hi, i’m uchenna. thanks for coming to see our show! if you don’t mind, i wanted to take a moment to talk about our show and how much it means to me. so, to state it briefly, the show tick, tick… boom! is a celebration. it’s a celebration of jonathan larson’s work, a celebration of artists, and most importantly, a celebration of life. it is a story that encourages artists to continue to create when we can, while we can, in spite of all odds.

musical theatre is an art form i find to be very precious. i first started becoming interested in theatre right before my freshman year at rutgers, in 2020. it was the start of the covid-19 pandemic, and similar to many of my peers, i felt lost. consuming different types of theatre was the only thing keeping me going during my time isolated at home throughout the end of my senior year of high school, and my entire freshman year of college. i found this show after watching the final broadway performance of rent for my theater appreciation class, and jonathan larson’s music resonated with me in a way no other show had before. this led me to adding something new to my college bucket list––work on a show with music and lyrics written by jonathan larson. so, in short, i chose tick, tick… boom! to be the first show i ever directed because it was a show that i saw myself and the artists around me reflected in.

speaking of the artists around me, i have to mention how incredibly grateful i am to have gotten the opportunity to work with the most talented group of people i’ve ever met. kyle cao–our music director, rachel bland–our assistant music director, rachel mendoza–our choreographer, and ellie carhart–our set designer. i need to express my gratitude for you all once again. there is no way we could’ve done any of this without each one of you. i’d also like to extend a special thanks to nia abdullah, cab’s associate artistic director who took over sound design, and mary klein, cab’s production manager who did our lighting design. you two are superstars. to our rockstars in the band, steven franklin on bass, jilly matje on drums, patrick cascia on guitar, and of course kyle (again!) on keyboard––you guys are the absolute best. words can't describe how much i admire what you all do up there. next, and this goes without saying, but i need to thank this ridiculously talented cast. the five of you blew my mind from day one of rehearsals to this moment now. you gave more than i could’ve ever hoped for and i’m so happy people get to see the hard work you’ve put in these past five weeks (yes, they did this in FIVE weeks). lastly, thank you to jonathan larson for the beautiful contributions he's made, and for teaching me to lead with love, always. this show goes out to him, stephen sondheim, and artists everywhere of past and present.

thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who worked on this show or came out to see it.

with love,

uchenna