Every Broadway Cameo In Netflix's Tick, Tick...Boom!
From Rent to Hamilton, the cast members from some of the greatest musicals found their way in Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut.
Directed by Broadway icon Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tick, Tick...Boom is a dramatized musical biopic revolving around the life of Jonathan Larson. Widely known as the writer of Rent, Larson is widely regarded as a legend in modern American musical theatre.
Even though leading man Andrew Garfield has more experience with films than the stage, the film's ensemble includes a slew of Broadway faces, mostly as guest appearances and brief supporting roles (especially in the musical sequence "Sunday"). The diversity of the cast is further exemplified by the presence of both memorable theatre actors as well as relative newcomers on the musical stage.
The longest-running Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Weber's version of The Phantom of the Opera, Howard McGillin has cemented his presence as an actor and a vocalist. As for Chuck Cooper, his Broadway credentials include his Tony-winning turn as the pimp Memphis in The Life.
McGillin and Cooper show up in the Moondance diner along with several other Broadway legends for the "Sunday" musical sequence. Like the other customers, the former just orders his food ("Jewish bread") in a bored manner. To this, Cooper's character responds by saying that it is "holly bread." But when the protagonist Jon breaks into a song-and-dance number, they too join in the merriness.
Andre De Shields is not just an Emmy-winning actor but also a singer and dancer whose Broadway credits include a portrayal of the god Hermes in the mythical fantasy Hadestown. For the same role, he ended up winning a Tony in 2019.
In Tick, Tick...Boom, he plays a diner patron called Richard Caplan. He steps in with extreme finesse and talks in a deliberately slow place. His smooth mannerisms run in contrast with the general chaos of the "Sunday" sequence.
The first actress to helm the roles of Anita in West Side Story and Velma Kelly in Chicago, Chita Rivera is a three-time Tony winner who needs no introduction for Broadway fans. Apart from her wins, Rivera has also received a whopping number of ten nominations at the Tony awards.
Hence, it's not surprising to find Rivera sneak in along with the rest of the guest stars in the diner scene. While singing "Sunday" with the rest of the cast, she sassily sips a martini.
"Sunday" isn't the only scene to feature a plethora of Broadway talents. The scene involving Michael's ad agency features four interesting actors, all of whom have had Broadway experience. Laura Benanti is known for a revival of Gypsy while Danielle Ferland inaugurated the role of Little Red Riding Hood in Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods. Micaela Diamond achieved acclaim as Babe in the biographical play The Cher Show. Interestingly, Utkarsh Ambudkar has had previous experience with Lin-Manuel Miranda as he was the first actor to play Aaron Burr in Hamilton (the 2013 Vassar workshop version).
When Jon grows disgruntled with his musical struggles, he considers taking up his friend Michael's offer to join the firm. The aforementioned four actors pester him with new ideas and pitches that initially draw Jon's interest but eventually wear him out. The firm employees serve as capitalist caricatures.
Known for his powerful baritone voice, Brian Stokes Mitchell dominated Broadway in the 1990s as a leading man. His most famous role might perhaps be his Tony-winning turn in Kiss Me, Kate. Other popular credits include the titular role in Sweeney Todd and Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha.
He joins his acclaimed theatrical peers in the Moondance Diner as one of the patrons, specifically ordering for an omelet with no yolks.
Considering how Rent was Jonathan Larson's magnum opus, it only makes sense for Tick, Tick...Boom to be filled with references to the musical. Three cast members of the original also show up as homeless people outside the diner. Daphne-Rubin Vega, Adam Pascal, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia play the trio of Mimi, Roger, and Angel in Rent.
The actors show up as merry tramps towards the end of "Sunday" in clothes that also seem to resemble Rent's costume design.
The star from the revivals of Sweet Charity and Chicago has also acted in TV shows like Madame Secretary and Cheer along with movies like Jumanji. For the aforementioned plays, she won the Tony for Best Actress.
In Tick, Tick...Boom, she joins the diner montage as one of the many singers. In the same scene, she is joined by Chita Rivera who originated the role of Velma Kelly in Chicago. Neuwirth played the same character in the 1996 performance of the play, an act for which she earned her second Tony and first Drama Desk Award.
A regular collaborator of Stephen Sondheim's, she has acted in the composer's Broadway shows like Sunday in the Park with George, Into The Woods, and Gypsy. Peters has had a career spanning over six decades along with two Tony wins (including an honorary award). It only makes sense for a legend like her to grace the ambitious "Sunday" scene with her presence.
Peters is helped out of her chair by Jon as she joins the musical sequence. However, she is already featured indirectly in an earlier scene as Jon and his friends watch a PBS recording of Sunday in the Park.
Along with the stalwarts in "Sunday," acclaimed newcomers like Phillipa Soo and Renée Elise Goldsberry are also featured. The two have also served as main characters in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton as Eliza Hamilton and Angelica Schuyler respectively. Goldberry also marked her Broadway debut with Rent as Mimi Marquez.
The two appear in Tick, Tick...Boom as visitors in the diner. As Soo's character gets a job promotion, Goldberry's character requests Jon to add some alcohol to their drinks. When "Sunday" starts playing, the actresses even recreate a dance move from Hamilton.
The late Stephen Sondheim is one of the greatest Broadway icons, writing and composing lyrics for West Side Story, Into The Woods, Sweeney Todd, and many more. Not only has he won multiple Tonys but also an Oscar, a Pulitzer, and eight Grammys.
Even though Bradley Whitford appears in the role of Sondheim in Tick, Tick...Boom, the maestro himself appears in a voice cameo in the film's latter half. He talks to Jon through voicemail conveying his interest in Suburbia. Unfortunately, Sondheim passed away just two weeks after the film's release.
Joel Grey's initial fame on Broadway was built upon the role of the Master of Ceremonies in Carabet, a role that he reprised in the musical's film adaptation. Recently, Grey played the Wizard of Oz in Wicked as well as Amos Hart in the revival of Chicago.
As for Tick, Tick...Boom, Grey appears in a short role as a mild-mannered customer at the diner who patiently waits for his bill. Even though he keeps on asking for it, the Sunday rush in the diner makes him unheard in the face of the other customers.
Even though Tick, Tick...Boom marks Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature film debut as a director, he has already gone on to establish his legacy on stage. While he is synonymous with Hamilton, he started his Broadway career with In The Heights, writing and composing the songs while playing the lead character.
For his own film, he just appears in a blink-and-miss cameo as a cook in the Moondance diner. Out of the various cameos in the film, he also features his own father, Luis A Miranda Jr, as a hotel concierge in the "No More" sequence.