTS. Additionally, Oremus served as the conductor and contributing arranger for the Disney film FROZEN. Oremus graduated with a degree in Film Scoring from the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1992.

Bo Frazier

(they/them) is a trans non-binary, queer, and neurodivergent theatre maker interested in traditionally excluded narratives told in extremely imaginative ways. Since moving to Chicago in 2021, they have worked with First Floor Theater, Sideshow Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, BoHo Theatre, Filament Theatre, Mudlark Theatre, and was one of nine remaining full-time staff members fighting for Victory Gardens Theater to stay alive. Favorite directing and choreography projects include: BOTTICELLI IN THE FIRE by Jordan Tanahill, HIT THE WALL by Ike Holter, MEN ON BOATS by Jaclyn Backhaus, LOVE & INFORMATION by Caryl Churchill, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME by Simon Stephens, BRIGHT STAR, as well as new play productions by Dakota Parobek, C. Meaker, Leigh M. Marshall, and KT Peterson. Previously based in NYC and London, Bo has worked with companies such as The National Theatre (UK), Birmingham Rep (UK), Greenwich Theatre (UK), Signature Theatre (NYC), Dixon Place (NYC), Rutgers University (NJ), Theatre167 (NYC), Heartbeat Opera (NYC), Indiana Repertory Theatre (IN), and London Theatre Workshop (UK), which they co-founded. As a performer, Bo actually played Michael in a production of TICK, TICK...BOOM! while living in the UK, as well as appearing as John Hinckley in the 2012 London Revival of ASSASSINS. TRAINING: MFA - University of Iowa, MA - Royal Birmingham UK Conservatoire, BA - Millikin University. www.bofrazier.com