![]() ![]() Highlighted in Tick, Tick……Boom is Larson’s dream to make an impact on the world. Larson opened the door to edge, real emotion, rock music in live theater, rawness, and unfiltered content, and that was so different yet so important. Before Larson, we mostly viewed musicals as those classic, big band shows with singing and tap dancing. He not only brought new and fresh content to his work, but he also composed new and fresh music that was so relevant to that time and still remains relevant today. Personally, I also think he started the path for rock musicals. He paved the way and shed light on the issues that were thrown in a dark corner. I don’t think we would have musicals like In the Heights, Spring Awakening, Dear Evan Hansen, or Jagged Little Pill if it wasn’t for Larson. He changed the way we looked at musicals and that opened the door to so many other important contemporary musicals to follow. Suddenly, we saw all kinds of people on the stage in his work, especially in Rent, and all of the issues that were considered too taboo to talk about were finally addressed. Multiculturalism, AIDS, homophobia, social issues, and addiction are all a part of the content. Larson initiates real, human conversations in Rent and in all of his work. Rent is a musical that almost everyone knows. Larson changed the course of musical theater first with Tick, Tick….Boom, but when Rent hit the stage, it really made an explosion. His passion for storytelling and wanting to make an impact on theater are what I think is most remembered of him and are apparent after watching the film. His tragedy makes his theater contributions all the more important. I don’t think people necessarily focus on his death while watching one of his musicals, but I think it’s something that lingers throughout the atmosphere and is always in the back of people’s minds as they watch his work. This tragedy is a permanent highlight and facet of Larson’s story. He died of an aortic aneurysm the night before Rent’s first preview. The musical Rent successfully made it to the Broadway stage, but unfortunately, Larson was not able to fully enjoy the success. He is responsible for the mega-musical, Rent, which he wrote shortly after Tick, Tick….Boom. Larson was an American composer, lyricist, and playwright who made his mark in musical theater early in his life. If you don’t know who Jonathon Larson was, let me give you a quick summary and why I personally feel he’s so vital to the theater world. You can’t help but think of the tragedy of Larson as you watch the film, but at the same time, you feel joy because of what he was able to do in his short lifetime. It took me two nights to watch and about two weeks to get over. I decided to watch this film in the early days of the new year after a good friend of mine expressed his enthusiasm for how great it was. It is essentially a musical within a musical, but that concept doesn’t really hit you until the end. We even get to hear some songs from Superbia. The interesting aspect of this musical is that we are watching the past (when he was writing Superbia) and yet that past is made into a musical ( Tick, Tick….Boom). ![]() It is a deeply profound piece and beautifully directed by Miranda. All of these themes are accompanied by a heartfelt soundtrack. Some other themes highlighted are writer’s block and the mental stress that puts on a writer, living in New York and its struggles, fears of turning 30, and the AIDS crisis. The film highlights some of his important relationships at that time and how his consumption with his budding career affects those relationships. In the process of all of this, he is constantly reminded of what’s important in life. He sees potential in Larson and that’s where I believe his story as a writer truly begins. Within the film, he tries to get the musical noticed and it goes through a workshop process where he crosses paths with the great Stephen Sondheim. The film documents Larson’s life and writing process for his musical called, Superbia, which preceded Tick, Tick….Boom. Larson is brilliantly portrayed by Andrew Garfield and I believe he will sweep every awards show this year for his performance. The film is directed by the amazing Lin Manuel Miranda, this being his first film that he’s directed. To say that it was life-changing for me to watch is an understatement and I know that so many other people will agree. If you’re a lover of theater and haven’t watched it yet, I highly recommend that you do. We are reminded of his story in the new film adaptation of his autobiographical musical, Tick, Tick….Boom which was released on Netflix in November of 2021. When it comes to contemporary musical theater, nobody dominated the stage quite like Jonathon Larson in the early 1990s. ![]()
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