With the opening of their current production, Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along,” New Helvetia Theatre makes a big jump in its growth as a theater company. The barely 3-year-old company, under founder Connor Mickiewicz, has brought Sacramento audiences wonderful contemporary musical theater productions that, for one reason or another, would not otherwise be produced here. But taking on a play like "Merrily We Roll Along," by such a master as Sondheim, required a great deal of growth in almost every area for New Helvetia. I am happy to report that it has all come together and that their production is a critical success and should be a very rewarding experience for its viewers. The

Jonathan Larson died the night before his masterpiece, the rock musical "Rent," opened. He didn't live to experience the 1996 show, for which he'd written the music and lyrics, in front of an audience, and he had little inkling that it would go on to enjoy one of Broadway's longest runs, become a film, and win multiple Tony awards and the Pulitzer Prize. That's information that many playgoers will bring to New Helvetia Theatre's run of Larson's "tick, tick...BOOM!," which opened Saturday at the Artisan Theatre on Del Paso Boulevard in North Sacramento. And if one has seen "Rent," it is impossible to experience this 90-minute one-act musical without seeing it in light of Larson's masterwor

Rehearsal photos by Paul Le and Tony Sheppard – taken at the Artisan, 1901 Del Paso Blvd.   “Tick, Tick…BOOM” Book, Music, and Lyrics: Jonathan Larson Script Consultant: David Auburn Directed by Connor Mickiewicz and Erin island New Helvetia Theatre officially opens its second full production on Saturday, with previews starting Wednesday, of “Tick, Tick…BOOM.” The show is by Jonathan Larson, who won three posthumous Tony awards and a Pulitzer for “RENT.” I had the opportunity to sit in on a recent rehearsal and it literally had me both laughing and crying uncontrollably (not at the same time). The timing was also interesting after the recent movie release of Jane Campion’s beautiful “