Tick, Tick... Boom synopsis

Tick, Tick... Boom Synopsis - Broadway musical

The show opens on a Saturday night in 1990. Jon is about to turn 30, his show Superbia will have its first public performance--a workshop--in a few days, and he's worried that he may have made a wrong career choice. In 30/90 we meet his girlfriend, Susan, and his best friend, Michael, who leaves the lovers alone so they can share a romantic night (Green Green Dress). The next morning, Jon ponders his choices (Johnny Can't Decide) until reality intrudes, and he has to go to work at the diner. The all-too-familiar brunch scene is brought to life in Sunday, Jon's deliberate inversion of a song by his real-life mentor, Stephen Sondheim. Afterwards, Michael takes him to see the fancy apartment he has just bought, and the two have fun contrasting its pleasures (No More) with life in Jonathan's ancient walk-up flat. Later in the evening, he and Susan have one of their increasingly frequent spats about nothing--and everything (Therapy).

As Johnny drives him to the airport, the following day in Michael's gleaming new BMW, Michael voices deep concern about what he may be missing (Real Life). After which, en route to the rehearsal of Superbia, Jon seeks solace from the various pressures he is feeling (Sugar). Returning home to realize he's on the verge of a major breakup with Susan, Jon wishes he could See Her Smile. At the workshop later in the week, Karessa Johnson, an actress in the workshop, brings down the house with an appropriately-titled ballad Come To Your Senses. After Michael reveals that he is HIV-positive, Jon thinks about their lifetime of friendship; about what led him to choose a career in the theatre, and about whether he should give up his dreams of success as a composer (Why). Finally, as the dreaded 30th birthday actually arrives, he ponders the choices we face in life, and thinks about how we translate those decisions into everyday living (Louder Than Words).
Last Update:July, 01st 2013