Netflix released the empowering tragedy “tick, tick… BOOM!” — a musical drama starring Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Robin De Jesus, Joshua Henry and Vanessa Hudgens. The film, released on Nov. 12, takes you into the mind of the award-winning playwright Jonathan Larson.

 

Director Lin-Manuel Miranda, who starred in and wrote the Broadway hit “Hamilton” (2015), paid tribute to his inspiration Larson –– who tragically had an aortic aneurysm and passed away at 35 on the day his extremely successful Broadway show “Rent” (1996) was set to open –– which won four Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, according to the American Theatre Wing.

 

The film is based on what Larson referred to as a “musical monologue” called “tick, tick… BOOM!”, which he performed three years before “Rent” premiered and changed Broadway forever. 

 

Larson starred in this small-scale show as a solo performance in 1990. After he died the show was revamped by playwright David Auburn as a three-actor piece, according to Masterworks Broadway. The monologue goes deep into the hardships and frustration artists go through to make it big on Broadway. Larson inspired Broadway to go beyond the classical operetta music style by creating shows featuring rock music and vast social issues including AIDS –– which, in the ‘90s, was a severely misunderstood and stigmatized disease. His attention to undiscussed social issues resulted in the revolutionization of musical theater on Broadway.

 

“Tick, tick… BOOM!” shed light on the heartbreaking pandemic of HIV and AIDS during the ‘90s in New York City. As Larson’s friends continued to pass away from AIDS year after year, Larson slowly lost hope and created masterpieces encapturing that pain.

 

Larson’s legacy encouraged Miranda’s career and in return he wanted to pay tribute to Larson by honoring his lesser-known work. Miranda’s innate ear for music and modern take on Broadway, which has won him five Tony Awards, shines through in this film. He succeeded at capturing the realistic New York City culture from the ‘90s which made the film feel very authentic –– almost like we were watching Larson’s home videos.

 

The film continuously cuts from Larson performing “tick, tick... BOOM!” to his real-life which the show is based on. Going back and forth created an energy that goes beyond a Broadway story by looking into the realistic situations the songs are theatricalizing. 

 

Although the film was tragic and the end of Larson’s life was depressing, Miranda made the message clear that having a dream and being passionate about something is extremely powerful. Larson kept persisting no matter how long he’d been waiting for his break. He was extremely poor living in a small studio apartment in New York City as a waiter for nine and a half years before he created his award-winning Broadway show “Rent.” Year after year his dream would get beaten down by his friends, colleagues and critics, but Larson continued to write shows until something “stuck.”

 

Garfield did a marvelous job at capturing Larson’s energy. Some people thought he was crazy, some people thought he was a genius, but Larson knew he had something special. Garfield was a perfect casting choice as he gives off extraordinarily authentic emotion.

 

People who aren’t big fans of Broadway might not “get” this film or enjoy the musical breakaways, but if you have any knowledge of Broadway history, “tick, tick… BOOM!” should be first on your Netflix watchlist.

 

The official Netflix trailer