I think those members of the OBC returning is quite a happy median of the 2 ends of the spectrum. I -wanted- unknowns chosen by the same casting director who cast the OBC, but I figured there would be a lot of stunt casting instead. I know they are older, but their voices still kick ass. I am glad they are attempting to do what Jonathan would have wanted, and I hope that Jonathan as well as the members of the OBC involved get all of the respect and fame that they very much deserve.
I'm still nervous as to who will be Mimi...I know Daphne is out of the question but I don't want it to be someone widely known. I want to be able to sit in the theatre and think to myself 'This is Mimi' rather than 'Oh it's Christina Agulara (or whoever) pretending to be poor'. It would also make me very happy if the movie was directly dedicated to Jonathan, because he always dreamed of being well known and respected. He once said "I am striving to become a writer and composer of musicals-I am 25 and am faced with a dilemma. Although I am a sentimental romantic who loves old fashioned musicals, I am a member of a very unsentimental unromantic generation, who basically think musicals are too corny. I feel that if I want to establish myself with "the powers that be" in the theatre, I must compose music that appeals to the older ears in the production companies and audiences. But if I want to try to cultivate a new audience for musicals, I must write shows with a score that MTV ears will accept. If you were me, which audience would you write for?". I think it's about time that the 'MTV ears' learn who Jonathan is and find that there ARE Broadway shows that they just might enjoy.
Again about the ages. Jonathan's description of Rent found on his computer after he died is as follows: 'In these dangerous times, where it seems the world is ripping apart at the seems, we all can learn how to survive from those who stare death squarely in the face every day and [we] should reach out to each other and bond as a community, rather than hide from the terrors of life at the end of the millennium'.
Nowhere does it say that these people absolutely NEED to be young. If these OBC members can convey this message as wonderfully as they did in 1996, then I fully support them being in the movie and am very excited to see it now.
About the Broadway actors getting big heads:
Fame is what most of them want. I'd be very happy for them even if it does make them more inaccessible to me. The fact is, they are aging, and new talent is coming to Broadway every year. If they have the opportunity to get the fame and glory that most of them probably secretly desire (after all, they are only human) before they are 'replaced' then they shouldn't be criticized for seizing that opportunity.
:steps down from soapbox::
Here in this cold white room tied up to these machines, it's hard to imagine life as it used to be. Laughing, screaming, tumbling queen... Like the most amazing light show you've ever seen. Whirling, swirling, never blue... How could you go and die? What a selfish thing to do...
RIP Jason
Updated On: 10/28/04 at 05:41 PM
Oh well.
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