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[Zeitoujo]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:24pm

was there sro?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:26pm

i think i did see people standing in the back of the orchestra, yes...and from what i could tell, it was completely sold out.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:27pm

when you left, did it seem they had anything set up for stagedooring?

[jimnysf]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:29pm

i think i did see people standing in the back of the orchestra

We older folks need to be closer to the bathroom so you must have seen the older Anthony and Adam fans standing back there.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:30pm

nope, nothing set up...practically the entire theater was waiting for them. i will go back another time to stagedoor...hopefully they will set up barricades...it was madness.

Edit: jimnysf, at age 25, I *was* one of the older fans if you can believe it...most people in the audience were in their teens.
Updated On: 7/30/07 at 11:30 PM

[another_reprise]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:30pm

They're actors, it's their job to portray someone different than themselves. Where is it written that an actor must be the same age as the character he/she is playing? I don't understand what the big deal is, they can play younger than their ages and haven't physically changed *that* much, Anthony looks almost exactly the same as he did in 96. They may not look 25, but they sure as hell don't look their ages IMO.

Anyways... I can't stop smiling after I read your review WithoutaTrace, I don't know how I'm going to wait until August 6...

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:32pm

I couldn't stop smiling the entire show...except when I was crying...

[MotorTink]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:32pm

Yikes, no barricades tonight? I hope people make it out without bruises or bone breaking!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:34pm

frankly, i don't even know where the Nederlander stage door is!

[Craww]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:36pm

So, okay. I got a post-show call. Apparently there wasn't even an attempt at barricades, there were hundreds of people, some insane and grabby. There were cops. It was just literally impossible for a reasonable stage door experience to happen.
Updated On: 7/30/07 at 11:36 PM

[ElphieDefiesGravity]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:39pm

Wow. Well, hopefully they'll wise up and put up some barricades or something for the rest of the run.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:41pm

Maybe they should ban the craziness at the stage door! Why do people feel they must go to the stage door and cause havoc? These poor guys need their rest so they shouldn't stay up too late. Give them a break.

[another_reprise]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:44pm

That is very disappointing...
I knew they were going to be dealing with a mob every night, but I would have hoped that there would be at least some attempt to control it.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:44pm

We were up in the balcony and there was a pretty broad age range.

I have to agree with Without a Trace, tonight's show was thrilling. I haven't been to Rent in years, and just went tonight on a whim...but it was pretty special. Adam and Anthony sold it...their ages just really didn't matter.

It took me a little while to warm up to Mimi, but she *really* won me over. Just fantastic. The Mimi/Roger duets were perfect. And Collins' I'll Cover You in the second act was as good as I've heard.

My only displeasure was with Maureen*. This one takes the role over the top and plays it for laughs. I'm all for laughs, but she has to be able to sell Over the Moon as a political statement, not a comedy act.

Anyway, I so happy to have been there. Oddly, I have this nagging sensation that for an evening, I really was able to "go home again".

*Corrected: originally I posted Joanne in error...

Updated On: 7/31/07 at 11:44 PM

[la_vie_boheme_et_moi]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:44pm

Wow- though I understand that people really, really, [i]really[/i] want to get autographs and such... that's kind of awful. I mean, it was bound to happen, opening night and all, but it's too bad for anyone there who'd never tried meeting the cast at the stage door before.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:46pm

iflit, do you mean Maureen?

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:47pm

Iflit, that makes me want to come to NY this month. I am over 30 and this show has a different place in my heart from these kids. When I first heard Rent I had two children!

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:52pm

Yes, I did mean Maureen. I liked Meryl Dandridge's Joanne a lot.
Thanks for pointing that out.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 11:56pm

Oh good. I was getting worried because I am really interested in seeing Merle's take on Joanne.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 7/31/07 at 12:11am

I've liked Merle in everything I've ever seen her in...and this was no exception.

Posted: 7/31/07 at 12:12am

I'm pretty speechless. Amazing, heartbreaking, and beautiful. I'm not even sure what else to add right now. Met and exceeded all of my expectations.

The atmosphere was electric - Adam got a standing ovation after just walking on stage in the beginning. I guess the best way to describe the experience would be Rent intensified times 50.

[lawyerman]

Posted: 7/31/07 at 12:14am

were there any understudies on?

Its a shame because Im sure this cast is great but I think of all the incredible talent that performed with the Fatones and Lacheys and MelB's and now the cast- which overall Id say is not at its best- gets to perform with the originals!

I love Merle, but Kenna Ramsey or Natalie Belconn would just rock out Tango Maureen with Anthony Rapp. And I would give my right arm to see Loraine Velez perform opposite Adam Pascal instead of whoever she was there with.

but yeah good to hear they did well. maybe ill get down there for the first time in god knows how long.

Posted: 7/31/07 at 12:20am

Crystal Monee Hall was on as Mrs. Jefferson/SOL Soloist.

And I would give my right arm to see Loraine Velez perform opposite Adam Pascal instead of whoever she was there with.

Tamyra Gray. She's serviceable, nothing extremely special in my opinion. I didn't see too much in the way of chemistry between Tamyra and Adam, but that's such a minor complaint in comparison to the sheer amazingness of tonight.

[Marissa2]

Posted: 7/31/07 at 12:52am

I totally agree with siamese dream. By far the best performance of the show that I have ever seen. Adam and Anthony were brilliant, their acting was perfect and their voices sounded great. It really was like they had never left. The rest of the cast were just as energetic and powerful. The audience was incredible.. the 2 minute applause at the beginning was such a well-deserved welcome, and everyone continued to cheer and clap throughout the show.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/31/07 at 1:00am

I think somehow knowing that this performance actually HAPPENED tonight really drives home the reality, to me, of something that in theory, is still so completely, totally, utterly surreal. I was at a meeting until about 7:30 and walked by the theater on my way to the subway. I briefly met up with some friends who were seeing the show tonight, and the excitement I felt around there just made my own for seeing it on Wednesday multiply endlessly.