Music and Lyrics: Jonathan Larson
Director: John Simpkins
Composer and lyricist Jonathan Larson died in 1996 at the age of 35, leaving two great musicals, Tick, Tick…Boom! and, of course, Rent, which is being revived at the Duke of York’s Theatre this autumn. But he also left other songs which were cut from these musicals or which featured in lesser-known earlier works. The Jonathan Larson Project, conceived by Jennifer Ashley Tepper and coming to London after an off-Broadway run, is a collection of these ‘lost’ songs, performed by five singers and a scaffolded band. Completists will be pleased.
Definitely more concert than musical, The Jonathan Larson Project is an odd show, not helped by some over-emotional dancing by the cast and the continual lugging of a piano across the stage. Of course, the performers are trying to imagine what the songs would be like if they were staged as part of a musical, but without context, the numbers feel a little marooned, and it’s hard to feel sympathy for a character we’ve never seen before and will never see again.
In the case of a few songs, there’s good reason why we haven’t heard them before, like 1981’s drinking sea shanty Casual Sex, Pizza and Bear or the dull opening song Greene Street. However, there are some diamonds in the dirt like Valentine’s Day, cut from Rent, and the cabaret song Break Out The Booze. The final song Piano is a little schmaltzy, but would be an effective showstopper in a fully fledged musical.
Of the singers, X Factor alumnus Marcus Collins is the best. Dressed in ‘ 80s-style denim complete with a bandana, his voice is as excellent as ever, but it’s strange when he smiles at the audience during Iron Mike, which is about an oil spill disaster. Imelda Warren Green is superb in the ripping Break Out The Booze and very funny in the Hosing The Furniture about a cleanaholic housewife.
With a lovely catch in his voice, Michael Mather brings some much-needed emotion to proceedings in Valentine’s Day while Natalie Kassanga stands out in her solo piece towards the end. Max Harwood has the most musical theatre voice of the bunch but sometimes struggles to be heard over the music and can’t always reach Larson’s wide range of notes.
Some might have been tempted to cobble these numbers together to create a whole musical, like how High Society was created from Cole Porter’s back catalogue, but apart from a series of tracks that challenge the American Dream and the nation itself, it would be hard to imagine what this new musical would be like. So, perhaps, it’s wise to present them as individual songs even if it makes for an uneven evening.
Runs until 22 August 2026
