Larson originally created “Tick, Tick … Boom!” as a solo show, “Boho Days,” starring himself in 1990 after his death, it was reworked by the playwright David Auburn into a three-person production that the “Hamilton” creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, saw in 2001, when he was still a senior in college. The new film “ Tick, Tick … Boom!” portrays Larson struggling to find success in his late 20s, as he frets about whether he should pack it in and choose a more conventional path than scripting musical theater. Jon is Jonathan Larson, the composer and playwright who died suddenly of an aortic aneurysm at age 35 in 1996 just before his new musical, “Rent,” would become a global smash. But still, with a wide grin, Jon toasts his friends, leaps on his couch and sings, “This is the life!”
He’s riven with anxiety, his cramped apartment is overpacked with people, and he’s just spent money he doesn’t have, a down payment on success that will not come within his lifetime. Jon (Andrew Garfield) is throwing a party, though there’s hardly a reason to celebrate.
