Joey McIntyre on Tick Tick… Boom! The Film

On October 31, 2001, Playbill was publishing the bigs news: “former” (at the time) New Kid On Block, Joey McIntyre, was going to join the cast of Tick Tick… Boom!, a play by Jonathan Larson. Now, after the release of the movie on Netflix, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda (in what is his directorial debut), Joey looks back to his Broadway days in New York.

Tick Tick… Boom! One Of Its Kind…

There is a very, very special story behind “Tick Tick… Boom!”, behind its author. Back in the 80s, Jonathan Larson started trying to establish himself in theater with no luck; until he wrote this play, “Tick Tick… Boom!”

The play is a semi-autobiographical musical that tells the story of an aspiring composer, about to turn 30, living in NY in the 90s, who’s worried he has made the wrong career choice, because his friends were already succeeding and he couldn’t sell his work.

Tick Tick… Boom! is about dreams, hard work and life choices; it’s about love, friendship and even the status quo of the time when AIDS was killing people, killing his friends…

Jonathan began performing the musical as a solo work in 1990 and it didn’t make it to Broadway; so he worked on another piece, “Rent”… and this one, this one changed Broadway and his life, but he died the night before the premiere.

The Play and The Film

After Jon’s death, “Tick Tick… Boom!” was revised (by David Auburn) and premiered as a three-actor piece Off-Broadway in 2001 (May 23). The actor Raul Esparza was the first one to play “Jon”, and Joey McIntyre was the second. This Off-Broadway premiere closed on January 2, 2002.

Raul Esparza and Joey McIntyre (2001) Photo by Aubrey Reuben. Via Playbill

Eventually, the play had many touring productions (in North America, London, Canada, to name a few) And now Lin-Manuel Miranda, brought it back to life with an adaptation that’s, honestly, a master piece.

The cast (Andrew Garfield as Larson is mind-blowing), the way Lin-Manuel tells the story…, let’s just say it is one perfect package that’s going to give you the goosebumps, make you think, feel inspired, make you laugh and cry.

I watched it last week and I couldn’t even write a review…

Anyways, even if you’re not into musicals, please give this one a chance; I promise you, you won’t regret it. And if I can’t convince you, maybe Joey will 😉

Joey McIntyre on Tick Tick… Boom! The Film

Tick Tick… Boom! The Film. Trailer

Watch Tick Tick… Boom! on Netflix

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