By Giselle P. Kasilag
THERE are many reasons to watch Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick… Boom!, and just as many reasons to watch it multiple times. Set in 1990s New York, this semi-autobiographical musical tells the story of an aspiring composer, Jon, who is wondering if he should continue chasing after his dreams or cut his losses and turn to more traditional and stable career options.
Anyone of any field who has experienced doubt about pursuing their passion must watch what should be described as necessary theater. It delves into the existential crisis of every human being with a dream must navigate.
Director Robbie Guevarra, however, is adding more reasons to see 9 Works Theatrical’s upcoming performance of the award-winning musical at least eight times. He has put together a stellar cast of six for a show, with three characters. Jef Flores and Khalil Ramos will take on the lead role of Jon. Tanya Manalang and Kayla Rivera are alternating as Susan. Vien King and Reb Atadero are performing as Michael. But this is not a Cast A alternating with Cast B scenario. There is no set trio per show. Instead, the cast will be switched up and will be able to perform with all the other actors except for the one they are sharing the role with.
“There will be eight combinations,” explained Mr. Guevarra. “We have 11 shows at the moment. Three of those combinations will repeat.” The primary reason for this unusual setup was the COVID-19 pandemic. Having two sets of casts would ensure that the shows need not be canceled if someone gets sick. But having the actors able to perform with any combination of the cast is an added layer of security that the show can go on for as long as one actor playing each character is healthy.
“It’s so much fun because it trains me not to go on autopilot,” said Ms. Manalang. “It’s always a different energy every time. It’s a different person so physically pa lang (gesturing at the height difference between the two actors), there are some things I do easily with Khal but with Jef, I have to be creative about it and be comfortable with it. I like it that it keeps me thinking on my toes and that’s just how life is. You don’t plan things ahead. It makes it more real in that sense.”
Indeed, the pandemic and the lockdowns informed many of the decisions related to the staging of tick, tick… Boom!, foremost of which was the choice to bring it back in the first place.
Managing director Santi Santamaria was adamant about starting small after the pandemic. Being material that they were familiar with and having only three characters made it an easy choice. But Mr. Guevarra also felt that the script itself was timely.
“When we decided to do this again, I was asking myself, aside from the pragmatic reason that we wanted to start small, I looked for what can this show contribute to society. There’s always a purpose to our shows. It was a way of showing how we live our lives because it’s not very foreign. Even though this is set in New York where the pressure is bigger and where they’re literally small fish in a huge ocean — here it’s a pond and you have big fish. They’re big fish already in the pond and that’s great, but we still all have our struggles. And I just wanted to show the world that this is what we go through. There are people out there who still think theater is a hobby,” he shared.
This challenge could not have been more evident during the global lockdowns. With people stuck in their homes, many turned to the arts to survive the mental toll of the pandemic. And yet most artists are unable to live financially secure lives solely on their art. Thus, the struggle between artistic and commercial pursuits which is as the heart of tick, tick… Boom! presents itself in a most timely fashion.
“Does it always have to be at odds? Not necessarily,” explained Mr. Atadero. “But in a country like ours, the question is do you feed your stomach, or do you feed your soul? Of course, if you have to function as a person, you have to feed your stomach. That’s why we do a lot of corporate gigs, we do a lot of singing engagements. We do these things in order to be able to sustain [ourselves] while feeding our souls. Pagod ka nga lang (You get tired), but I remember this quote from one of my mentors before: Lahat tayo napapagod. Choice mo kung mapapagod ka nang masaya o malungkot (We all get tired. It’s your choice if you get tired while being happy or if youget tired while being sad).”
Indeed, at times, the script reads like the story of their own lives. All the cast members at some point in their journey found themselves in the same position as their characters.
Mr. Flores, like Jon, is a musician and a composer and has identified strongly with the challenges that his character faces.
“There comes a point where when you’re a kid you want to be a pop star. But pop stars are very young. And then when you’re older, you’re just a washed-up pop star. And so I’m getting to the washed-up age without ever actually hitting my pop star status. So that’s how I relate to the role. As a musician, I can vibe with a lot of things being said. So I bring a lot of myself into the role, for sure,” he admitted.
Mr. Ramos, who alternates with Mr. Flores, cited the pressure as the aspect of Jon’s character that he relates to the most.
“It’s the anxiety that the artist faces in this crazy, crazy industry,” he disclosed. “I’ve been in show business for 12 years now and it’s vastly changed over the past three or four years and I’m sure you guys know how much it has changed after the pandemic. We, artists, were forced to do other things outside of our comfort zone. We started to become content creators to try and adapt to the changing scene. And that’s what I’m going through as an artist. All my projects were canceled. I didn’t know where to find work. We had to choose different paths but in my head I would always think, ‘I don’t want to sell out!’ It’s always been a battle for me. This year, I’m very thankful that we can do these things again after the restrictions were eased. But I am faced with the same anxieties that John faced. When this is all back to normal with all the new artists, who am I now? I’ve been here for 12 years. What else can I bring to the table?”
Susan, a dancer, is on the edge of throwing in the towel and moving away from her dream and beginning a quiet life to build a family. Ms. Rivera confessed to having moved away for a time just to be in that quiet and stable environment that her character, Susan, longs for.
“I went back to school. I was working in a car dealership as a receptionist in Canada. So, I took that time to veer away from the creative track. And that’s really like what Susan is wanting [to do]. She teaches dance and she’s a dancer herself, and she had these big dreams. But she comes to a point where she realizes that ‘I want a family. I’m okay living away from the city and having a more simple way of living.’ So that’s how I relate to Susan. And at this point in my life as well, even though I’m performing and I also do radio, but at the same time at this point in my life I feel like I’m also getting there. I’m 30 so that’s not too far away as well in terms of having a family,” she shared.
Michael, the pragmatist, is no stranger to Mr. King. He shares the challenges that his character faces on a daily basis.
“The thing I can relate to my character [over] is the struggle of being an artist,” he said. “It’s really hard like, for me, I have lots of responsibilities to my family. And this is my passion and it’s really hard for me to stay in this industry. At one point in my life, I really tried looking for a corporate job. So I think those [are] layers that I can really put [on] the table — that experience at that point in my life — [for] my role because I am just happy right now that I’m still here doing what I love to do and giving security to my family as well.”
Clearly, tick, tick… Boom! has resonated with the cast on so many levels. And this is precisely why they are confident that the audience will be able to relate to one or all of the characters, depending on where they are in their life journey.
“This is supposed to be set in 1990 but it’s still relevant today” declared Mr. Atadero. “The technology is different but the story is still a very human story of how far you’re willing to go, to stretch yourself out, to try and reach for something that could be an impossible dream.”
tick, tick…BOOM! will have performances every weekend of August at 3 and 7:30 p.m., on Saturdays and Sundays, at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati. Tickets are now available via ticket2me.net.
