Lin Manuel Miranda’s Tribute to Jonathan Larson: Tick, Tick...Boom!

Can you hear it? The ticking sound of a clock that counts the seconds until you turn the age 30. Netflix’s Tick, Tick...Boom!, written and composed by Jonathan Larson, directed by Lin Manuel Miranda, and starring Andrew Garfield is a musical about a playwright who struggles to write a hit musical in the 1990s—a story based on Jonathan Larson’s own life.

The story focuses on balancing love, friendships, and mental health all while trying to write a musical called Superbia, a musical that had almost the same plotline as Disney’s Wall-E. The reason Jonathan gets so out of loop is because he was almost 30 years old, and he was nothing close to becoming the next Stephen Sondheim who had his work, West Side Story, on Broadway by age 27.

Lin Manuel Miranda’s take on this musical was more of a tribute to Jonathan Larson and who he was before he rose to fame with his rock musical Rent, with constant subtle references to it throughout the film. Miranda even included old 90’s footage from the opening night of Rent, to which Larson couldn’t attend because he died a couple days before it. He was also able to invite various actors from the original broadway musical to star such as Adam Pascal who played Roger Davis, Daphne Rubin-Vega who played Mimi, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia who played Angel Dumott Schunard.

The beautiful cinematography portrayed New York in the 90s exactly like one would imagine it: busy, exotic, and full of life & struggle. Miranda’s executive decisions to have various broadway actors in random scenes really tied the whole film together, capturing the real essence of New York, whether it was good or bad. The film flowed smoothly, being easy to follow and you could genuinely tell what and how Larson was inspired to write the musical Rent.

The casting was also done phenomenally; Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson was a perfect match. Not only are they already similar looking, but Garfield really embodied Larson’s persona. Every line that was said felt like raw emotion, when Larson was going mad, it truly felt real like you were there with him. And although Garfield was not a singer before getting the role, it was apparent that he truly devoted time to learning. Vanessa Hudgens as Karessa Johnson and Robin de Jesús as Michael also had outstanding performances, and although they were in supporting roles, they were proven to be pillars that held the movie up.