Although Lin-Manuel Miranda credits Rent creator Jonathan Larson as one of his main inspirations, he isn’t planning on directing another live-action adaptation of the iconic rock musical anytime soon.
Miranda recently made his directorial debut with Netflix’s Tick, Tick… BOOM!, based on the semi-autobiographical musical of the same name by Larson.
The film, which has received acclaim, takes place in 1990 and follows the late theatre composer (played by Andrew Garfield) as he juggles work at the Moondance Diner in Soho while preparing for a workshop of his musical Superbia.
Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesús, Vanessa Hudgens, Joshua Henry, Jonathan Marc Sherman, Judith Light, Mj Rodriguez, Ben Levi Ross, Bradley Whitford and Laura Benati round out the incredible supporting cast.
Ahead of the film’s release, we spoke with Miranda about why it was important for him to make his directorial debut with Tick, Tick… BOOM! and Larson’s impact on his artistry.
“I saw Rent for my 17th birthday from the last row of the mezzanine of the Nederlander Theatre, and I had never seen such diversity on stage,” Miranda tells GAY TIMES. “I had never seen queer love stories at the centre of a musical.
“I had never seen a musical that felt so homemade and was about the things that I cared about. It was about surviving as an artist in New York City, which was a thing I desperately wanted to do when I grew up but felt incredibly far away. I always loved musicals but I always felt that some other really smart people wrote them.”
Miranda is best known for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals In The Heights and Hamilton. Throughout his career, Miranda has received a Pulitzer Prize, two Laurence Olivier Awards, three Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards.
On how Rent inspired one of his most iconic works, Miranda adds: “I don’t think its an accident that you can draw a direct line between that happening on my 17th birthday and me beginning to write In The Heights on my 19th birthday, writing a love letter about my community a little more uptown in Washington Heights.
“It literally gave me the audacity and the gumption to be able to write a musical some day.”
The post Exclusive: Here’s why Lin-Manuel Miranda wouldn’t direct a film remake of Rent appeared first on GAY TIMES.
0 Comments