Remember how we all used to love musicals? The energetic performances, beautiful songs, and mesmerizing music all seemed magical; at times it made me wanna live inside a musical too. Well, Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick…BOOM! is one such musical that always intrigues my senses; originally a solo-rock musical or a “rock monologue”, the entire show was later restructured as a three-actor musical following the death of Larson.

An autobiographical that tells the story of how Larson made it to the musical big picture; Tick, Tick… BOOM! is a musical that lets the performers express themselves; at the same time stick to the original story that it intends to tell. With two great minds working on it, as Jonathan Larson himself and David Auburn, the musical leaves the audiences completely in awe of the beauty and gives the whole to a chance to connect.

History, Plot and Jonathan Larson: Tick, Tick… Boom

First performed in 1990 at the Second Stage Theater; back then the musical was called Boho Days. The musical finally was revised and created into a “rock monologue”; Larson performed it at “O Solo Mio” fests at New York Theatre Workshop for a couple of years, where it caught the attention of a young but keen-eyed producer named Jeffrey Seller. Seller managed to bring the show to Broadway and paved the way for the greatness of this immortal musical that even today is a hit.

Following the death of Jonathan, Victoria Leacock a friend of his and also a director asked the Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn to reshape the musical and he did exactly that. From a solo performance, the musical now was a musical with three actors and 10 characters. The revised version was first premiered at the Jane Street Theater on May 23, 2001; and even today is loved by people around the globe.

The plot is fairly simple, yet universal and intriguing at the same time; a story about a man’s anxiety, struggle, and sacrifices that he makes to achieve his forever dream. Since this is an autobiographical piece, we know that Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick… Boom the tale of his life. It truly is a beautiful creation, and makes us believe so was the man who created it; I am sure he was.

The Netflix Adaptation – that won Andrew Garfield a Golden Globe Award

November 19 was the date that marked the release of Tick, Tick… BOOM!. The adaptation starred the likes of Andrew Garfield and Vanessa Hudgens; directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Miranda entirely filmed the movie during the pandemic, hence under covid protocols as well. While it sure was hectic to pull that off, the entire team felt it was worth it. It definitely was worth it, and more than that, it was undoubtedly one of the most movies we saw in 2021. Andrew delivered one of the best performances of his career, and he even won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in the Musical or Comedy category.