Jonathan Larson’s Lost Songs Revived in London Revue
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- Jonathan Larson wrote 18 songs featured in the revue, including early works like Greene Street and unused material from unrealized projects, revealing his creative output beyond Rent.
- The Jonathan Larson Project premiered off-Broadway in 2019 and has been re-staged in London under John Simpkins’ direction, with a revised song order and updated staging at Southwark Playhouse Borough.
- Jennifer Ashley Tepper conceived the revue as an eclectic songbook format, curating material from Larson’s archive to highlight his lyrical and musical range without imposing a linear narrative.
- Nate Bertone designed a set evoking a shared Manhattan apartment, using minimal props like a stepladder and projections to suggest fire escapes and urban environments, enhancing the intimate, communal atmosphere.
- Michael Mather delivers a physically intense performance of Valentine’s Day, reworked into a first-person narrative that confronts domestic abuse, marking a powerful shift from the original third-person perspective.
- Max Harwood and Marcus Collins stand out in emotionally vulnerable performances of Falling Apart and Iron Mike, the latter a haunting song about the Exxon Valdez oil spill with ghostly storytelling elements.
Why it matters: The revue gives long-overdue performance life to Larson’s lesser-known work, showing his artistic depth beyond Rent. For musical theatre audiences and archivists, it transforms archival fragments into a living testament of a composer whose influence extends far beyond his most famous work, with material that remains resonant decades later.
