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Although theater buffs are intimately familiar with the works of the late Jonathan Larson—the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning writer behind Rent and Tick, Tick... Boom!—casual Broadway dabblers don't necessarily know much about him, mostly because of his sudden death at the young age of 35 back in 1996.
This February, though, the general masses will have a chance to pay homage to the creative genius when catching a new Off-Broadway musical celebrating Larson's life and work. Aptly dubbed The Jonathan Larson Project, the musical will feature "the dozens of unheard songs, unfinished and unproduced musicals, and pop songs found in files and boxed when the visionary writer" passed away, according to an official press release.
The Jonathan Larson Project is scheduled to begin previews on February 14 at the Orpheum Theatre at 126 Second Avenue near St. Marks Place, with an official opening date of March 10. Casting details and tickets for the 16-week limited engagement have not yet been released but you can find more information about it all right here.
Audience members should expect to hear songs that were cut from both Rent and Tick, Tick... Boom! in addition to tracks from unproduced shows like 1984 and Superbia. The musical will also feature "songs written for theatrical revues and for the radio and, most importantly, songs never publicly performed or recorded before The Jonathan Larson Project," reads the release.
If some of this sounds familiar, that's because The Jonathan Larson Project was originally presented as a concert in the fall of 2018 at 54 Below. The musical compilation was then released as an album in 2019, currently available for streaming on Spotify.
If you want to brush up on your Larson history, we also suggest watching the 2021 biographical musical film Tick, Tick... Boom! on Netflix. Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature directorial debut based on Larson's eponymous stage musical stars Andrew Garfield as the protagonist and takes a deep look at his writing process.