How Theatr Clwyd has relaunched with triumphant Tick, Tick...Boom! musical following £50m revamp

North Wales Live

2 days ago

Theatr Clwyd in Mold has been undergoing a multi-million pound revamp which has lasted three years. ReachPLC editor Michael Green recently paid a visit to the popular Flintshire to take in its relaunch and to see how it is shaping up.
Theatr Clwyd is back with a bang - or more accurately with a Tick, Tick...Boom!
After three years and a £50m revamp, during which the celebrated Mold cultural centre has defiantly struggled through with a temporary theatre and even a Big Top, it was a pleasure to walk through the doors of the newly unveiled glass dominated frontage overlooking the North Wales landscape, reports Cheshire Live.
As someone who went through the doors of the former building countless times in preceding decades, it was quite disorientating to find the magnificently spacious new interior looking completely unrecognisable with impressively vast areas set aside for eating, drinking or simply chilling out.
Overall, the extensive project is still some way away from completion with such vital components as the cinema and the main restaurant falling under the banner of 'Coming Soon'.
But I am delighted to report that the main auditorium - formerly known as the Anthony Hopkins Theatre - may have also been refurbished but has otherwise hardly changed at all, about which I am overjoyed because it has always been one of my favourite performance spaces.
And my many, many wonderful memories of attending unforgettable productions here - whether it was one of their legendary rock 'n' roll pantos or some of the best Shakespeare I have ever seen during the days of the late, lamented Terry Hands - have instantly been added to by an opening production of Jonathan Larson's autobiographical musical so absolutely flawless and perfectly performed that it had me in tears on at least two occasions.
It might seem an unusual choice as the relaunch show for a flagship Welsh venue, whisking its audiences off to New York in 1990 to watch a struggling young composer desperately trying to earn his big break while also coming to terms with the fact he is about to turn 30, especially as artistic director Kate Wasserberg has also decided to direct this herself.
As it turns out, the choice is utterly inspired because I guarantee in no uncertain terms that every single person - and I mean: every. single. person. - is going to emerge from this show raving about it and the venue in which it was seen every bit as much as I am about to!
If your only previous exposure to this piece of work (which I consider to be Larson's masterpiece rather than the better known Rent) has been the terrific 2021 film version starring Andrew Garfield and directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda then the first thing that may surprise you is to find there is a cast of only three but it is worth bearing in mind that in its original form, Larson would perform this solo (prior to his tragically untimely death in 1996 at the age of 35).
But my goodness what a cast of three we have to behold!
Ryan Owen is the central character of Jon with co-stars Christina Modestou and Tarik Frimpong primarily playing girlfriend Susan and best friend Michael respectively but also delightfully cropping up in a variety of additional supporting roles.
Owen is a relentless bundle of energy as he narrates Jon's story, skilfully showing us the fragile ego, nihilistic despair and brittle optimism of the creative mind which is at its sharpest when he is offered the very real chance of economic and domestic security and rejects them in favour of the misery of the tortuous pursuit of his artistic dream.
Frimpong as Michael is the other side of Jon's coin - a talented former actor who turned his back on such dreams for the financial rewards of a corporate lifestyle only to have tragedy strike in the cruellest of ways, something which Frimpong handles with heartbreaking sensitivity while also occasionally transforming himself into Jon's ageing father.
Meanwhile, Modestou is unfailingly warm and appealing as Susan but also glamorously tempting as singer Karessa while demonstrating her exceptional versatility as the hilariously over the top New Yorker agent Rosa Stevens.
When performing the musical numbers (aided by a brilliant live band suspended on a balcony above the action throughout), they are all breathtaking as soloists but their harmonies as a threesome are so perfect and natural you would be forgiven for thinking they have been singing together their whole lives.
Every one of the songs is performed magnificently but I have to single out the ingenious staging of the duet between Owen and Modestou that is Therapy, choreographed and executed with such invention and expert timing.
And then there is Come To Your Senses, one of my favourite songs in the whole of musical theatre and unlike Therapy, staged with beautifully judged simplicity as Christina Modestou stands in front of a mic stand and just belts it out with such power and passion that this proved to be the first occasion of the evening when tears were brought to my eyes.
The other occasion came when the three of them teamed up for the extraordinary final song Louder Than Words which ended with the show's title being lowered from the rafters as a giant neon sign which was the signal for everyone in the audience to rightly rise to their feet to give these performers a well deserved standing ovation.
The production is presented without an interval which is another inspired decision as this is a show which holds you spellbound from start to finish. In fact, I just did not want it to end and would have been perfectly happy if they had just started all over again!
If this was being staged in the West End, I am confident it would run for years but as it is, you only have until June 28 to see it and tickets are selling extremely fast. Mind you, I am seriously considering starting a social media campaign demanding the run be extended and have every intention of going to see it again before it disappears!