Profile for Jade

My absolute favourite show is Rent (I've seen it 37 times) and I think what kept me so attached was the way it "spoke" to me. I was 18 the first time I decided I loved it (which was actually on the second viewing, but that's another story) and I was going through all the usual teenage anger and angst. I was also very shy, though, so couldn't express all that. And suddenly I found a musical that expressed it for me. It made the Rent experience pretty intense and I got swept up with the charact...

I loved Rent Remixed and had no problem with the changes made to the characters. I also enjoyed the film version of Rent. I love just about every show that's looked down upon on these boards (Cats, Starlight Express, The Wedding Singer, Legally Blonde, The Little Mermaid, etc). Spring Awakening left me cold. I don't really like Colm Wilkinson's voice.

I always buy the programme (English equivalent of a playbill although, unlike the playbill, it isn't free) and souvenir brochure. Occasionally I'll buy a t-shirt or sweatshirt, but only if it doesn't have the name of the show emblazoned across the front. I've also bought a notebook a couple of times.

Evita 20th Anniversary recording - I didn't realise it had Colm Wilkinson as Che. I must be one of the only people in the world who doesn't like his voice. Woman in White - only about 2 songs on it that I actually like. I've also got a bunch of foreign cast recordings of Rent, in lanuguages that I can't understand, that I listened to once and haven't taken out of the box since.

How old where you when you saw Rent for the first time? It was the day after my 18th birthday What was your reaction of the show the first time you saw it? This might surprise some people... I hated it. I thought it was too loud and I had absolutely no idea what was going on. (It eventually grew on me, but after I saw it that first time.) Did seeing Rent get you intrested in seeing La Boheme? Yes (If Yes, what did you think?) I enjoyed it, but only because of the Rent connection. Did Rent cha...

I almost fell asleep during Rent, thanks to jetlag. For some reason I thought it'd be a good idea to see Rent almost straight after a 7 hour flight to New York from London. There was another time seeing Rent where I kept zoning out. It was the day before I received some critical exam results and I was really stressed about them.

Drew Sarich - the only Valjean whose death has made me cry.

When I saw Legally Blonde in summer, the heel snapped off Laura Bell Bundy's shoe just before So Much Better. She took her shoes off and used them to gesture before handing them to one of the guys leaving the stage. Later in the performance, she managed to fall out of her shoes during the courtroom scene and said something about "me and my shoes today!" which got a laugh from the audience. Also, not really an onstage mishap, but I saw Mammia Mia in the West End a few weeks ago and the show ha...

I can't stand this whole attitude of "You're only a true Renthead if you waited for 8 hours on a pavement in NYC in the middle of a blizzard for a chance to see the OBC." I think a Renthead is just a name for a fan of the show - so if you think you're a Renthead, then you're a Renthead. I consider myself to be one, and I've never seen the OBC. Equally offensive is the OP's assumption that all Rentheads are ignorant idiots. I don't even know where to go with that one. BTW, I also knew La Bohem...

I saw the West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat because the role of Joseph was cast via reality TV, and I watched the entire series and ended up being a big fan of the guy who won. If it hadn't been for that, I wouldn't have bothered seeing it. I also saw Les Mis for Drew Sarich as Valjean, but I'd already seen it and it's one of my favourite shows anyway.

I've seen Rent in various cities in England (including London's West End), and on Broadway.

Rent 37 times (over a period of 10 years): 9 West End, 15 UK Tour, 9 Broadway and 4 Rent Remixed

See Forbidden Broadway if you're familiar with most of the shows it's parodying. If you're not, you won't really get the jokes so you'd be better off seeing Altar Boyz. I'm only saying that because you've seen Altar Boyz twice already. If it was a straight choice, I'd pick Altar Boyz.

I wasn't particularly impressed by the Rent OBCR. It's noticeably slower than the actual show and doesn't capture the energy that makes the show so great.

What about the oh so controversial Rent Remixed in the West End?

gpysy4 - No, somehow I thought Sutton was that old before I saw any pictures of her. I think it was because I kept reading on the forums about how she's a Broadway legend, so I got the impression she'd been around a long time. I realised how young she is when I first saw a picture of her. Sorry, I should've made my post clearer!

For some reason I thought for ages that Sutton Foster was in her 50s or 60s. I was shocked when I found out how young she is. In Rent, I didn't realise Roger's HIV+ until the interval.

I've got a couple, both of which are Rent-related. - Seeing Rent for the first time on Broadway, in June 2005 (when I was 24). I'd been wanting to go to NY since I was 18, so I could barely believe I was seeing my favourite show while on a trip I'd been waiting 6 years to take. - The last time I won the Rent lotto, in June last month. I was the very last person to be called and it took ages: I wasn't called during the main drawing. There were 3 tickets left after drop-downs and drop-outs and ...

It's a series of incredibly funny stand-alone songs about relationships, starting with the first date and going through marriage and beyond. I really enjoyed it. As the songs are all stand-alone, though, there is no plot to speak of.

I've only stage doored once, at the West End production of Rent 9 years ago. I was so nervous and shy I could barely speak and probably made a complete fool of myself, which is why I never did it again. Besides, I like to reflect upon the show whilst making my way home instead of hanging around on a pavement waiting for someone who might or might not come out and might or might not give me an autograph.