‘Chandelier’ Choreographer Ryan Heffington Joins Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ For Netflix

EXCLUSIVE: Choreographer Ryan Heffington, whose work on Sia’s 2014 video for her hit ‘Chandelier’ earned him the second of two Grammy nominations, has boarded Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Netflix musical tick, tick…BOOM! Heffington will choreograph all dance sequences in the film based on the Off Broadway musical by Rent creator Jonathan Larson.

tick, tick…BOOM! marks the directorial debut of Hamilton‘s Tony-, Grammy-, Emmy- and Pulitzer Prize-winning creator Miranda.

In addition to the worldwide hit and VMA Award winning ‘Chandelier,’ Heffington received his first Grammy Award nomination for choreographing the 2013 Arcade Fire video ‘We Exist.’

In addition to those and other music videos (for, among others, Beck, Florence + The Machine, Kesha + FKA Twigs), Heffington has done choreography work for Netflix’s The OA, the musical finale for HBO’s Euphoria, Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver, and Spike Jonze-directed commercials for Apple’s Homepod and Kenzo World Parfum.

tick, tick…BOOM! will star Andrew Garfield as the Larson-based Jon, an aspiring theater composer waiting tables in New York City while writing “what he hopes will be the next great American musical.”

The Netflix synopsis continues: Jon is also feeling pressure from his girlfriend Susan, who is tired of continuing to put her life on hold for Jon’s career aspirations. Meanwhile, his best friend and roommate Michael, has given up on his creative aspirations for a high paying advertising job on Madison Avenue and is about to move out. As Jon approaches his 30th birthday, he is overcome with anxiety – wondering if his dream is worth the cost.

Also in the cast will be Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesus and Vanessa Hudgens. Tony Award winner Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen, Fosse/Verdon) is adapting the screenplay based on Larson’s original stage show.

Larson began performing tick, tick…BOOM! as a solo piece Off Off Broadway in 1990, with various incarnations Off Broadway following. After Larson’s death from an aortic dissection in 1996, just before his Rent debuted Off Broadway, tick, tick…BOOM! was revamped in 2001 with Proof playwright David Auburn for an expanded cast (headed by Raul Esparza) in the first of several revivals. (Miranda himself starred in a 2014 concert-style Encores! presentation of the musical in New York.)

tick, tick…BOOM! is produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Julie Oh for Imagine Entertainment, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Executive producers are Julie Larson, Steven Levenson and Celia Costas. The Netflix film is being developed with the support of Julie Larson, the creator’s sister.

Heffington is repped by CAA.

View this article at Deadline.