Local Review: The UTEP Dinner Theatre's Side Dish Student Production of "Tick, Tick...Boom!"
For the third year in a row, the UTEP Dinner Theatre has produced another student directed production in their venue. This year, the student show was Jonathan Larson's autobiographical musical Tick, Tick..Boom!. Tick, Tick...Boom! is the story of an aspiring musical theatre composer named Jon who is about to turn 30 and how he is concerned about how his life and career seem to be going nowhere. The show was written entirely by Jonathan Larson, with script consultant, David Auburn. The show has an extremely strong book and score, with songs that easily showcase the talent of whoever may be singing them.
This production was directed by UTEP student, Rachel Robins. Robins' staging was well thought out and she did a lovely job blocking the show. However, there were moments during the show where the cast members would switch characters mid scene and due to the way those moments were staged, it would take a minute for my brain to process that they had become a different character, making some moments a little bit confusing. There were also about two scenes in the show where the staging had me unsure of what was happening, but I was able to pick back up on the plot after those two scenes. I also wish that Robins' staging had utilized the second level of the set more. The scenic design (by Lindsay Hearon) featured fire escapes far stage left and right and I was waiting for those moments where they would get on the fire escape, but they did not. Other than those two things, I thought that Rachel Robins did a great job directing the show. I appreciated how she had the actors moving around the stage and her usage of chairs.
The cast that Robins assembled was very talented, which made them very easy to watch. In the character of Jon was Jeffrey Quintana, who gave a highly admirable performance as the protagonist, Jon. Quintana's vocals were very impressive and although he did read to be too young for a character who is about about to turn thirty, he made up for it in both his acting and singing performance. As Jon's best friend, Michael, Malcom Stokes was very believable and his voice was extremely smooth and he had an excellent tone throughout the entire show. Stokes' had a Patti LuPone like quality to his voice in that there were times where I couldn't quite understand what he was singing, but I knew that he sounded REALLY good.
Playing alongside these two men was the incredible, Larissa Reyes Arzarte as Jon's girlfriend, Susan. Reyes Arzarte had a very unique voice and she stopped the show with her 11 O'clock number, "Come to Your Senses." She worked very well with the rest of the cast and was very fun to watch, even when she did not have any lines. I truly give all three cast members an A+.
As I mentioned, Jonathan Larson wrote this musical based on his own life and if you ask me, I think he did a pretty good job with it. The score is nice, with some catchy songs here and there and the book is well structured, with none of the main character's asides or monologues feeling forced or out of place. I think that there is maybe a song or two that can be done without, but at the end of the day, I'd say it's a quality show.
I thoroughly enjoyed The UTEP Dinner Theatre's student production of Tick, Tick...Boom! It wasn't quite perfect because of the clunkier scenes that I mentioned, but it was an entertaining night at the theatre with amazing acting and singing. There is still one weekend left of the run and I would definitely say that this is a show that is worth seeing, so go see it.
The UTEP Dinner Theatre's Side Dish Student Production of Jonathan Larson's Tick, Tick...Boom! was directed by Rachel Robins and the cast consisted of:
Jon- JEFFREY QUINTANA
Michael & others- MALCOM STOKES
Susan & others- LARISSA REYES ARZARTE
This production was directed by UTEP student, Rachel Robins. Robins' staging was well thought out and she did a lovely job blocking the show. However, there were moments during the show where the cast members would switch characters mid scene and due to the way those moments were staged, it would take a minute for my brain to process that they had become a different character, making some moments a little bit confusing. There were also about two scenes in the show where the staging had me unsure of what was happening, but I was able to pick back up on the plot after those two scenes. I also wish that Robins' staging had utilized the second level of the set more. The scenic design (by Lindsay Hearon) featured fire escapes far stage left and right and I was waiting for those moments where they would get on the fire escape, but they did not. Other than those two things, I thought that Rachel Robins did a great job directing the show. I appreciated how she had the actors moving around the stage and her usage of chairs.
The cast that Robins assembled was very talented, which made them very easy to watch. In the character of Jon was Jeffrey Quintana, who gave a highly admirable performance as the protagonist, Jon. Quintana's vocals were very impressive and although he did read to be too young for a character who is about about to turn thirty, he made up for it in both his acting and singing performance. As Jon's best friend, Michael, Malcom Stokes was very believable and his voice was extremely smooth and he had an excellent tone throughout the entire show. Stokes' had a Patti LuPone like quality to his voice in that there were times where I couldn't quite understand what he was singing, but I knew that he sounded REALLY good.
Playing alongside these two men was the incredible, Larissa Reyes Arzarte as Jon's girlfriend, Susan. Reyes Arzarte had a very unique voice and she stopped the show with her 11 O'clock number, "Come to Your Senses." She worked very well with the rest of the cast and was very fun to watch, even when she did not have any lines. I truly give all three cast members an A+.
As I mentioned, Jonathan Larson wrote this musical based on his own life and if you ask me, I think he did a pretty good job with it. The score is nice, with some catchy songs here and there and the book is well structured, with none of the main character's asides or monologues feeling forced or out of place. I think that there is maybe a song or two that can be done without, but at the end of the day, I'd say it's a quality show.
I thoroughly enjoyed The UTEP Dinner Theatre's student production of Tick, Tick...Boom! It wasn't quite perfect because of the clunkier scenes that I mentioned, but it was an entertaining night at the theatre with amazing acting and singing. There is still one weekend left of the run and I would definitely say that this is a show that is worth seeing, so go see it.
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The UTEP Dinner Theatre's Side Dish Student Production of Jonathan Larson's Tick, Tick...Boom! was directed by Rachel Robins and the cast consisted of:
Jon- JEFFREY QUINTANA
Michael & others- MALCOM STOKES
Susan & others- LARISSA REYES ARZARTE
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