Vanessa Hudgens says filming Tick, Tick... Boom! was sad at times. Hudgens is certainly no stranger to musicals given her breakout role as Gabriella Montez in Disney Channel's High School Musical film series. Since then, the actress has branched out with more experimental roles in Beastly, Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, and Spring Breakers. Now, she is set to return to her musical roots in Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature film directorial debut opposite Oscar-nominated actor Andrew Garfield.
Based on the semi-autobiographical stage musical of the same name by Jonathan Larson (who created the hit musical Rent), Tick, Tick... Boom! follows Garfield as Jon, an aspiring theater composer who is working in a diner while simultaneously trying to write the next great American musical. Hudgens stars as his love interest, Karessa Johnson, while Bradley Whitford portrays Stephen Sondheim, quite possibly the greatest composer and lyricist the theater has ever seen. The upcoming Netflix film is directed by Miranda (In the Heights and Hamilton) with a script from Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen).
During a recent appearance on the Collider Ladies Night podcast promoting Netflix's My Little Pony: A New Generation, Vanessa Hudgens took some time to discuss her upcoming project, Tick, Tick... Boom! When asked about how the film compared to her previous stage and screen musicals, Hudgens revealed this one was especially difficult given they filmed it at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, which she admits was "a bummer at times." Read how Hudgens described the experience below:
It was tough because we shot it in the middle of the pandemic. That is something that you don’t really expect. And it was definitely a bummer at times because we had so many moments where we’d be setting up a shot and Lin was like, ‘Ya know, if we could, we would all be taking turns singing songs and jamming out right now, but we can’t because of restrictions and rules and trying to be safe.’ But, I’m just such a big Jonathan Larson fan and it’s just a special, special project because audiences are gonna be able to hear songs that they probably never heard before, and just really get a glimpse into Jonathan’s mind. Andrew did such a fantastic job portraying him.
Since High School Musical, Hudgens has starred in various musicals, including her Broadway debut Gigi in 2015 followed by roles in Fox's live broadcasts of Grease and Rent. Needless to say, she had plenty of musical experience coming into Tick, Tick... Boom!, though filming during the pandemic was a unique challenge for everyone involved, including its talented troupe of Tony-nominated actors like Garfield, Robin de Jesús, Joshua Henry, and Judith Light.
Tick, Tick... Boom! will be just one of many projects produced amidst the pandemic that will be released in the coming years. While there are certainly more challenges than before, Hudgens and the rest of the team behind the film proved to be a resilient bunch, united by their shared passion for telling Jonathan Larson's story, who died unexpectedly at the age of 35 before having the chance to see Rent became a hit. The adaptation of his autobiographical musical Tick, Tick... Boom! hits Netflix on November 19.
Source: Collider
