Behind the curtain of a new Broadway musical

While nearly any college student will respond with a hearty "yes" when asked if he or she is familiar with the Broadway musical Rent, the same cannot be said for another musical -- tick, tick... Boom! Even though both shows are products of the late Jonathan Larson's genius, Rent is already an established, award-winning musical, while tick, tick... Boom! was only recently converted from a one-man show into a Broadway musical. But students got the chance to familiarize themselves with the new show yesterday, when members of its cast came to the Penn Bookstore for an autograph signing. Ellen Gilbert, the show's publicist, explained that, considering the vast appeal of Rent to college students, the event seemed a sure way to generate enthusiasm about the performance. tick, tick... Boom! is being performed at the Merriam Theater until March 2, and tickets will be sold at half-price to students. Actors Wilson Cruz, a former regular on both Party of Five and My So-Called Life, Christian Campbell and Nicole Ruth Snelson faced a small gathering of Penn students to share inspirational stories from their pasts and to field questions from the audience regarding the show. Campbell dispelled any previous notions students may have had about the three-man show being very similar to Rent. "Rent kind of explodes in your face," he said. "Instead of screaming out, [tick, tick... Boom!] just kind of whispers, 'Come here.'" Cruz agreed with Campbell, and added that, though the shows both express a similar love for New York City, tick, tick... Boom! is a more generational piece, rather than one focusing on bohemian subculture. "This play is definitely not as pop-rock as Rent," he said. "There are elements of more traditional music [in tick, tick... Boom!]. You can really tell that Jonathan was experimenting and trying new styles. It's really fascinating to hear the elements of Rent in this play." Cruz also noted that, since tick, tick... Boom! is an autobiographical tale of Larson's life as a struggling writer living in SoHo, it is important for the cast to pay proper homage to Larson with each performance. "Since I was also in Rent, I feel a great debt to [Larson] personally," Cruz said. "Unfortunately, I'll never get to say thank you to the man. The only way I can thank him is by always giving the best performance that I can." All three actors admitted that they have dealt with choosing between following one's dream or settling down to a normal nine-to-five job, something that is brought up in tick, tick... Boom!. "Even after your first big break, you're always going to have that period of questioning" yourself, Cruz said. "Every time I finish a job, I always think it's my last one. You have to enjoy the moments you do work. Love them. Live in them. Let them drive you to the next [great moment] no matter how long it takes you to get there." Campbell pointed out that Larson was certainly a man who had an enormous amount of talent and always followed his dreams, despite the six years he had to spend waiting tables before the production of Rent. "I think this show is a follow-up [to Rent] that proves Jonathan had a lot to give to musical theater, and that his death [two weeks before the premiere of Rent] was really a big loss to Broadway." Although the event didn't draw an overwhelming crowd, students reacted positively to the opportunity to meet the actors. "I really enjoyed hearing some background information on the story behind the making of the show," said College freshman John Backes, adding that the event increased his desire to see the performance.