Lin-Manuel Miranda marked the release of his feature film directorial debut by turning the spotlight over to emerging young performers.
The “Hamilton” creator unveiled a music video last week for “Louder Than Words,” a ballad that appears in his new film, “Tick, Tick... Boom!” The track ― performed by Andrew Garfield, Joshua Henry and Vanessa Hudgens in the movie ― has been reimagined by students from performing arts public high schools in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas and New York.
The participating schools include Baltimore School for the Arts, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts in Dallas, the Chicago School for the Arts, and Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA). New York’s Tada! Youth Theater also took part.
“I got my start in my school’s performing arts program,” Miranda told HuffPost in a statement. “These programs are vital, not only to the entertainment industry, but to our culture. It’s important for us to celebrate the next generation of actors, singers and performers.”
Watch the video for “Louder Than Words” below.
“Tick, Tick... Boom!” began streaming on Netflix last week after hitting theaters on Nov. 12. The film is an adaptation of “Rent” composer Jonathan Larson’s semi-autobiographical 1991 “rock monologue.” Garfield portrays Larson as a struggling New York artist who finds himself at a creative crossroads as he approaches his 30th birthday.
The film has been well-received by both fans and critics, with many urging Hollywood to recognize Garfield’s singing and dancing prowess during the forthcoming awards season.
It’s also a deeply personal project for Miranda, who has frequently cited Larson’s influence on his own work on stage and in film.
“When you choose Jonathan Larson as your hero, you’re so superstitious, because Jonathan never lived to see the mark his work made on the world, and that’s so tragic,” Miranda told The AV Club last week. “One of the things that was really our thesis statement about ‘Tick, Tick... Boom!’ was that it’s not about Jonathan’s death; it’s about his life. This is about what a life force he was to his friends and the people who loved him.”