ON STAGE
What: Boom X
When: July 30-Aug. 18
Where: Belfry Theatre, 1291 Gladstone Ave.
Tickets: $25-$50 depending on the show, with discounts for students and seniors. Available by phone from 250-385-6815 or online at
When last we left Rick Miller, the actor/director/writer/musician and noted impersonator was performing his one-man multimedia show Boom at the Belfry Theatre four years ago.
Back then, this paper described the extravaganza as a 鈥渕ind-boggling and dizzying tour of the world between 1945 and 1969,鈥� and noted that the most successful parts of the show were 鈥渘othing short of brilliant.鈥�
Now, Miller is back with the second instalment of a planned trilogy that aims to explore music, politics, history and technology over 75 years.
Boom X picks up where Boom left off at the end of the 鈥�60s and follows Generation X from 1970 to 1995 through punk rock and disco, Watergate and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The new show promises to be every bit as dizzying as the first go-round, with Miller drawing on his versatility as a performer and musician to play 100 characters in 100 minutes 鈥� a pace that transports the audience through one year every four minutes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 probably why we keep the title, Boom, in there 鈥� it鈥檚 kind of explosive,鈥� Miller said by phone from a cottage north of Montreal, where he was resting up for his three-week stint at the Belfry.
Indeed, over the course of an evening, Miller will sing 30 song excerpts that reflect the evolution of style, from one-hit wonders such as Devo鈥檚 Whip It and Carl Douglas鈥檚 Kung Fu Fighting to big bands such as Nirvana and U2.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot going on,鈥� he said, with understatement.
Beyond showcasing Miller鈥檚 obvious gifts for music and mimicry, however, the Boom trilogy was conceived as a way to explore the trends that have shaped our lives.
鈥淚 studied architecture in school and I was just interested in the foundations of rock and roll,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 realized you couldn鈥檛 study that without looking at the history of politics and then of technology and then of sociology, because it had a lot to do with Baby Boomers.鈥�
All of that dovetailed with Miller鈥檚 interest in his father鈥檚 stories of growing up in Nazi-occupied Vienna during the Second World War. 鈥淚 just realized that the personal stories made the history so much more appealing and it turned into part one of this trilogy of, I guess, documentary plays.鈥�
Boom examined his parents鈥� generation, while Boom X explores Miller鈥檚 generation. Boom YZ, which Miller is already writing, will look at his kids鈥� generation.
He creates the shows by extensively researching the time periods and then interviewing people whose stories form the basis for the main characters in each play.
鈥淚f I can step into my dad鈥檚 life or my mom鈥檚 life or my cousin鈥檚 or even my spouse鈥檚 life, I can understand a little bit about who they are and, hopefully, shed some light on where we鈥檙e going.鈥�
In that sense, Boom X sets the stage for the current age of Trump, Brexit and climate change by first examining the divisive era of punk and disco.
鈥淵ou were not one and the other, you were one or the other or you hated them both,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was an era, I think, that set in motion a lot of the polarization of our political world today, even though the Wall came down at the end of the 鈥�80s.
鈥淭he seeds of the political standoffs we鈥檙e facing today were planted at the end of Boom X. In that way, Boom X feels like a bridge show that you鈥檝e got to see before seeing Boom YZ. And yet a lot of people are really anxious to see Boom YZ. It鈥檚 like, where the hell are we going?鈥�
Miller doesn鈥檛 pretend to have all the answers and the Boom series is very much an interactive process. At the end of each show, he ventures into the lobby to record people鈥檚 observations and stories, which are then posted to encyclopediacanada.com as part of his company鈥檚 oral-history project.
鈥淚t adds huge value to the experience of the show, which isn鈥檛 just on stage,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also the talk-back and it鈥檚 the conversations people have in the car and sometimes the stories they share after with us.鈥�
