RIP Jonathan-Rent lives on....- Page 3

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 7:43pm

I was not trashing him. I was merely stating that I do not believe he contributed nearly enough to warrant a theatre being named after him. That is not trashing.

[jv92]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 8:53pm

List of people who deserve a theatre named after them more than Jonathan Larson-

Hal Prince
Stephen Sondheim
Kander and Ebb
Oscar Hammerstein II
Leonard Bernstein
Jerry Robbins
Bob Fosse
Michael Bennett
Frank Loesser
Ethel Merman
Jerome Kern
Irving Berlin (Though his estate partially owns The Music Box)
Florenz Ziegfeld (Though there's a movie theatre named after him)

There are more too. Larson wrote ONE show. One mediocre, but long running show. It was about HIV/AIDS, an important topic, but so was Angels in America, so were plenty of marvelous works from that period. Rent is now a dated period piece. It was very exciting, even if it was mediocre, to have such a vibrant cast performing a show about such an important issue when it opened. It's really dated itself almost as bad as Chorus Line has. He does not deserve to have a theatre named after him. In my opinion (and I'm being serious), Lena Horne deserves to have the Nederlander named after her more than Jonathan Larson.

[MiniMenzel08]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 9:09pm

"If that that is your opinion than feel free to create a thread about someone you admire. Please don't come here to trash on someone who inspired me. Where's the love?"

I agree!!!!

[nate2]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 9:43pm

Who cares...he's dead. Rent is old news, and now Broadway can get a much better show into that theater!!

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 9:52pm

^ When you say a much better show, do you mean something like Legally Blonde?

That was probably the most disgusting post I've ever read on BWW.

[jv92]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 10:18pm

Really nate2, I don't like Rent and I don't think he deserves to have the Nederlander named after him but your post is really rude and obnoxious. Shame on you.

[sally1112]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 10:34pm

Wow. A new low for some of you.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 10:48pm

nate2, ever heard of class? seriously.
you should consider retracting that post...

[lightmycandleNYC]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 11:37pm

Just got in from seeing tonight's performance of RENT on broadway. I won the lottery and front row center seats. I couldn't think of anything else to do to honor the anniversary of Jonathan Larson's death. The cast was ON FIRE tonight. More raw emotion and total commitment to the show than I've seen in a RENT performance in a while. I'd like to think the cast was thinking of Jonathan tonight too. Thank You, Jonathan Larson. Rest in Peace.

[sally1112]

Posted: 1/25/08 at 11:39pm

Thank you.

[nukin]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 12:25am

LET"S NOT FORGET JONATHAN'S BIRTHDAY FEBRUARY 4TH.

[TheatreGal614]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 2:09am

personally i luv RENT, it was my first show to see on broadway and it gave me shivers in that really good way

and i would honestly feel just fine about them naming a theatre after jonathan larson. why? bc RENT took off like a freakin' rocket, he won a pulitzer, and he wasn't around to witness it. I mean, c'mon. that sux

[goodmorningbaltimore]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 2:37am

God Bless, Johnny. I only wish you could've stuck around so we could see what other amazing work you could create.

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 2:49am

"Art is about love - the love you never got as a child, the love you can't give as an adult, the love you can only give your work."

-Jonathan Larson

The quote that pretty much describes me and inspires me. Thank you.

[MiniMenzel08]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 10:33am

that is a great quote!!!

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 3:22pm

"What?? RENT did not change the world of musical theatre. OKLAHOMA! changed musical theatre. HAIR changed musical theatre. RENT did not."
THANK YOU. Finally someone said it.

Look, I think it's undeniably sad and frustrating that he didn't live to see RENT's success. But naming the theatre after him? I'm not so sure... I dunno, I listen to tick..tick...BOOM and I feel like I'm listening to RENT. It all just sounds the same. Sondheim, Loesser, Berlin, etc.. never sound the same.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 3:29pm

While I do agree that many moments in Rent and ttB! sound very similar, I think it's slightly unfair to say that as a condemnation, though. He didn't have a chance to develop his sound the way someone like Sondheim, who has lived to be able to write for DECADES has. Besides the fact that when he was working on ttB!, it wasn't intended to be the musical we know; it was a one-man show about his life and his struggles and his beliefs. Not to mention that if you think ALL of his work sounds the same, it's very obvious that you're basing that ONLY on Rent and ttB! and have never heard his other work.

And I'm sorry, but Rent DID change the history of musical theater. It may not have spun the genre on its head the way Oklahoma! and Hair did, but it is a mark and a piece of history, and anyone who understands the timeline of American musical theater should be able to see that. Sometimes I think people are so blinded by their participation in the vogue hatred of Rent that they can't look at it objectively anymore. In some ways, it's seen as to the 90's what Hair was to its time. It's not just histrionic fans who think Rent is the best thing ever that look at is as a turning point; scholars and academia acknowledge it as such, too.

Updated On: 1/26/08 at 03:29 PM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 3:31pm

I think RENT did make history, but I don't think it really changed the form the way some other msucials did. I did not mean to say it wasn't significant historically.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 3:39pm

Exactly. I'm not saying that RENT had no influence and it was nothing but a spot on Broadway history..but I really don't see how this changed the world of Broadway or anything.
And yes, you're quite right, it is unfair to use that as a condemnation. I don't want to say something stupid like "he died, so too bad he didn't have time to develop his shows", and maybe it's just because I have never connected with ANY of his work, not just TTB or RENT, but it's just a matter of opinion that I truly don't think it would be fair to other composers.
And trust me, I do not have a dislike for RENT because it's popular, that is just an unfair presumption. I first heard the recording when I was in the 6th grade, and I was pretty captivated by it for that whole year only because it was so different, but I never LOVED it or LIKED it. It was interesting to me at that age, but once I got over that initial curiosity, RENT did absolutely nothing for me. I could make a list WHY but apparantly we are not allowed to insult the show too much on this thread.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 3:47pm

I wasn't presuming that YOU in particular dislike Rent because it's popular. If I thought that, I would have said it. I'm not afraid to call people out. I said that I think PEOPLE do, and that is precisely what I meant. There are people who bash it because they think it'll make them look smarter, or better of above it all, and because they don't want to be associated with such a rabid fanbase. And they let that blind them to anything positive about the show, because they feel as though giving it any credit whatsoever would be to give in to the masses.

A lot of these statements we throw around about changing the face of Broadway, etc. are hyperbolic by nature. Think about the way we talk about Spring Awakening: "Broadway will never be the same!" Rent didn't change everything we knew about musical theater, or completely deconstruct everything a musical was thought to be (like, say, Company), but it was a turning point and it did open doors.

Updated On: 1/26/08 at 03:47 PM

[jv92]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 4:01pm

Floyd Collins opened more doors that season than Rent did.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 4:05pm

Floyd Collins is stunning, but comparing them is like apples and oranges a little bit, is it not? The wild success of Rent paved the way for a lot of the things to come, and part of its historic influence is characterized BY its explosive popularity. Floyd Collins has more or less faded into obscurity.

Also, (and this is not meant to be snarky), I'd be curious as to how you'd back that up. Because right now, it's just an empty statement. Dropping that with no substance to support it is rather useless.

Updated On: 1/26/08 at 04:05 PM

[jv92]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 4:13pm

For me, Floyd Collins started to bring the American musical out of the dank, disgusting hole it was in durring the late 80s and early 90s. It paid homage to everything that came before it from Rodgers and Hammerstein to Sondheim, but was its own completely new and different animal. Rent helped the American musical about as much as Hair did. Just because you have fresh, hip people in the company and rock music does not mean you are innovative. Hair did about as much for the American musical as New Faces of '52. Same for Rent, aside from the fact that it was the first musical theatre phenomenon since Chorus Line.


On another note, I also really hated Rent's original tagline- "Don't you hate the word 'musical'?". It absolutely disgusted me. I think everyone's smart enough to figure out why and I know a lot of people feel the same way.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 4:19pm

It really said that? Huh. Well, thankfully they've come up with a lot more poignant things to say (and more representative of the show!) over the years.

I see what you're saying -- and that's why I said it was like apples and oranges. They're both looking in two different directions for their intention: one a hat-tipping homage without remaining in the dark, the other pushing forward for something new.

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 1/26/08 at 5:41pm

I don't understand how Floyd Collins opened more doors for musical theatre than RENT.

Also, while no Broadway theatres should be named as the Jonathan Larson, I can imagine an Off-Broadway house being renamed as the Larson. (Laurie Beechman has a little dinner-theatre named after her, right?)