Welcome

To
54 Below

A Nonprofit Cabaret Venue

Jonathan Larson wrote RENT and tick tick BOOM, the former a landmark Broadway game-changer and the latter a beloved musical gem. He was a brilliant, groundbreaking creator of musical theatre who died tragically at the age of 35, before seeing the worldwide acclaim his work would receive. Jonathan was posthumously awarded Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize, and his songs have come to be treasured and performed in 25 languages, from Mexico to Japan to Italy, from summer camps to the silver screen to Broadway.

But what about all of Jonathan’s songs we’ve never heard?

The Jonathan Larson Project is an evening of Jonathan’s unheard work. Songs from never-produced shows like 1984 and Superbia. Songs that were cut from RENT and tick tick BOOM. Songs written for theatrical revues and songs written for the radio. Songs never before publicly performed or recorded. Songs about politics and love and New York City.

Starring Nick Blaemire (tick tick BOOM, Found, Godspell), Lauren Marcus (Be More Chill, Beatsville, Company), Andy Mientus (NBC’s “Smash,” Spring Awakening, Les Misérables), Krysta Rodriguez (Spring Awakening, First Date, The Addams Family), and George Salazar (Be More Chill, The Lightning Thief, tick tick BOOM).

Directed and conceived by Jennifer Ashley Tepper. Assistant produced by Alexa Spiegel.

Music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Charlie Rosen (Be More Chill, Prince of Broadway, Honeymoon in Vegas, Charlie Rosen’s Broadway Big Band). Featuring a five-piece band including musical director Natalie Tenenbaum, Charlie Rosen, Cody Owen Stine, Megan Talay, and Marques Walls with Danielle Gimbal as copyist. Annastasia Victory serves as the associate musical director. Cast subject to change.

Each performance will feature a different special guest sharing a unique unheard Jonathan Larson song:

Tuesday October 9 at 7pm: Harrison Chad
Tuesday October 9 at 9:30pm: Jonathan Larson Grant Award winners including Paul Scott Goodman, Joe Iconis, Emily Kaczmarek, Kait Kerrigan, Brian Lowdermilk, Chris Miller, Sam Salmond, Zoe Sarnak and Shaina Taub
Wednesday October 10 at 7pm: Daphne Rubin-Vega
Wednesday October 10 at 9:30pm: Will Roland & Julia Mattison
Thursday October 11 at 7pm: Adam Chanler-Berat
Thursday October 11 at 9:30pm: Caissie Levy
Friday October 12 at 7pm: Amy Spanger
Friday October 12 at 9:30pm: Matthew McCollum
Saturday October 13 at 7pm: TBA
Saturday October 13 at 9:30pm: Dylan McCollum
Sunday October 14 at 7pm: Harrison Chad
Sunday October 14 at 9:30pm: Jay Armstrong Johnson & Destinee Rea

The Jonathan Larson Project wishes to thank The Larson Family, Jonathan Mills, The New York Public Library, and The Library of Congress for their support of this event.

Photo credit: Victoria Leacock Hoffman

In the spirit of RENT, which offered groundbreaking $20 rush tickets, a limited number of $20 tickets for each performance will be made available via TodayTix rush on the morning of the performance.