True Stories 53: 20s—tick, tick… BOOM!

Before Jonathan Larson became known the world over for Rent [the Broadway musical] he was a struggling composer trying to get his foot in the door. And that’s the Jonathan Larson we see in tick, tick… BOOM! [2021] by Steven Levenson.

If you don’t know Larson, he’s best known for what became a major hit—and a musical that changed the way musicals could be on Broadway—Rent. And, sadly, Larson didn’t live to see that amazing success, as he died of an unexpected cardiac problem the day before Rent’s first preview. He was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony for the musical.

Take a look at the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJserno8tyU

Larson’s life was so interesting. He kept banging his head against the musical theatre world and had some success here and there, but not enough to quit his day job in a diner! So his story wasn’t that different from hundreds of others in New York City pursuing their art and getting by doing work that is far beneath them, just to pay the rent.

One of the things Larson did was a stand-up comedy sort of event which he called tick, tick… BOOM! Over time he worked this into a play that became the basis for the film.

The premise of the piece is that its main character is turning 30 soon and hasn’t accomplished anything that he hoped to… and he feels time is running out. In addition, his best friend, who is gay, has AIDS and is dying. These two events—his desire to break through in the world of musical theatre before he turns 30 and the ticking clock leading to the death of his friend—permeate the film. To top everything, his girlfriend seems to be pulling away from him, seemingly wanting to pursue her own artistic life outside of New York City. This latter is a real concern, because Larson’s creative life is absolutely welded to New York City. So, from the girlfriend talking about leaving, to his best friend dying, to his own career probably going nowhere before he turns 30, well, these events begin turning him into a bit of a powder keg—and out of that energy came the story and music for tick, tick… BOOM!

When asked what he wanted people to take away from his small tick, tick… BOOM! production, Larson said that he wanted to encourage people to follow their heart’s desires, to follow their dreams. And this film does that as well. I think it’s hard to leave the theatre without being inspired to go for gold, to work toward what you love.

But sometimes, situations make it very difficult for you to break away from the life you’re in to go for one you’d like to have—which is the case in Belfast which we’ll explore next week.

Copyright © Diane Lake

18Jun23

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