Lin-Manuel Miranda has taken his shot and rose to the top of the musical theater and film world. “Hamilton” made Miranda a global star, and films like “Moana” and the adaptation of his musical “In the Heights” have garnered more interest in Miranda’s songwriting. He has faced controversy – namely, in terms of colorism within the cast of “In the Heights.” Regardless, his popularity garnered him project after project. He starred in the animated Netflix film “Vivo” and he has written songs for the upcoming Pixar film “Encanto.”
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Now, he has moved up to directing. His first feature connects Miranda with another prestigious name in Broadway: the late Jonathan Larson. That comes in the form of Netflix’s “tick,tick…BOOM!” The semi-autobiographical musical originated from a book by the “Rent” scribe that was edited and premiered off-Broadway in the early 2000s.
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Now, it hits Netflix this fall. Andrew Garfield stars as Larson, a 30s Broadway composer feeling pressure in his life dealing with love and trying to write a good show. The cast features a mix of film stars and broadway regulars, with Vanessa Hudgens (“High School Musical“), Alexandra Shipp (“Love, Simon“), Robin de Jesús (“In the Heights” on Broadway), Joshua Henry, Beth Malone (“Fun Home“), Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing“), and Joel Gray (“Cabaret“) round out much of the cast.
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This project is going to have high expectations given the combination of Miranda and Larson’s pedigree. The initial trailer presents the film as a high tempo, frenetic film to match Larson the character’s energy. The film itself may not work at the pace of the original teaser, but it should be a high-octane film.
Garfield is an interesting choice to helm the project, as he has done few musical projects in his career. He has been on Broadway since the mid-2000s, but much of that work has come from plays. He has the chance to showcase his pipes.
Your enjoyment of the film may depend on your enjoyment of Miranda’s work and of an introspective musical centering on one creator. The quality of the film itself remains up in the air, but “tick, tick…BOOM!” has the talent to be something at least worth checking out. “tick, tick…BOOM!” will run in select theaters on November 12th and hits Netflix on November 19th. You can check out the new trailer below.