Tick, Tick… Boom! heads Down Under
And just like his Tony Award-winning smash hit, Rent, it was another piece of genius left behind.
Rent is one of the longest running shows on Broadway. Yet the Jewish composer, lyricist and playwright behind the hugely successful musical, Jonathan Larson, never saw it on stage. He died the day before the first preview performance.
While Rent is certainly one of the Larson’s most famous productions, he was also behind Superbia and Tick, Tick… Boom! The former was loosely based on George Orwell’s book Nineteen Eighty-Four, yet when the Orwell estate denied him permission to use the story, he adapted the work into Superbia – a futuristic story set in 2064. It never received a full production. His next work – Tick, Tick… Boom! – drew on the feelings of rejection he experienced in response to Superbia. It was written only for Larson to perform alongside a small rock band.
And just like his Tony Award-winning smash hit, Rent, it was another piece of genius left behind.
An endearing rock musical and a love letter to theatre and New York City alike, Tick, Tick… Boom! follows a promising young composer who is grappling with a career as an artist, while staring down turning 30 in New York City, facing one of life’s greatest questions: What do we do with the time we have?
In 2021, the production was developed into a film by Lin-Manuel Miranda, starring Andrew Garfield as Larson.
Shortly, it will be coming to Australia, featuring one of the country’s favourite performers – on stage and screen – Hugh Sheridan, who describes playing Larson as “the role of my lifetime”.
“One of the things that really draws me to Tick, Tick… Boom! and I think, you know, a lot of us would relate to it, is that it’s about someone’s driving passion. About resilience and about determination. Because without it, without that sort of tenacity, you can’t really actually make it in our industry,” Sheridan said in a video on the Tick, Tick… Boom! Australia website.
“And, when I look back at everything that it takes to get to any place, to even be lucky enough to play this kind of a role, it’s a career’s worth of work that gets you there … What I love about Jonathan in Tick, Tick… Boom! is that he never ever stops. And it’s about that commitment to not give up and also, to find the resilience to believe in yourself to go that next step. And that is the core essence of Tick, Tick… Boom!”
Tick, Tick… Boom! is a true hidden treasure that will inspire anyone who’s had to fight for what they want.
Tick, Tick… Boom! is at Comedy Theatre, February 1-12. For tickets, visit ticktickboomthemusical.com.au
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