17 ways RENT lied to you- Page 2
17 ways RENT lied to you
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#25In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/22/13 at 4:47pm
It was cold that winter.
I remember Rent being at New York Theatre Workshop. It was freezing that winter and they couldn't give tickets away. And this was after Jonathan's death. But somebody got behind the show and hired a top notch publicity machine. That publicity machine kicked into high gear and suddenly Rent was everywhere and there was a line down to Port Authority to get a $20 seat.
Was Rent the greatest musical? No. But it came along at a time when there was a lull in Broadway musicals. It was the first musical of the 1990s to give audiences something different. There were excellent shows in the early to mid-90s, but Rent was outside the norm.
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#26In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/22/13 at 4:50pm
"I totally never noticed that they ordered all vegetarian food during "La Vie Boheme."
Jonathan Larsen used to work as a waiter in a greasy spoon diner. I've often wondered if this was his response to all the greasy hamburgers he had to dish up.
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#27In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/22/13 at 5:05pm
#15 is the most wrong of all. If Mimi Imfurst can shoot a subway dancing music video without being knocked out by a true superhero fighting for the peace of the people, then anyone can pull off a choreographed dance routine on a subway without annoying people.
Mimi Imfurst can dance on a subway, so Buzzfeed's wrong
MCfan2
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/06
#28In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/22/13 at 7:02pm
"'its a musical stupid.' It sure was. It makes you appreciate the musical smart all the more."
Joe wins the thread!!
Hannahbelle
Understudy Joined: 9/20/08
#29In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/22/13 at 10:30pmRent came out when I was 13. At that time, I knew that I was queer, and that I wanted something different from the life my parents were giving me, but I didn't know what it was or how to do it. Rent, imperfect and sometimes illogical as it is, showed me some options. Maureen was the first bisexual character that I met who was a person first and queer as a secondary characteristic, and she (and Idina) became my hero. I loved that the show valued community and art over money and "the American Dream". It changed my life. I know many friends who are about my age who felt the same way about that show. So I don't know if it would have made it to Broadway without Jonathan's death, but I'm sure that it would have had at least a niche audience of queer teenagers who didn't quite know what to do with their lives.
#30In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/23/13 at 7:18pmYour relentless use of the word, "queer," both offends and annoys me. Please stop. It is not politically correct.
#31In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/23/13 at 7:36pm
Um, this isn't an akita.
"I totally never noticed that they ordered all vegetarian food during "La Vie Boheme."
I hate them."
The Life Cafe was vegetarian. 
Wanting life but never knowing how
Hannahbelle
Understudy Joined: 9/20/08
#32In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/23/13 at 10:21pmI don't care if queer is politically correct. It's part of my identity.
#33In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/23/13 at 10:23pm
CONAires, HannahBelle's use of "queer" is academically correct and not derogatory, but not especially common in conversation.
Queer, in its academic sense, is anything that does not fall strongly under the heteronormative-patriarchal umbrella. Anything gay, anything bi, anything kinky, anything experimental... even masturbation and feminist activism are considered queer acts or queer ways of being by many theorists. The number of people who fall one hundred percent outside the "queer umbrella" is extremely small, as even the staunchest Republican has surely watched a little porn or touched themselves once or twice- thus committing allegedly "deviant," "non-normative" and ultimately queer acts. But fear and a strongly-ingrained culture of gendered sexualities make queer acts and queer people stigmatized as a lumped group, though they may not be a minority at all.
Platypus
Featured Actor Joined: 11/13/07
#34In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/23/13 at 10:56pm
The Life Cafe was never vegetarian. The items mentioned in the song were never actually available there. I believe they eventually added Huevos Rancheros to the breakfast menu to satisfy the Rentheads but most of the menu was burgers and various forms of meat.
Updated On: 9/23/13 at 10:56 PM
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#35In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/23/13 at 11:10pmActually the Life Cafe started going for political correctness in the 90s. It started serving some tofu dishes. They said they closed due to rent increase, but I think it was trying to change their essence from regular restaurant to hippie enclave that did them in.
#36In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/24/13 at 12:37am
CONAries,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer
"Because of the context in which it was reclaimed, queer has sociopolitical connotations, and is often preferred by those who are activists; by those who strongly reject traditional gender identities; by those who reject distinct sexual identities such as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and straight; and by those who see themselves as oppressed by the heteronormativity of the larger culture."
Do a little research before you criticize one's word choice.
#37In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/24/13 at 3:30amI tend to think of "queer" as a modern version of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" - coopting the pejorative to take the sting away. However, as a straight female, it wouldn't be polite for me to use the term.
#38In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/24/13 at 8:59am
I agree that Rent is crap; crap on a par with crap like Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, 50 Shades of Grey, The DaVinci Code, The Sopranos, So You Think You Can Dance?, American Idol, Michele Bachman's career, Ann Coulter, Raymour & Flanigan furniture, Guy Fieri's American Kitchen & Bar, Trump Tower, etc., etc., etc.
Some crap makes a LOT of money and is very popular. But that doesn't change the fact that some people recognize the Crap Factor.
#39In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/24/13 at 9:21am
I've never been fond of "queer." I don't embrace it or identify with that word as a term for my orientation. Its meaning, according to Merriam-Webster is "differing in some odd way from what is usual or normal." If that's how you see yourself, fine. I don't see myself as differing in some odd way from what is usual or normal.
To me, it's like a mentally challenged person embracing "retarded" as an acceptable term.
Now ... back to bashing Rent ...
(... waits for someone to say "Rent is retarded ...")
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#40In 1996, we were raw from all the loss
Posted: 9/24/13 at 11:40am
RENT IS RETARDED.!!!!
Happy now Besty?
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