The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces that its Broadway Center Stage production of Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick… BOOM! directed by Emmy and Tony Award winner and New York Times bestselling author Neil Patrick Harris will star Tony Award winner Brandon Uranowitz (Leopoldstadt, Falsettos) as Jon, Tony Award nominee Denée Benton (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, The Gilded Age) as Susan, and Tony Award nominee Grey Henson (Shucked, Mean Girls) as Michael. tick, tick… BOOM! will play the Center’s Eisenhower Theater January 26–February 4, 2024, with an additional performance added on February 4, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available via the Kennedy Center website, at the box office, or by calling 202-467-4600.
tick, tick… BOOM! is RENT author Jonathan Larson’s explosive, semi-autobiographical musical about life, death, and the necessity of art. The show follows Jon, a composer struggling to break into New York City’s theater scene, and is filled with unforgettable songs including “30/90,” “Johnny Can’t Decide,” and the Sondheim-inspired “Sunday.” This new production of tick, tick …BOOM! will feature new orchestrations and vocal arrangements and will be expanded to feature a small ensemble cast in addition to the three announced principals. Complete casting to be announced at a later date.
The production, produced by Broadway Center Stage Artistic Director and Kennedy Center Vice President and Executive Producer of Theater, Jeffrey Finn, will feature a band with musicians from the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and include choreography by Paul McGill, musical supervision by Stephen Oremus, and music direction by Ben Cohn, Scenic and Projection design by Paul Tate dePoo III, Video and Projection design by Nathan Scheuer, costume design by Andrea Hood, lighting design by Cory Pattak, and sound design by Haley Parcher. Michael Passaro serves as the Production Stage Manager, Matt DiCarlo as associate director, with Garret Healy as associate music director, and Emilio Ramos as associate choreographer. Casting is by Geoff Josselson and Katja Zarolinski of JZ Casting.
The most recent Broadway Center Stage production, Monty Python’s SPAMALOT, recently transferred to Broadway’s St. James Theater receiving rave reviews, including a New York Times’ “Critic’s Pick.”
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Neil Patrick Harris is a multi-hyphenate known for iconic roles on both stage and screen. A veteran of the theatre, Harris originated the role of Hedwig in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Tony, Drama League and Drama Desk Awards). His additional theatrical credits include Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Barrymore Theatre), Into the Woods (NY City Center), Assassins (Studio 54), Proof (Walter Kerr Theatre), Cabaret (Studio 54), Company (New York Philharmonic), All My Sons (Geffen Theater), The Paris Letter (Kirk Douglas Theater), Sweeney Todd (NY Phil, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra), Romeo and Juliet (Old Globe Theater), Rent (Los Angeles/2nd National Tour), Luck, Pluck, Virtue (Atlantic Theater Co.), and tick, tick…BOOM! (Menier Chocolate Factory).
Utilizing his theatrical expertise behind the curtain, Harris made his musical directorial debut with the Hollywood Bowl’s staging of Jonathan Larson’s Rent. His additional directing credits include Nothing to Hide (Pershing Square Signature Center & Geffen Theater), The Expert at the Card Table (Edinburgh Fringe Festival & Broad Stage Theater), and I Am Grock (El Portal Theater). Additionally, Harris produced In & Of Itself, an Off-Broadway magic show directed by Frank Oz at the Daryl Roth Theater in New York.
Harris is a five-time Emmy Award-winner and New York Times bestselling author.
Brandon Uranowitz received 2023 Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his performance as Ludwig/Nathan in Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt. He was previously nominated for Tony and Drama Desk awards for the Broadway revivals of Lanford Wilson’s Burn This (2019) and Falsettos (2017). He received a 2015 Tony nomination for his performance as Adam Hochberg in An American in Paris. Other Broadway credits include The Band’s Visit, Prince of Broadway, and Baby, It’s You! Uranowitz also starred in the acclaimed 2021 Off-Broadway revival of Assassins at CSC, directed by John Doyle; he garnered critical acclaim as Arnold Beckoff in Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy (Helen Hayes Award nomination) at DC’s Studio Theater; and, played opposite Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal the Broadway National Tour of Jonathan Larson’s RENT, directed by Michael Greif. Film credits include Here Today, The Kitchen, and Stage Fright. Series credits include The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Fosse/Verdon, Dietland, Blue Bloods, Inside Amy Schumer, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Denée Benton is a Tony Award-nominated actress who stars as Peggy Scott in the critically acclaimed HBOMax series, The Gilded Age. She was last seen in the new Peacock feature film, GENIE, and the independent feature, Our Friend, which premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. She previously starred as Ruby in the second season of Lifetime’s acclaimed television series UnREAL.
She recently returned to Broadway as Cinderella, starring in the hit revival of the Tony Award-winning production of Into The Woods, a role she originated last year in the Encores!, City Center Production, for which she garnered rave reviews. She also starred as Eliza in Broadway’s Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton and is well known for starring as Natasha in the Broadway production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. For The Great Comet, Benton was nominated for the 2017 Tony Award, Drama League Distinguished Performance Award, Theatre World Award, and Lilly Award. She had previously played the role of Natasha at the American Repertory Theater and starred as Nabulungi in the West End and U.S. national tour of The Book of Mormon.
Benton is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.
Grey Henson can currently be seen starring in the Tony-nominated production, Shucked on Broadway and can be seen recurring as Tate on Netflix’s Girls5Eva. Recently he made his feature film debut in Denzel Washington’s, A Journal For Jordan, and can be seen in the feature film, The Good Half which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival starring Nick Jonas. Henson was last seen starring as Damian Hubbard in Broadway’s Mean Girls the Musical for which he was nominated for a Tony Award and Drama Desk for Featured Actor in a Musical. He originated the role in Washington, DC at The National Theatre and received a Helen Hayes nomination for his performance. Upon graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, Henson joined the national tour of The Book of Mormon as Elder McKinley and later reprised his role in the Broadway production. Other television includes ABC’s Suburgatory.
