It’s rare that an audience member of the New York theater has the chance to enter a time capsule. Yet at downtown’s Orpheum Theatre, people can get pretty close to that experience when attending the nostalgia-driven revue The Jonathan Larson Project. While this new musical might benefit from more contextual tissue, it does help prove that the heart of late-20th-century theater can have a pulsing impact on the current world we live in.
Conceived by veteran theater historian Jennifer Ashley Tepper and directed by John Simpkins, The Jonathan Larson Project debuts an array of songs that were penned in the 1980s and ’90s by Larson, the late creator of 1996’s “Rent” and 2001’s “Tick, Tick…Boom!” Some of the songs were conceived as standalone numbers, like the opening ensemble song “Greene Street,” which Larson wrote upon moving to New York City in 1983. Others, like “One of These Days,” penned in 1985, was cut from his musical “Superbia” (a show he explored in “Tick, Tick…Boom!”).
Upon entering the Orpheum, audiences of The Jonathan Larson Project see several TV screens placed abstractly around the stage. They play videos of scenes from New York City streets and subway stations, interspersed with passersby and sounds of horns honking. Also displayed are written details about Larson’s body of work that extend beyond his two published musicals and serve as preliminary information about the songs that will be performed as the show begins.
Anchoring the evening is a quintet of song interpreters who, under the musical supervision of Charlie Rosen and music direction of Cynthia Meng, coalesce seamlessly in shared moments and take to the spotlight during solo numbers with power. From Andy Mientus’s soul-shaking performance of “Valentine’s Day” — a song cut from Rent which landed in another musical Larson was creating, Prostate of the Union — to the over-the-top-hilarious cabaret number “Hosing Down the Furniture” — performed with comic finesse by the brilliant Lauren Marcus, audiences bear witness to the range of styles employed by Larson as a songwriter and storyteller.
What is surprising about the themes Larson examined while penning these songs decades ago is that many of them cover issues that are still relevant today, like environmental preservation (“Iron Mike,” sung by Jason Tam) and sexism (“White Male World,” performed by Marcus and Taylor Iman Jones). Rounding out the cast is Adam Chanler-Berat (former portrayer of “Rent” protagonist Mark Cohen in the musical’s 2011 off-Broadway revival) who brings a tender sense of melancholy to the proceedings.
While “The Jonathan Larson Project” is an inspiring throwback to the famed songwriter’s distinct ’80s/’90s sound, what does seem missing are clear clues as to these songs’ origins so the audience can fully appreciate them as they unfold. While the musical’s printed show program does include an insert featuring details about the songs that are about to be performed, an integration of these histories into the show would help it feel more cohesive.
That said, director Simpkins paints a beautiful stage picture with his cast, supported by talented designers Michael Schweikardt (scenery), Tracy Christensen (costumes), Justin Stasiwe (sound), Alex Basco Koch (video) and Adam Honoré and Shannon Clarke (lighting).
Rosen, a veteran music maker whose other duties here involve orchestrating and co-arranging the songs, elevates “The Jonathan Larson Project” to a heightened level that helps keep the crowd engaged. For forever Rentheads or people who grew up in the ’90s and would benefit from a burst of nostalgia, a trip down to the East Village’s Orpheum could be just the remedy for the trials of our current times.
