Live Forever
Jonathan Larson needed so desperately for his work to be out in the world – something Tick, Tick… Boom! director Lin-Manuel Miranda can surely relate to. From Hamilton all the way to Encanto, the weight of legacy is deeply felt in the impassioned work of the multi-hyphenate – Rehana Nurmahi explores how his art aims to live forever.
There’s a moment in Tick, Tick… Boom! in which Jonathan Larson talks us through his possessions. Among them are “an impressive collection of compact discs, cassettes and records of other people’s music; bookshelves sagging under the weight of plays and novels that I didn’t write.”
The implication is clear, if not through the emphasis of the words, then certainly through the exasperated tone with which the ever charismatic Andrew Garfield delivers them as Larson. This introduction defines the character by this one ambition: to have his own art out in the world in a way that will leave an impact.
Larson, as we see him in Tick, Tick… Boom!, itself based on the semi-autobiographical rock monologue written by the real-life theatre composer, is still clambering to achieve this. But the film adaptation expands upon the original text to tell the viewer what Larson did achieve before his tragic death at 35 years old. The film opens with a home video, as Larson’s girlfriend Susan introduces this as “Jonathan Larson’s story: before the Tony Awards; before the Pulitzer Prize; before we lost him.”
It’s fitting that sitting in the director’s chair is Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose work has not only redefined musical theatre (much like Larson’s), but keeps the idea of legacy close to the heart. From political legacy in Hamilton, to cultural legacy in In The Heights and artistic legacy in Tick, Tick… Boom!, for Miranda, what matters most is what we leave behind when we’re gone.
“Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden we never get to see.”
Miranda’s most famous work is Hamilton, based on the life of the American Founding Father - another man with a vast, complex legacy. This line is delivered during the climactic monologue of the show, moments before Hamilton’s death, but its implication haunts the whole show. The story is framed by one question: “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?”
The introductory song zooms through Hamilton’s biography, narrated by a full ensemble of figures in his life. The finale takes place after his death, and centres his widow Eliza as she describes the ways she fought to retain Hamilton’s work through sharing his story. In his book, Hamilton: The Revolution, Jeremy McCarter points out the significance of ending on such a note. He writes, “By ending with Hamilton’s afterlife, not his death, the show asks us to think about what we leave behind when we’re gone: It invites us to think about legacies. Hamilton thought about them a lot. So does Lin.”
Miranda’s depiction of the character, as seen in the Disney+ concert film, is decidedly more sympathetic than other actors have played him. While the writing demonstrates the man’s flaws and the way self-obsessed ambition took over his life (something familiar with Larson in Tick, Tick.... Boom!), Miranda keenly plays the struggle to the top; a classic rags-to-riches story designed to devastate. The shape of Hamilton’s legacy is altered when Miranda is in the frame.
Miranda’s personal touch is less felt in the film adaptation of In The Heights, arguably his most soul-searching stage show. Narrative changes alter the direction of Jon M. Chu’s film. Usnavi’s story is still about community and cultural heritage, but the lasting impact of Abuela Claudia isn’t felt as deeply as in the original production. We lose the moment in which she and Usnavi discuss the hundreds of stories that led them to where they are now, as well as the musical number in which Nina reflects on how Abuela’s presence in her life taught her everything she knows.
In the play, Usnavi decides to stay in Washington Heights because he sees a mural of Claudia that reminds him of the story she has built, and the need to continue it. The film swaps this out for a painting of a Dominican beach, and a collection of designs by Vanessa, Usnavi’s love interest. Miranda’s lyrics are as preoccupied with legacy as ever, as the finale again revolves around a question: “But who’s gonna notice when we’re gone? / When our job’s done… When we’ve resigned in the long run / What do we leave behind?” But Chu’s rendition loses depth, emphasising romance to elevate the climax.
That is not to say that the film disregards legacy altogether. It’s shown in the unapologetically joyous depiction of Latinidad culture, both in the flags waved in the street and Spanish slang coursing through the script. And the film also honours the stage show’s own legacy: there’s a moment during ‘Carnaval del Barrio’ in which Piraguero, played by Miranda, stands on a fire escape and sings a melody, with Usnavi on the ground harmonising. Considering Miranda originated the role of Usnavi, it’s a poignant moment, a passing of the baton.
The mark left by artists who came before is potent in all of Miranda’s work, through music, but also actors’ cameos. It’s vital in Tick, Tick...Boom! both in Larson’s original work, and in Miranda’s cinematic additions. In particular, the influence of the late, great Stephen Sondheim is crucial. Sondheim is a character in the story, but also deeply influential on the show’s music, with its many homages to Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George. Miranda stages ‘Sunday’ with cameos from stars of the stage of the past and present, giving time to those who shaped Larson’s career, and those who were ultimately shaped by it.
On Sondheim’s involvement, who briefly cameos, Miranda said: “So much of Tick, Tick… Boom! is a love letter to Sondheim, the way this movie is my love letter to Jonathan Larson – with links in a chain in that regard.”
But what of the legacy of the man so obsessed with it? Will the chain one day continue, with future artists making art as a love letter to Lin-Manuel Miranda? Much like the characters in his work, Miranda writes like he’s running out of time. In the same week that Tick, Tick… Boom! was released on Netflix, Encanto, another film by Miranda about securing family legacy, hit cinemas.
But while his pace is so prolific, the way he is perceived is mixed. His larger-than-life personality and inexhaustible ambition are inspiring for many, but off-putting for others. Multiple Letterboxd reviews of Tick, Tick… Boom! make light of the fact that Miranda is much more likeable when behind the camera.
Miranda noted of Larson: “One of the most important insights into Jonathan was [that he] could be impatient and he could be frustrating and he could be self-obsessed with his work. But when he was in the rehearsal room… he was in his happy place.” Miranda could almost be describing himself and his own relationship to art.
Given the complicated men whose legacies Miranda has preserved through his art, it makes you wonder how his own flaws will be remembered by generations to come. But ultimately his art will be what lives on – asking us, too, to take the time to reflect on the mark we leave on this world with our limited time.
Tick… Tick… BOOM! is streaming on Netflix now.
Rehana Nurmahi is a freelance entertainment journalist based in Surrey, UK. She has been described as being like Newt Scamander due to her unwavering affection for things nobody else cares about. You can find her on Twitter for regular musings on film, musicals, and Ariana Grande.
Sign up to our mailing list and you’ll be sent our latest Storyboard post every week with The Friday Read. Mailing list subscribers are also automatically entered into our weekly competition to win one of five pairs of cinema tickets, so it’s truly a win-win scenario.