Composer-lyricist Jonathan Larson died before achieving success. He posthumously received three Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his groundbreaking musical “Rent”.
The musical began off-Broadway in 1996, but tragically, Larson died from an aortic dissection the day before the first preview performance. So, he didn’t get to see his show’s success. Later, the show transferred to Broadway and went on to a long, successful run.
Based loosely on the 1896 opera La Bohème, Rent tells the story of a group of struggling young artists living in Lower Manhattan’s East Village. The show depicts characters with HIV and deals with homophobia. Larson’s themes were clearly ahead of their time.
Years later, Larson’s heirs discovered hundreds of cassette tapes, scripts, and undiscovered songs. Jennifer Ashley Tepper used 18 of those songs, which are currently playing at the Orpheum Theater.
Directed by John Simpkins, the show illustrates the versatility of Larson‘s music sung by five talented singers, Adam Chanler-Berat, Taylor Iman Jones, Lauren Marcus, Andy Mientus and Jason Tam.
The singers are talented, yet each one suggests a type. A bit quiet and reserved, Chanler-Berat seems to be a stand-in for Larson. Jones is fiery and sensual, while Marcus performs the lighter, more comical numbers.
She sings “Hosing the Furniture” as a frustrated housewife. This song won Larson the Stephen Sondheim Award. Tam is a romantic man, while Mientus projects a tougher image.
There’s no story and no theme connecting the music, save their composer.
The Playbills include a flyer indicating the names and descriptions of each song. Some are plaintive love songs like “Out of My Dreams,” while others like “Green Street” have a uniquely New York feel. Some numbers, such as “Break Out the Booze” and “Casual Sex, Pizza and Beer,” suggest an upbeat cabaret scene.
A few pieces like “One of These Days” were written for Larson’s original musical “Superbia,” which never got produced, and a couple felt decidedly political.
The project also included songs that were cut from both “Rent” and Larson’s other musical “Tick, tick…BOOM” and other projects, including pieces “Greene Street,” “Rhapsody,” and “Piano,” which were never performed publicly.
The show is geared to fans of “Rent,” and judging from the enthusiasm in the audience, many of them connected with It.
The staging is barebones, with a few pieces of furniture (a bar, chairs, etc) that are moved around. An unplayed piano is onstage the entire time, yet no one plays it.
So, in a way, “The Jonathan Larson Project” features six performers. The last number of the show is Larson’s homage to his instrument, which gave him inspiration and solace and has provided music for generations long after the 35-year-old’s death.
