The Rent Welcome Wagon — Page 15

haha, yeah. WOW indeed. C'est la vie; to each his own. My mother has never seen Rent, though I keep telling her she must. She just hasn't really gotten to it yet because she put it off so long in my better interests. She's pretty forgiving with subject matter, and always asks me a lot of questions about it, but she can never fully appreciate my rants and raves.

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When I was eleven, I "got" it. My cousins took me to see the show, having had an uncle die of AIDS, practically being a mom to my younger brother, and random other things - they figured I'd get it. Loved it then, love it now. It's part of the reason I like to say I grew up between eleven and thirteen. It helped.

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back to the reactions of the parents:

Never have actually seen it... but once in the car I put in my Rent CD and my parents were for the most part okay until
'Benny! Sh*t! Dudes I'm on my way. Great! F*ck!'
they let that slide... but then came Tango: Maureen... ooh boy. The look on my mom's face was priceless. I made sure to skip over Contact so that they would at least give the show a chance...Now they're okay with it because I explained how if they are going to deprive me of actually seeing the show, the least they can do is let me listen to it

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this is very interesting to me as a parent...

my oldest is 11 and none of them have heard RENT yet nor will they be taken to see it anytime soon (partially because they live in Barbados - and partially because they are too young)

I'm very strict about what I let them watch and they aren't nearly as hip as you guys..(not yet anyway) but then I'm completely honest with them on "real-life-subjects" (sex, drugs, hygeine, war, etc.)

opinions?

f-

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My mother doesn't get it. Never has. Never will. She enjoys Seasons of Love and that's about it. I convinced my chorus teacher to do Seasons of Love at my senior chorus concert, and I was soloist #1. This actually had her sort of wanting to see RENT. Then my friend and I performed Take Me Or Leave Me for her.

Needless to say, she doesn't want to see RENT anymore.

*grumble* One day, I'll get her there. And she'll love it. But today, tomorrow, and the next day - are not that day.

Thank god I've always been allowed to listen to whatever the hell I wanted to listen to.

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I'm certainly not qualified to give parenting advice, but an eleven year old probably wouldn't really understand Rent anyway. I think the key is to just know that kids do grow up and after a certain age you don't need to pretend that some things don't exist. My mom still thinks I barely know what sex is, and I'm in highschool. Not realistic.

Emcee and Glory, some people just don't get it. It has happened to me too. Kinda sad, really.

My parents always kept me pretty sheltered for the most part. I hated it, and sometimes still do, but somehow I ended up getting out of it all an open-minded individual. In terms of Rent in particular, it's a heavy thing to take, and because it's come to be so important to me now, I'm thankful that my parents didn't give in to my early-teenage whining and let me see it when I was 13 or 14. My parents were never particularly "honest" with me about stuff, they sort of just assume I'm going to pick it up in one place or another, but I think they should've been moreso; that's a really important thing.

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Updated On: 11/24/04 at 12:32 AM

This is gonna sound completely cliche and suck-upish, but Rent honest to G-d changed my life.
I had never seen a show like it, and I have seen few that have moved me the same way since.
At eleven and knew absolutely nothing about the AIDS crisis.
At my middle school, being “gay” meant being stupid (like what "lame" used to mean before the PC craze).
It showed me a world that I, a spoiled prep school upper-middle-class girl from the Orlando suburbs, had never seen before.
The first time I saw Angel's death scene was the first time I ever remember sobbing, literally sobbing during a show.
It was also the first show I remember seeing with characters with real life problems. The show showed me a world that was scary not because it was a wild gross fantasy but because it was a reality.
It is also the only show were I have had the same powerful reactions to every time I have seen it so far.
But I'll be the first to admit that having this completely culture shock at eleven, A LOT of the martial went straight over my head, and it wasn't until I saw the show again four years later that I think I actually "got" the show.

somewhat random, but that line
Benny!
Sh*t!
Dudes I'm on my way.
Great! F*ck!
is what taught me the f-word
thank you Peter Matthew Smith

Updated On: 11/24/04 at 12:38 AM

Star- I didn't say more than five sentances for the rest of the day following the first time I saw Rent. No piece of art or media has ever done that to me (not that I've been alive long enough for that to be a big statement). It's a lot to absorb and something that I think everyone should.

The first time I saw Angel's death scene was the first time I ever remember sobbing, literally sobbing during a show.
It was also the first show I remember seeing with characters with real life problems. The show showed me a world that was scary not because it was a wild gross fantasy but because it was a reality.
It is also the only show were I have had the same powerful reactions to every time I have seen it so far.

agreed. i mean, i've shed a couple of tears during wicked, but never like rent. right after happy new year b, i'm bawling throughout the entire second act. even though i don't exactly live a bohemia lifestyle, i could still totally relate to the characters, which i think is one of the largest appeals of rent. you truly feel for roger, mark, mimi, collins, maureen, angel, joanne, and benny because you ARE them. this show isn't some make believe utopia, it's REAL LIFE. (and you all know my obsession with the literal)

Fredi, I like your philosophy.

Beka, I felt similarly. The characters' personalities bear a strong resemblance to people I know and so it was like watching my friends die...