Arka Mukhopadhyay
Illustrious playwright-actor Lin-Manuel Miranda gave a charming makeover to Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking semi-autobiographical musical of the same name in biopic movie ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ The movie musical is adapted from a musical about the making of the musical, as it chronicles the author’s journey through the hurdles in his creative process. While a roving celebration of a creative genius departed too soon, the movie is also a poised love letter to the medium of musical theatre. In relation, it is also a brilliant retrospective of the theatre district of New York City in the transition era of the 1990s.
Andrew Garfield delivers a tour-de-force performance in the central role as Jonathan, while an impressive assortment of stars populates the screen alongside Garfield. The story unfolds in and around the New York City — in the park, on the streets of the washed-out art district, in the corridors of avant-garde theatre houses that seem like pulpits of churches in the eyes of the musical theatre fans — but many may be wondering whether it was shot on location. If you feel like revisiting the places where the magic happens, let us guide you in the quest.
Tick, Tick… Boom! Filming Locations
‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ was filmed in its entirety in the US, particularly in and around New York. Production commenced in March 2020, but the cast and crew were in for some hurdles of their own. The sudden onset of COVID-19 jeopardized production in April, and they could finally resume shooting in October 2020. Filming was wrapped up in November of the same year.
The cast ensemble comprised mostly actors who were also singers with a soft spot for Broadway musicals, and we can only wonder how fun the shooting process was after perceiving the on-screen glory. However, as the team had to follow stringent COVID-19 protocols, the actors could not sing behind cameras. While they had to restrain themselves quite a bit, the team made the best of the situation since the film, and the person held a special place in their hearts. Let us now take you to the specific locations where the movie was filmed!
New York City, New York
‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ could not be filmed anywhere but in New York City, the dwelling place of Larson and a significant inspiration behind all of his works. It is the metropolis where Bob Dylan and Woody Allen found their voices. Reasonably enough, the city holds a special place in artistic hearts, as you don’t get to see an art installation by Banksy on a casual afternoon walk in many places in the world.
The production crew toured the city extensively and filmed scenes around the SoHo district, Lower Manhattan, and Central Park. In an impressionable sequence, Larson roams around the park on a rainy night and stops near a piano in an empty open-air theatre. The sequence was filmed at Shakespeare in the park, an open-air theatre in the Central Park region of NYC. The crew also made routine tours to the theatre district along the iconic 42nd Avenue.
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