After my interview with Joey McIntyre at the Colonial Theatre, I hung around the lobby to speak with other folks connected to the production of tick, tick . . . BOOM!, the posthumous Jonathan Larson cabaret that the former New Kid on the Block will be starring in starting this Tuesday. Joey had evidently stepped out for a breath of air, and as I was leaving the theater, he returned, walking quickly through the lobby. Although his wardrobe was nondescript (V-neck dark-blue sweater and jeans), he was obviously exuding something special: hot on his heels was a quartet of twentysomething post-collegiate youths, each with a bright smile and sparkling eyes.
Ann Sheehan, the redoubtable publicist for Broadway in Boston, sized up the situation in a nanosecond. " Guys, I’m sorry, " she said to the group, deftly ushering them back onto the street while Joey whisked through the ornate lobby doors to await his next interview. As I walked up Boylston Street, I saw that McIntyre had left a substantial wake of astonishment. One young woman chattered excitedly on her cell phone, " He was JUST ON THE STREET " ; others exhibited the slightly dazed smile that comes from being in an elevator that rises too quickly.
Although the show by the late author of Rent reflects Larson’s own anxieties about turning 30 (an autobiographical point he emphasized by naming the lead character Jonathan), McIntyre has no such qualms despite having notched the magic number himself. He does, however, allow that " as a writer and performer, I totally identify with the ticks. The clock in his head and thinking time’s gonna run out and being able to put the clock in the drawer and put a pillow in there and just kinda drown it out while you get creative. It’s a great role to play. " Then again, McIntyre has shown ingenuity and flexibility when it comes to crafting a career after years as a teen idol. His 1999 solo debut, Stay the Same (Sony), went gold, and he’s had a recurring role on TV’s Boston Public, where his real-life accent is one of the few notes of authenticity.
He wasn’t a big fan of Larson’s best-known work. " I saw Rent once — wasn’t drawn to it. I’m a little bit more of a traditionalist when it comes to musical theater. " He pauses. " I guess I would have been the bane of Jonathan’s existence in some degree because he wanted to bring rock to the stage, and he knew how hard it was. The thing I like about tick, tick . . . BOOM! is that it’s ‘traditional-meets-rock.’ " McIntyre is both knowledgeable and experienced when he talks about the musical-theater tradition; he spent his youth at the Footlight Club in Jamaica Plain, and he’s just one of many performing McIntyre siblings — his sister Judith is a favorite on area stages.
Of the 1990 Larson work, which started out as a solo piece but has been revised to include three performers, he says, " tick, tick . . . BOOM! is the play that’s on the road to Rent, and he was so inspired by Stephen Sondheim. He had his Sondheimesque moments in it. " McIntyre was turned on to the show after seeing the New York production, with Raul Esparza. " Five minutes into it, I knew I wanted to do it. I don’t see tons of theater, but I thought it was human and real and fresh and young. "
tick, tick . . . BOOM! is at the Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont Street in the Theater District, May 27 through June 8. Tickets are $25 to $60; call Ticketmaster at (617) 931-2787 or visit the Wilbur box office. Seats in the first two rows of the orchestra are $20, day of performance, two hours prior to curtain, cash only, two per person, at the box office.
