For Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut, Deadline has reported that the Hamilton star has cast Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge) in the lead role of tick, tick… BOOM!, an adaptation of the musical stage play from Rent playwright Jonathan Larson.
tick, tick… BOOM! is an autobiographical musical from Larson, which he wrote and performed in 1990. The play gained newfound popularity after the massive success of Larson’s Rent, which premiered on Broadway in 1996 and became one of the longest running shows in Broadway, even earning a Pulitzer Prize. Unfortunately Larson never got to see the success of Rent as he tragically passed away the night before the show’s first performance.
Garfield will play Jon, “an aspiring theater composer who waits tables in New York City while writing Superbia, which he hopes will be the great American musical that will finally give him his big career break. The young man is feeling pressure from his girlfriend Susan, who is tired of continuing to put her life on hold for Jon’s career aspiration. Meanwhile, Jon’s best friend and roommate Michael has given up on his creative dream and has taken a high paying advertising job on Madison Avenue and is preparing to move out. As Jon approaches his 30th birthday, he is overcome with anxiety, wondering if his own impossible dream is worth the cost.”
Miranda will direct the musical for Netflix from a script by Dear Evan Hanson and Fosse/Verdon writer Steven Levenson. Miranda will produce alongside Imagine Entertainment’s Ron Howard, Brian Gazer and Julie Oh.
