Boom (WYRD Productions)

See it if you'd like an unusual romp thru 25 yrs. RW re-creates 100+voices.Sweep of world & personal history. TED talk on steroids! Well-staged. Fun.

Don't see it if you want depth. No time to analyze import of events. Snippets of songs. Fun facts scroll on screen for ea yr. Some connections made to now

Also Rick Miller is exceedingly likable/ approachable. He conducts a short talk back after Boom, then moves the conversation to the bar. He grounds the evening in the personal story of 3 chars, but considers world events (political, cultural, social). I found the evening engrossing, but I'm the target audience (being a boomer).... Read more Read less

See it if You want to take a walk down baby boomer memory lane via the song hits and headlines, all brought to life quite well by one actor and film.

Don't see it if You have no interest in the music or social happenings of the baby boomer generation.

Also I was pleasantly surprised by this show. It was a LOT more engaging and entertaining than I expected. The dude is incredibly talented performing all the artists and characters with super smooth segways and many MANY costume changes.... Read more Read less

See it if If you like a show about baby boomers. Fun facts throughout show about each yr.

Don't see it if If you have no interest in the boomer years.

See it if Virtuosic impressions of 100+ politicians, musicians, etc. in an epic review of 1945-1979. Inspires you to ponder & "feel" the history.

Don't see it if Amalgamation of little snippets doesn't provide any analysis or depth... that's up to you.

See it if you relate to or want to know what was happening in politics, work order, music and USA society between 1945-69. Energetic performer shines.

Don't see it if you expect a complete review of this period - this touches on many items but only briefly and rarely in any depth, using many projections.

See it if You liked the music of the baby boom generation (46-69), 1-person shows with on target impressions & singing, great projections, lived it!

Don't see it if Unfamiliar with or don’t care about boomers & their period, not into history or music, don’t like 1-person shows, superficial history

See it if You're a boomer or interested in history. The volume of information is astounding, Lots of events I never considered as placed in time.

Don't see it if In the nightly talkback the writer performer admitted to leaving his characters' relationships vague which cut emotional connection for me

See it if Imagine the breadth of three decades reduced to headlines presented in a fleet way from the mind of one man in impersonation and immersion.

Don't see it if Like most music snippets and experiences, the audience is tasked to engage on a collective, shared ride. Boomers will find frolic; others?

Also "We sent our boys over, they came back in bags/What cigarette do you smoke, doctor?/Not being aware is exactly my point" Stay tuned. More chapters (''X" and "YX") on the way.... Read more Read less

See it if Going through events and music from the 1945-1969.

Don't see it if One man show and music that is play is like a sample piece. Not one whole song.

Also I was not sure if I would enjoy this, but I did. To me its was reviewing the past event with some that I know about and some I did not. This was lively and in two hours of information of history in music and history events. That alot of information.... Read more Read less

See it if you'd enjoy a view of events from 1945-69 by a very talented performer. He does most of the voices and singing of a wide array of characters

Don't see it if you do not like one person shows although this actor takes on so many roles both physically and on video that it doesn't feel like 1 person.

Also Very ambitious undertaking but the creator/actor of the show does it well. There is a bit of political views toward the left. I would advise not sitting too close to stage because there is a lot of video used with headlines on top.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see a one-man performance who not only sings but also does many other voices and impressions

Don't see it if You are expecting a traditional musical. This is more of a history lesson than anything

Also The performer did a tremendous job. It takes a ton of work to pull something like this off. This is not only about singing or impressions, there’s a lot of visual stuff to take in as well. The biggest issue that I had with it is it went in to many directions. He spent a lot of time talking about his family and I don’t think many people care about his personal family. I feel like the show should’ve been more focused on what actually happened during that time. I also didn’t love all of the songs he chose but the ones he did he did a pretty good job with all of them.... Read more Read less

See it if You're a Boomer and want to revisit the cultural/musical/political events of your life through snippets, headlines, song excerpts.

Don't see it if Don't mind it's the Cliff Notes of history w no analysis. Everything flies frantically by and as such, benumbs.

See it if you want to see a very talented man run through the post war years thru the 60's, using a mix of video, reenactment and a few props.

Don't see it if You are not interested in the time period. You want any depth to the count 'up' to 1969. A little too much and then...

See it if interested in film clips, projections,music & playwright's personal back story of his family's experiences in the years 1945-1969.

Don't see it if you want more than a superficial overview of the baby boom generation. That said, Miller is a very likable, talented performer.

Also I just wish he didn't try to cover so much material & dug a little deeper. There's a better show in there.... Read more Read less

See it if Fast moving presentation by solo performer of social & political history 1945-69; individual stories of 3 Boomers as well as overall hist.

Don't see it if Don't like solo shows, history, projections.

Also Performer voices the 3 Boomers as well as some historical figures. Also performs (with some simple props to represent the famous musicians) some of the songs of the era. Almost non-stop projections of the era including some fun advertisements.
While it is fun to recognize some of the social aspects, I found the whole history to be interesting even the parts that I did not know.... Read more Read less

See it if you like a one-man show who does many voices/characters, sings and has boundless energy. Interesting effects.

Don't see it if you don't like one-person shows or you have no interest in anything that happened before 1970.

See it if you want a show that seamlessly connects political, social and cultural history over a 2 and 1/2 decade period

Don't see it if you are a vacuous individual who believes the world began with your birth and the only "facts" are those you opine.

Also This is much, much better than I anticipated as Rick Miller does on stage what academia has largely failed to do. Miller creates a chronological overview of America and Canada from 1945 through 1969 weaving in political, cultural, and social history using his families memories as an outline.

Miller is probably a little OCD - obsessed with getting his facts correct and managing that with only minor slips. Here it is a wonderful trait.

Many playwrights seem to be very sloppy when writing historical dramas to the detriment of their work. They should take lessons from Miller.

On a personal note, I was just discussing with my partner the other day that society has suffered by ignoring political history and philosophy in favor of social history. BOOM shows that, with a little commitment, you can incorporate both in the same narrative.... Read more Read less

See it if One very talented man takes us thru the period of 1945 thru 1970 during the lives of his grandparents & parents from Europe, Canada & US.

Don't see it if If you don’t like seeing one person performing multiple characters, this won’t be your show.

Also Rick Miller is very talented and clever as he does multiple characters. He sings, dances & plays so many peoples during this lengthy time period. I particularly liked some of the famous musicians that he portrayed. This is the first work of a planned trilogy. I look forward to experiencing his interpretation of Generation X & Y.

Rick Miller who wrote, directed and performed in this ambitious work has a great future ahead of him. He definitely A person to watch.... Read more Read less

See it if You’re a baby boomer who paid attention to what was happening when you were growing up.

Don't see it if You get frustrated by hearing snippets of songs.

See it if You like mid-20th Century history and are willing to give a one man show a shot

Don't see it if You don't think a white guy should play a woman or a black guy.

See it if see this if you like solo shows; are interested in history; like multimedia presentations,

Don't see it if if you dislike solo shows and/or multimedia presentations; don't have some familiarity with US history from 1945-1969.

Also This was an interesting concept & impressive effort, but it just didn't gel for me. The author tries to tell the story of the Baby Boomer generation from birth to early adulthood through the stories of 3 people; 2 are his parents. The effort to make his parents' personal stories represent the experiences of the Boomer generation as a whole wasn't wholly successful. The author's father, an Austrian immigrant, isn't a Baby Boomer, so his dad's story really doesn't fit into the rest of the "plot." Not until the end do we find out how the third person's story fits. The author is Canadian and so we get some digressions into Canadian history during this time which are a bit clumsy. More importantly, the author's choices as to what events to include and not include seem odd. So did some of the song choices. Many events are simply scrolled across the screen without dates, which is confusing at times. So, an interesting pleasant evening, but not a home run.... Read more Read less

See it if a helluva a one-man show, but one where you don't actually have a sense of who the performer is, and what the point of the 100+ voices are.

Don't see it if this is a 3D history lesson, although not sure what the point or purpose is or who intended audience is.

Also Rick Miller shines his Canadian lens on the boomer years-- and he speeds through history with three primary characters narrating the story, while they speak in turn, Miller uses, light, shadow, and projections to turn himself into a 100 + voices, and share his history.
Very nice touches included a very specific focus on civil rights, as well as world news (with a Canadian POV), but the point of the show is obscured, and you don't have a ​visual sense of who Rick Miller is. Despite watching him on stage for two hours, you might not recognize him in the bar afterwards,... Read more Read less

See it if history told through song, personal stories & exploration of current events. Nice use of projections. Miller is very talented and likable.

Don't see it if A bit all over the place--wish it went a bit deeper and used more of the music to tell the stories. 2nd act much better than 1st.

See it if You like shows that take you on a walk down memory lane

Don't see it if You want something fast paced and brief. I would have enjoyed it more of it weren't so long. It should have been split into 2 shows

See it if You appreciate great solo shows w music & an historical theme. He is so fluid as he switches through personas and songs. It’s bittersweet

Don't see it if You have no interest in the baby boomers and history. The sets and production we’re wonderful