The Jonathan Larson Project

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Taylor Iman Jones and Andy Mientus in a scene from “The Jonathan Larson Project” at the Orpheum Theatre (Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

When composer-lyricist Jonathan Larson passed away suddenly on January 25, 1996 at the age of 35 on the eve of the first preview to his Rent in its first full production at the New York Theatre Workshop, he left a trunk full of unknown songs, unproduced musicals as well as stand-alone pop songs. In 2018, producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper conceived and directed an evening of about 20 of these songs at Feinstein’s/54 Below which was released as an album later that year. Now that evening has spawned a stage show called The Jonathan Larson Project at the Orpheum Theatre. This exciting and dynamic revue filled with memorable songs is a fitting tribute to Larson whose life was tragically cut short and it should introduce these unheard songs to a wider audience.

Rousingly directed by John Simpkins (who had long been associated with the musicals of Joe Iconis), the five member cast is made up of Adam Chandler- Berat, Taylor Iman Jones, Lauren Marcus, Andy Mientus and Jason Tam, (Marcus and Mientus sing the same songs they previously  performed at 54 Below and on the album except for “Valentine’s Day” which Marcus originally sang and now Mientus sings, giving the song a more startling resonance.) Charlie Rosen again is in charge of music supervision and orchestrations, and also the music arrangements now with Natalie Tenenbaum who conducted the cabaret performances. The band of five led by Cynthia Meng includes Marques Walls on drums and percussion who was previously heard on the album.

The show is organized in three parts: songs about relationships, scenes from musicals and revues, and political songs (which was the direction that Larson was going at the time of his death.) After the opening  group number “Greene Street” which includes audio and video of Larson singing it, the cast assembles around a piano as if friends meeting in a bar or club to entertain each other in music. The catchy songs vary from bouncy to lively to dramatic to bluesy to torchy. Larson’s intricate rhymes suggest Stephen Sondheim, one of his heroes while the witty lyrics to “Casual Sex, Pizza and Beer” resemble those of Cole Porter as do the lists in “White Male World.”

While there is no narration or biographical details in the revue, the program notes reveal the names of the musicals that many of the songs were written for, this being the first time that many have been performed in a professional theater setting: “One of These Days” from the oft-mentioned Superbia (1985), “Valentine’s Day” and “Falling Apart” from the 1987 Prostate of the Union, “Find the Key” cut from tick tick…Boom! (1991), and “SOS” (1982) from Larson’s unproduced 1984 for which he could not get the rights from the George Orwell estate. One hopes that someday these shows may receive the full productions they seemingly deserve.

While many of these full-length shows received workshop productions not open to the public, there are also songs which appeared in short-lived or one night cabaret revues: the party song “Break Out the Booze” from Tell Then Angel Sent Me (1990); “Hosing the Furniture” (1989), a tribute to the 1939 World’s Fair from Sitting on the Edge of the Future; the political campaign satire “The Vision Thing” (1989) from a planned National Lampoon’s Tricentennial Revue; “Iron Mike” (1990) from Angels Get Down to Earth Day from Naked Angels Earth Day show, an angry song about the Exxon Valdez disaster which may never have been performed; the put-down song “White Male World” (1991) from Skirting the Issues; and another angry song “The Truth Is a Lie” (1990) from The Naked Truth: Ten Takes on Censorship, a second Naked Angels cabaret to which Larson submitted. Not only are Larson’s songs tremendously varied musically and stylistically, they deal with a multiplicity of significant themes.

Each of the performers seems to have been given a niche role: Chanler-Berat who looks a great deal like Larson sings all of the songs about creating music and living the life of a musician (“Finding the Key”; “Rhapsody”). Marcus plays all of the perky roles (“Break out the Booze,” “Hosing the Furniture.”) Jones sings all of the sexualized numbers (“Out of My Dreams,” “White Male World.”) Both Mientus and Tam perform individually all the songs that have a dark undercurrent (“Causal Sex, Pizza and Beer,” “Iron Mike,” “SOS,” and “Pura Vida.”)

Michael Schweikardt’s two-level set with a stairway to a balcony(hiding the band) is surrounded by video screens for Alex Basco Koch’s slides and streaming video which create various environments from a room with a piano to a Greenwich Village club, to the sets for numbers from various musicals, to a final tribute to the life of Jonathan Larson. The upright piano begins center stage and is then moved around at various times for dramatic purposes. The lighting design by Adam Honoré and Shannon Clarke helps create different moods for each song. Tracy Christensen’s subtle costume changes also enhance each individual number.

While the show begins and ends with footage of the actual Jonathan Larson performing his work, the talented  cast of five gives memorable and varied performances of the 18 songs presented. Not only does The Jonathan Larson Project add to the canon that previously included the produced (and filmed) full-length musicals Rent and tick, tick …Boom!, it also demonstrates the prodigious talent of this composer-lyricist who up until now has not gotten his due as a writer of enormous gifts. Here’s hoping this show leads to the stage production of other Larson scores and ventures.

The Jonathan Larson Project (through June 1, 2025)

Orpheum Theatre, 126 Second Avenue at 8^th Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, visit http://www.thejonathanlarsonproject.com

Running time: one hour and 40 minutes without an intermission