When it comes to contemporary musical theater, nobody dominated the stage quite like Jonathon Larson in the early 1990s. 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. If you’re a lover of theater and haven’t watched it yet, I highly recommend that you do. To say that it was life-changing for me to watch is an understatement and I know that so many other people will agree.

The film is directed by the amazing Lin Manuel Miranda, this being his first film that he’s directed. Larson is brilliantly portrayed by Andrew Garfield and I believe he will sweep every awards show this year for his performance.

The film documents Larson’s life and writing process for his musical called, Superbia, which preceded Tick, Tick…..Boom. 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. He sees potential in Larson and that’s where I believe his story as a writer truly begins. In the process of all of this, he is constantly reminded of what’s important in life. The film highlights some of his important relationships at that time and how his consumption with his budding career affects those relationships. 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. All of these themes are accompanied by a heartfelt soundtrack. It is a deeply profound piece and beautifully directed by Miranda. 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). We even get to hear some songs from Superbia. It is essentially a musical within a musical, but that concept doesn’t really hit you until the end.

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. I was certainly not disappointed. It took me two nights to watch and about two weeks to get over. 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.

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. Larson was an American composer, lyricist, and playwright who made his mark in musical theater early in his life. He is responsible for the mega-musical, Rent, which he wrote shortly after Tick, Tick…..Boom. The musical Rent successfully made it to the Broadway stage, but unfortunately, Larson was not able to fully enjoy the success. He died of an aortic aneurysm the night before Rent’s first preview. This tragedy is a permanent highlight and facet of Larson’s story. 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. His tragedy makes his theater contributions all the more important. 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.

Larson changed the course of musical theater first with Tick, Tick…..Boom, but when Rent hit the stage, it really made an explosion. Rent is a musical that almost everyone knows. Larson initiates real, human conversations in Rent and in all of his work. Multiculturalism, AIDS, homophobia, social issues, and addiction are all a part of the content. 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. He changed the way we looked at musicals and that opened the door to so many other important contemporary musicals to follow. 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 paved the way and shed light on the issues that were thrown in a dark corner. Personally, I also think he started the path for rock musicals. 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. Before Larson, we mostly viewed musicals as those classic, big band shows with singing and tap dancing. 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. He changed the definition of a musical.

Highlighted in Tick, Tick……Boom is Larson’s dream to make an impact on the world. One of his quotes in the film is, “I am the future of musical theater.” Not only has he lived up to that quote, but his mark on the arts remains engrained and untouched. What we can take away from the film is simple and that is to never give up on your dreams. If you want to change the world, you can. It will take hard work, but if you have a true passion for what you do, then you’re already halfway there. This film is a story for young artists to push for their goals, even if it brings some downs along the way. It will be so fulfilling if you go into every project you take on with love, enthusiasm, and compassion.

Miranda reminds us that this film is not about Larson’s death, but it’s about his life. We will forever remember and honor the impression he made on musical theater every time we view his work. This movie is something that I will hold close to my heart as I move forward in my theater career and I hope everyone will be as inspired by it as I was.

“No Day but Today.”- Jonathan Larson

'tick...tick...BOOM!' is a tribute to Larson’s dream to make an impact on the world

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