Tick, Tick...Boom! (2021)

This semi-biographical musical drama is based upon the real-life story of Jonathan Larson (1960–1996), who received three posthumous Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for his rock musical Rent. The movie follows a struggling theater composer named Jon (played by Andrew Garfield), who is obsessed that his thirtieth birthday is only a week away, and he is still little more than a starving artist who dreams of making it big. He has waited tables for nine years at the Moondance Diner. He lives in an unheated apartment. He loses his girlfriend Susan and his childhood friend Michael, both of whom abandon their artistic dreams and take jobs in the "real" world for financial security. His agent Rosa rarely calls, and when she does, she doesn't remember his name. Jon has spent seven years preparing for an impending workshop of his musical Superbia, but still cannot finish the last and most important song. Should he continue in his artistic obsession, or like Michael and Susan give in to real life realities? Can he reconcile his personal and professional lives? The soundtrack for Tick, Tick...Boom! (17 songs) was written by Jonathan Larson. The movie was also the directorial debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda. It won numerous awards in late 2021, and was on many "best of the year" lists. I watched this film on Netflix.

Dan Clendenin: dan@journeywithjesus.net