37 "Tick, Tick...Boom" Details And Broadway Cameos You Might've Missed The First Time Around
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There are some BIG spoilers ahead for Netflix's Tick, Tick...Boom!
1.In the first scene at the Moondance Diner, you can spot actor Roger Bart, who was good friends with Jonathan Larson, sitting at the Moondance Diner alongside James C. Nicola, who led the New York Theater Workshop when Jonathan attended it.
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Andrew Garfield consulted with Roger during the production process too.
2.In fact, Joshua Henry's Roger is named after Roger Bart, who sang backup at Jonathan Larson's performances of Tick, Tick...Boom! in real life. Also, Jonathan named Roger in Rent after Roger Bart too.
3.Robin de Jesús, Mj Rodriguez, and Vanessa Hudgens, who star as Michael, Carolyn, and Karessa, have all starred in productions of Rent during their careers.
Robin made his Broadway debut in the show and was Angel's understudy, Mj starred as Angel in the 2011 off-Broadway revival, and Vanessa played Mimi and Maureen in productions at the Hollywood Bowl and Rent: Live, respectively.
4.When Jon enters his apartment, he calls Michael by his nickname, "Pookie." This nickname is mentioned in Rent during "Tango: Maureen."
5.Lin-Manuel Miranda's elementary school music teacher, Barbara Ames, can be spotted handing a little Michael flowers during a production of West Side Story.
In a tweet, Lin said, "Also, Miss Ames, thanks for casting me as Bernardo in 6th grade. Wasn't it fun staging WSS AGAIN??"
6.When Jon and Michael are singing "No More," you can spot Luis Miranda Jr., Lin-Manuel Miranda's dad, working as a concierge in Michael's new apartment building.
7.When Jonathan sings one of his songs from Superbia at a writing workshop, the audience is filled with Broadway composers, lyricists, and actors. First, you can see Marc Shaiman, Grace McLean, and Eli Bolin.
Marc famously cowrote the lyrics for Hairspray. Grace is an actor, playwright, and composer who is probably best known for her work in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. And Eli is a composer and lyricist for a lot of TV shows and specials, like Billy on the Street, Sesame Street, and John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch.
8.Then, you'll see Chad Beguelin, Matthew Sklar, Alex Lacamoire, Georgia Stitt, and Jeanine Tesori.
Chad is a playwright and lyricist who most recently worked on The Prom. Matthew composed the music for The Prom alongside Chad. Alex is a composer and longtime collaborator of Lin-Manuel Miranda's. He worked on In the Heights, Hamilton, and more. Georgia is a composer and lyricist who has worked on The Last Five Years and 13. And finally, Jeanine notably wrote the music for Fun Home, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shrek the Musical, Violet, and Caroline, or Change.
9.You can spot Stephen Schwartz, Jason Robert Brown, and Shaina Taub next when the camera pans the audience.
Stephen famously wrote the music and lyrics for Godspell, Pippin, and Wicked. Jason Robert Brown is a playwright, composer, and lyricist who is behind shows like The Last Five Years, 13, and The Bridges of Madison County. And finally, Shaina has appeared in several off-Broadway productions like Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, and Hadestown.
10.Next up are Tom Kitt, Amanda Green, Jaime Lozano, Dave Malloy, Helen Park, Stephen Trask, and Joe Iconis.
Tom notably scored the hit musical Next to Normal. Amanda has worked with Kitt frequently on shows like Bring It On. Jaime is also a friend of Lin-Manuel Miranda's, and up-and-coming composer, and has starred in off-Broadway productions of The Yellow Brick Road, Children of Salt, and more. Dave is a composer who wrote the music, lyrics, and book for Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. Helen wrote the music and lyrics for the off-Broadway show KPOP. Stephen is best known for writing the music and lyrics for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. And finally, Joe wrote the music and lyrics for Be More Chill.
11.And you can see Steven Levenson, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Matthew McCollum, Eisa Davis, and Nick Blaemire.
Steven wrote the book for Dear Evan Hansen. Quiara won the Pulitzer Prize of Drama in 2012 for her play Water by the Spoonful and she wrote the book for In the Heights. Matthew is a new lyricist who wrote the musical The Ballad of Brightwater. Eisa is an actor and singer, who appeared in Passing Strange. And finally, Nick notably played Jonathan Larson in a recent revival of Tick, Tick...Boom!
12.Amanda Green, Chad Beguelin, Dave Malloy, Joe Iconis, Matthew Sklar, and Shaina Taub, who are featured in the workshop scene, have all received the Jonathan Larson Grant in real life.
Each year, the Jonathan Larson Grant is "awarded to musical theatre composers, lyricists, and librettists, or writing teams, early in their career, to support artistic endeavors and safeguard long-term music writing careers."
13.When Jon is trying to write the new song, you can hear him listening to "Day by Day" from Godspell, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" from Hair, and "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M.
This calls back to the earlier line when Jon says that his mixtapes aren't only filled with Broadway showtunes.
14.The note Jon writes down after listening to the Senate hearing is later used in the song "Louder Than Words."
15.Okay, "Sunday" is literally filled to the brim with Broadway cameos, so here we go. First, you can spot Howard McGillin, who is known for being the longest running Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.
16.Chuck Cooper, who appears as a diner patron, is best known for his Tony Award-winning performance in The Life in 1997.
17.Lin-Manuel Miranda, who directed Tick, Tick...Boom!, appears as one of the cooks at the Moondance.
18.Joel Grey, who originated the role of the Emcee in Cabaret, was the original Wizard in Wicked, and more, is a diner patron who keeps trying to get his check.
19.André De Shields shows up at the Moondance and — very slowly — asks for a table. André won a Tony Award in 2019 for playing Hermes in Hadestown.
20.Brian Stokes Mitchell, who has starred in shows like Kiss Me, Kate, Shuffle Along, Ragtime, and more, is sitting at the counter and gets the wrong food.
21.Phillipa Soo and Renée Elise Goldsberry, who originated the roles of Eliza and Angelica in Hamilton, are sitting at the counter celebrating a job promotion.
22.Phillipa and Renée are even wearing outfits and headbands that match the colors of Eliza and Angelica's dresses from Hamilton.
23.Also, later on in the musical number, Phillipa and Renée recreate the iconic Schuyler sisters hand hold that can be seen on one of the Hamilton logos.
24.Beth Malone, who was in the original cast of Fun Home, can be spotted at the Moondance counter.
25.Phylicia Rashad, who is known for starring on The Cosby Show and for her Tony Award-winning performance in A Raisin in the Sun, sits against a window.
26.Bebe Neuwirth, who is best known for her work on Cheers and for starring in Sweet Charity and Chicago on Broadway, sings inside the diner.
27.Chita Rivera, a literal Broadway legend who originated the roles of Anita in West Side Story and Velma in Chicago, drinks a classy martini while singing "Sunday."
28.Bernadette Peters, another legend who notably starred in Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George, is helped out of her chair by Jon.
Michael even mentions Bernadette when he and Jonathan are watching the PBS broadcast.
29.Adam Pascal, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia, who starred as Roger, Mimi, and Angel in the original production of Rent, play three homeless people outside the Moondance.
30.When the camera pans down the street of the theater district, you can see "The Cat Scratch Club," which is a nod to Rent. Mimi works at the club and it's first mentioned in the song "Light My Candle."
31.During "Play Game," you can spot posters that playful poke fun at Broadway. They include Gypsy (Again), A New Play But It Has That Guy From That Television Show So You'll Like It, Old Songs You Already Like, and more.
32.The focus group Jon attends at Michael's office features Laura Benanti, Danielle Ferland, Micaela Diamond, and Utkarsh Ambudkar, who have all been on Broadway.
Laura won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her work on Gypsy and she starred in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, She Loves Me, and more. Danielle originated the role of Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods. Micaela originated the role of Babe in The Cher Show. And finally, Utkarsh recently starred in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Freestyle Love Supreme.
33.Also in the focus group, you'll notice that one of Jon's ideas on the whiteboard reads "Santa Fe," which ends up being the name of a song in Rent.
34.When getting ready to do the reading of Superbia, Judy Kuhn and Danny Burstein appear as Jon's parents.
Judy is probably best known for being the singing voice of Pocahontas and her Broadway work in She Loves Me, Fun Home, and more. Meanwhile, Danny has starred in numerous Broadway productions such as South Pacific, Follies, Fiddler on the Roof, and Moulin Rouge.
35.When Jon's answering machine picks up, you can hear that the message just says, "Speak." This is the same message Roger and Mark have on their answering machine in Rent.
36.While Bradley Whitford plays Stephen Sondheim throughout the movie, it's the real Sondheim's voice you hear on Jon's answering machine.
37.And finally, you can spot Hamilton and In the Heights star Christopher Jackson in the audience when Jon performs Tick, Tick...Boom! for an audience for the first time.
