Boom! Time for Larson & Rent Movie???

The late Jonathan Larson, creator of the musical Rent, is set to have his career profile raised ever higher. An autobiographical musical by the composer, Tick, Tick... Boom!, is hitting the stage whilst film director Spike Lee is on a talent search for a screen version of Rent. Although Tick, Tick... Boom! has yet to play these shores, it's highly likely that the UK interest in Rent will guarantee a run for the production which opened in New York this summer. Written around 1990, the show is based on Larson's own struggles for recognition, although he died at the age of 35 just before the US opening of Rent. Initially scored for one actor, the current version stars Amy Spanger as part of a stage trio. Spanger was in the 1996 US Rent cast and has also starred in Chicago and Kiss Me Kate on Broadway. Meanwhile, Spike Lee has been trawling around numerous New York shows and clubs in search of contenders for his movie of the Rent story, which concerns a group in the East Village struggling against AIDS.

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