by Zach Raffio. @zachraffio.
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s anticipated film adaptation of the late Jonathan Larson’s tick, tick…BOOM! hits Netflix today, and fans are already in rewatch-mode. The vibrant, achingly human story is packed with details - but did you catch everything?
Here’s five easter eggs you may have missed, cause a lot of people don’t know this, but Jonathan Larson was actually obsessed with Easter, particularly the egg part.
1. 30/90
The show’s engrossing opening number sets the stage for what’s ahead - but did you notice the hand-painted, pink and green easter egg sitting on Jonathan’s crowded dresser? It’s weird because the story doesn’t take place on Easter or anything, so was this, like, an old egg? The painted looked fresh.
2. No More
If you look closely in the corner of your screen, you’ll notice the top of a light blue sphere poking out. Can you say egg alert? Notice how carefully Robin de Jesús navigates the scene, as if to say “I want to be really careful i don’t step on this egg”.
3. Green Green Dress
Obviously you can’t help but notice the full basket of precisely decorated easter eggs Joshua Henry holds during this number - but did you notice the one sticking out of his back pocket? This one is of particularly special significance, because it’s essentially his character saying “this one’s for me, this is my Easter egg”, which is a metaphor I think.
4. When Vanessa Hudgens orders breakfast (deleted scene)
You can’t actually find this sequence in the film, but there is a scene where Vanessa Hudgens’ Karessa sits alone at a New York City (perhaps a nod to Rent?) diner and orders eggs. One of the waiters brings her a plate of uncooked but gorgeous Easter eggs and she says “oh, no, I wanted breakfast eggs, but I’ll take those anyway for my friend Jonathan”. She then paid for twice the amount of eggs, but it’s the 90s, so they weren’t expensive.
5.Louder Than Words
The story is coming to an end, the tears have fallen, and your face hurts from smiling. Miranda’s love letter to both the work of Jonathan Larson and the artist’s journey is coming to a close, but in some ways, it’s just beginning. We’re about to fade to black, but just before the final note is sung, Andrew Garfield’s Larson looks directly into the camera and says “Happy Easter, everyone” and holds up a little egg with Jordan Fisher’s character’s face on it, which is a metaphor I think. You then hear Miranda yell “cut!” which I don’t think they meant to keep in the movie. Stunning.