Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
The palimpsest rushed to mind while watching Lin-Manuel Mirandas Netflix adaptation ofTick, Tick … Its a movie that sings, poignantly, from many times at once.
Even before getting to what Miranda and his team added toTick, Tick …
Boom!, it takes some archeological work to describe exactly what happens in the musical.
Rather, its a sci-fislashMTV piece calledSuperbia, which the actual Larson did spend years laboring over.
In real life, he moved on fromSuperbiato develop a different iteration ofTick, Tick … Boom!beforeRent.
But Miranda, anavowed fan of Larsons workwho saw that Off Broadway version and starred in anEncores!
revival in 2014, has come in and literalized and expanded the thing for the screen.
Their clique seems intent on both reviving MGM-style musical grandeur and finding clever ways to push movie musicals forward.
At every turn, Miranda and Levenson provide bits of cultural context.
There is added emphasis on the AIDS crisis, too, which afflicted many of Larsons friends.
The films gestures toward that complex legacy are understandable, but feel incomplete.
Jesus is also one of many theater veterans who regularly pop up among the cast.
