Jonathon larson biography
Jonathan Larson
American composer, lyricist and playwright (–)
For the American journalist, see Jonathan Larsen.
"Jon Larson" redirects here. For other people with similar names, see John Larson (disambiguation).
Jonathan David Larson (February 4, – January 25, ) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright, most famous for writing the musicals Rent and Tick, Tick Boom!, which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, substance use disorder, and homophobia.
Larson had worked on both musicals throughout the late s and into the s. After several years of workshopping, Rent began an Off-Broadway run in early , though Larson died from an aortic dissection the day before its first preview performance. The show went on to enjoy critical and commercial success, and transferred to Broadway that April, one of the longest-running Broadway productions. Larson posthumously received three Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Rent was also adapted into a film. Tick, Tick Boom! received an Off-Broadway production in , and was also adapted into a film.
Early years
Jonathan David Larson was born on February 4, , in Mount Vernon, New York, to Nanette née Notarius (–) and Allan Larson (–) of White Plains, New York. His family was Jewish. His grandfather, Bernard Isaac Lazarson, who was born in Russia, changed the family surname from Lazarson. At an early age, Larson played the trumpet and tuba, sang in his school's choir, and took piano lessons. His early musical influences and his favorite rock musicians included Elton John, The Doors, The Who, and Billy Joel, as well as the classic composers of musical theatre, especially Stephen Sondheim. He also loved Pete Townshend, The Police, Prince, Liz Phair, and The Beatles. Larson attended White Plains High School, where he was also involved in acting, performing in lead roles in
Jonathan Larson
BIO
Jonathan Larson received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for RENT. He also won the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Richard Rodgers Award for RENT and twice received The Gilman & Gonzales-Falla Theatre Foundation's Comendation Award. In he was granted the Stephen Sondheim Award from American Music Theatre Festival, where he contributed to the musical "Sitting on the Edge of the Future". In he won the Richard Rodgers Development Grant for his rock musical "Superbia", which was staged at Playwrights Horizon. He composed the score for the musical "J.P. Morgan Saves the Nation", which was presented by En Garde Arts in Mr. Larson performed his rock monologue "tick, tick BOOM!" at Second Stage Theatre, The Village Gate and New York Theatre Workshop. In addition to scoring and song writing for "Sesame Street", he created music for a number fo children's book-cassettes, including Steven Spielberg's "An American Tail" and "Land Before Time". Other film scores include work for Rolling Stones magazine publisher Jann Wenner. He conceived, directed and wrote four original songs for "Away We Go!", a musical video for children. RENT, his rock opera based on "La Boheme", had its world premiere on February 13, at New York Theatre Workshop. Mr. Larson died unexpedtedly of an aortic aneurysm on January 25, , ten days before his 36th birthday.
The Jonathan Larson Grant was established in his name and is awarded to musical theatre composers, lyricists, and librettists, or writing teams, early in their career, to support artistic endeavors and safeguard long-term music writing careers.
"The Jonathan Larson Project," to be released in early , features Nick Blaemire (tick tick BOOM, Found, Godspell), Lauren Marcus (Be More Chill, Beatsville, Company), Andy Mientus (NBC's "Smash," Spring Awakening, Les Miserables), Krysta Rodriguez (Spring Awakening, F
Jonathan Larson: Life & Work
He followed up Superbia in with an autobiographical musical called tick, tick BOOM!, which fictionalized his own journey trying to get Superbia produced. He created the show to be smaller and “more producible,” with just three actors including himself. He was urged to cast another actor in the role of Jon so that he could focus on his book, but he refused. Tick became more successful than Superbia, with several developmental productions. After tick, tick BOOM! ran at Second Stage Theater, an aspiring producer, Jeffrey Seller, saw the show and wrote Jonathan a letter:
“Your work — music, lyrics, and spoken word — has an emotional power and resonance that I have rarely experienced in the theatre. You’re also insightful, perceptive, and very funny,” said Seller. He added, “Like you, I want to do great things in the theatre.” Seller would go on to produce shows like Avenue Q and Hamilton and was instrumental in bringing Rent to the world.
As Larson was writing Tick, he learned that his childhood best friend, Matt O’Grady, and some of their other friends had contracted HIV. He began to fold his feeling of impermanence into the play. Unfortunately, all of those friends, except Matt, would eventually pass away from AIDS. Another friend, Victoria Lealock, said, “We had gone from a crisis to a plague and it was evident to Jonathan that the palette of ‘Tick’ just wasn’t big enough to deal with the nightmare we were living through.”
Rent
Larson then set out to dig into another abandoned project — an adaptation of La Boheme by Puccini. A former collaborator had amicably walked away from the script and Jonathan began writing alone in earnest. In , Rent had its first staged reading at the New York Theater Workshop. He continued working on Rent Jonathan Larson was born on February 4, to Nanette and Allan Larson and grew up in White Plains, a suburb of New York City. He and his older sister, Julie, were exposed to the performing arts from an early age; his father, Allan, once said in an interview, “I was changing his diaper, so he had to be pretty young, and he started singing ‘Yellow Bird.’ In tune.” Larson spent his youth among drama clubs and music lessons, studying multiple instruments and starring in many of his high school theater productions. Larson won a full merit scholarship to Adelphi University. At college, he was a prolific actor, writer and composer. He wrote cabarets, one about women’s issues called Herstory, Or Little Miss Muffet Spat on Her Tuffet; he also penned a musical about the fictional detectives Nick and Nora Charles, Nancy Drew and Sam Spade teaming to discover a murderer in The Steak Tartare Caper. Other college works included American Scream, or Armageddon My Act Together & Taking It On the Road and Sacrimoralimmorality. Sacrimoralimmorality, cowritten with David Glenn Armstrong, was a critique of the American Christian right hypocrisy and intolerance and received a developmental production under the title Saved. Larson said his work was inspired by the music of Billy Joel, Nirvana, The Beatles, and Stephen Sondheim and his dream became to combine all these influences into one. During his college years, Larson even reached out to Sondheim and the latter became his mentor for the rest of his life. Learn more about their special relationship here. After graduating in , Larson first earned his Equity card by participating in a summer stock theater program. Now a member of Actors’ Equity, he moved to New York City and settled on the West Side. Larson lived in a small apartment with no heat and made do by waiting tables at the Moondance Diner. He had an illegal wood stove in the apartment to try and keep warm. He developed a close group of friends and sadly watc