Actors are preparing for a challenging production happening at Theatre 444 in Geneva at the end of this month.
They did rent last summer, which was sold out for the entire performance before opening night. “We had lots of folks from the Rochester and Syracuse area come down into the Finger Lakes, which was great,” said Founding Director Pam Rapoza. “We had a large audience, which is why we picked Tick, Tick, Boom!, to try to get them to come back to the Finger Lakes and see us again.”
“Tick, Tick, Boom!, is about the life of a struggling artist,” said actor Logan Whittle, who plays Jon. “It is a true story about Jonathan Larson who wrote the show about himself and his life. He also wrote Rent. It’s closing in on his 30th birthday and he feels that he’s running out of time to become successful and do what he wants to do with his life. The show just kind of covers that last week before he turns 30, and the struggles he goes through in his career and his relationships. It’s a real-life struggle of someone who’s very passionate but doesn’t know exactly where to focus their energy.”
“I play Susan, Jon’s girlfriend,” said actor Lily Flum. “Susan is navigating her next step in life the same way that Jon is. Where Jon is torn between careers and relationships, she’s feeling very much the same thing, but she’s making a different decision entirely. She’s more cerebral than Jon, more logical. While he’s striving to find this meaning and makes this big impact and stamp his name on the world, she’s motivated by building a life for herself that means something to her. So they’re at odds in that way.”
Pam Rapoza has been directing and producing theater for more than 40 years. She started Theatre 444 about six years ago.
“Community theaters want to do big, huge shows for lots of people,” Rapoza said. “At one point, I finally just said, I need to start something of my own so we can do some things on a smaller scale, but are a little more edgy.”
Actors said the show coming up is very interactive. “There’s not many opportunities where you get to reach out and touch the audience with the material, but also physically reach out and touch the audience,” Flum said. “We’re running up and down the aisles, we’re looking people dead in the face, we talk with the audience. It’s super immersive. This will be a unique theater experience.”
Tick, Tick, Boom is coming up at the end of January. Tickets are on sale here. In February, there is a broadway cardio dance class. In May, there’s a play at the Waterloo library.
Rebecca is a veteran multimedia journalist serving as one of our core reporters in the Finger Lakes region. She is responsible for telling stories that matter to every day Upstate New Yorkers. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].