“Tick, Tick…BOOM!” at Portland Center Stage at the Armory

Portland Center Stage at the Armory presents “Tick, Tick…BOOM!” Aug. 20-Sept. 18 at 128 N.W. 11th Ave., Portland.

Before he electrified the world with “Rent,” Jonathan Larson was a young man struggling to make his mark in the theater. While he waits tables and seeks his big break, the pressure to give it all up grows as Jon approaches his 30th birthday. Will he sell out to keep the lights on? Will he lose the love of his life? Will he finally write the soaring song that can change everything? And if he does, will anyone be there to see it? Set in 1990 and scored by the music that redefined a genre, “Tick, Tick…BOOM!” cracks open the ticking-time-bomb world of creating theater to celebrate the power of holding on to a dream.

Preview Week is Aug. 20-25. General performance times are Wednesdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m. Matinees are Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. For a complete performance calendar and to purchase tickets, visit securesite.pcs.org/events/tick-tick-boom-syos?startDate=2022-08-20&view=calendar. Tickets range from $25 to $98.

Above image: Jesse Weil stars as Jon in “Tick, Tick… BOOM!” at Portland Center Stage; photo by Alec Lugo.