New Jersey Stage 2017: Issue 5 | Page 105

great appeal ; secondly , he was looking to do a play to challenge himself from the television work he had been doing . “ It is an opportunity to reinvent and work at your craft , to grow and take a big challenge ,” said Rachins . “ It ’ s scary ... It ’ s a two-character play . So , there was a challenge and there was an opportunity to do something very different from what I ’ ve been doing for the last few years on Dharma & Greg . I mean this came along and you look at it and say , ‘ This is a mountain ... this is worth climbing ; this is something that ’ s a challenge and exciting , so that ’ s where you go .’”

Tick , tick ... BOOM ! ( 2004 ) This musical tells the story of Jonathan Larson as a struggling artist in SOHO . It takes place in 1990 ( six years before Rent ) when Jonathan is on the verge

of turning 30 . George Street ’ s production simply blew me away . Being just a few years older than Jonathan ’ s character at the time , the play spoke to me . I wrote , “ The show may lack that one number which stays in your head hours later , but it is the message of the show as a whole that will follow you home . The questions , the difficulties , the pain of losing touch with your dreams and simply moving on are well represented here . This may be the story of Jonathan Larson , but it ’ s also the story of every artist that refuses to give on up his or her dreams .”