jonathan-larson-archive - Tumblr blog

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A very specific idea that has been pinballing in my head for the longest time: Broadway duets/ensembles of actors that play the same character

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“When I showed [Stephen Sondheim] the finished film, he said, ‘You treated me gently and royally, for which I’m grateful,’” says [Lin-Manuel Miranda]. “And then he wrote me and said, 'But the last phone message to Jon, the language feels a little trite. I don’t feel like I would ever really say that. Can I rewrite it?’ I was like, 'Gosh, a rewrite from Stephen Sondheim — do I accept this?’”

There was only one problem — [Bradley Whitford] had already wrapped his work on the project and was unavailable to re-record it. Sondheim offered to record the new version for Miranda, and it’s his voice that audiences can hear in the final cut.

“It makes me weep to even think about,” gushes Miranda. “Because he was such a mentor to Jon and generations of songwriters. But yes, he rewrote that message and recorded it himself and just sent it to me." (x)

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Simone as Mimi Marquez (Angel Tour)

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I just think they're neat.

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Everyone needs to give this performance its due. Tracie Thoms is the best Joanne PERIOD.

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This quote from Without You made me smile.

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Johnny can't decide compared to Louder than words.... The first is all about indecision and hesitation and the second is when he's completely sure, no going back.

"How can you soar when you're nailed to the floor"/"Cages or wings, ask the birds"

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Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson in tick, tick...BOOM! (2021) dir. Lin Manuel Miranda

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found some gems on youtube!

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Song Spotlight: Valentine's Day

To any Tick, Tick.... BOOM! fans, I urge you to listen to Valentines Day.

It was one of Jonathan Larson's favourite songs that he had ever written (if not his biggest favourite), and is one of his best.

His best friend, Victoria Leacock remembers, "He swore it would be a big hit [....] he loved that song."

There's a demo of him singing it,

And a version with much cleaner production and vocals from the Jonathan Larson Project.

He originally wrote the song for a musical called Prostate of the Union, one of his political satire cabarets and one of his Micheal Lindsay collaborations. The idea for the song coming from it being performed on February 13th.

The song is about a tragic sexual abuse victim that deals with her trauma with hyper sexual behaviour, even when that behaviour harms her.

He tried to rework the song into a couple other projects, including RENT.

In RENT this was the original 'valentines day' song instead of Take Me Or Leave Me. It was sung by Mimi Marquez as Roger watched her path of self destruction, unable to stop her.

It would've been interesting if it was included in RENT, probably more plot relevant than Take Me Or Leave Me even. Though I don't think there's a clear resolution to this conflict in Mimi's and Roger's relationship, and might have just made the conflict in Act Two more complicated.

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Depths of YouTube and I found this... well it certainly exists!

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lately, i’ve been hearing this…sound. everywhere i go, like a tick, tick, tick…

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Did you ever just feel so lucky for knowing someone you met online? Like.. I was one click away from not following you. I was one second away from never even knowing of your existence.I would never have been this happy!!!...

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Sometimes the universe pulls all the strings at once. The film of Jonathan Larson’s pre-Rent musical, Tick Tick Boom, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who saw Rent on his 17th birthday and beat his own ticking clock with a Tony at age 28, opened on Netflix on November 19. Exactly one week later, the legendary Stephen Sondheim, a profound influence and mentor to both Jonathan and Lin, passed away at the age of 91.

Almost as if Mr. Sondheim was waiting around to see how a show whose writer he had supported turned out when it was directed by another kid whose work he had supported. As if he said, in the words he wrote for West Side Story in 1957, “You done good, buddy boy[s]” and knew he was leaving things in good hands.

Mr. Sondheim wrote a lot of words. These are the ones I’ve been listening to since Friday, from Into the Woods:

Sometimes people leave you

Halfway through the wood

Do not let it grieve you

No one leaves for good

You are not alone

No one is alone

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This excerpt from Anthony Rapps (RENT alumni) memoir about Jonathan larson...

Gonna cry 😭