Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp back to RENT starting 7/30 — Page 4

I'm not playing the victim at all. But I've been on a few threads that discuss RENT and I inevitably get angry messages directed at me for saying that I don't like the show and why. I'm just trying to head people off and show them that I respect their opinions and that they don't need to question that.

ETA: I wouldn't really call a post like the one above "a respectful discussion." One can't discuss and be dismissive at the same time.

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Updated On: 5/3/07 at 12:16 PM

Now I thought Pascal and Rapp were too old to play the roles in the realistic film and was very vocal about it, but I don't have a problem with them recreating their roles on stage a decade later.

On stage I doubt they look much different than they did ten years ago, and there is always a certain suspension of belief in the theatre anyway.

Yes it would be nice if they aren't playing opposite a 20 year old Maureen and Benny, but as others have said, they certainly aren't the only people to have played these roles on Broadway who are in their mid-late 30s.

I do think RENT is gearing up to close within the next year and this is a nice chance for them to have one last fair well. I have no problem with it.

Updated On: 5/3/07 at 12:28 PM

Just bought third row tickets for a weeknight in August - perfect birthday present for my brother (who stole my copy of the movie and won't give it back, lol)! Very excited.

Oh I am so lotto-ing for this. Or standing room, if I get desperate. As long as Adam doesn't have the hideous hair from the movie or his Aida man-boobs, I'm all good.

wow. Now I understand why he was nervous about taking off more clothes in Aida, lol

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I will narrow it down to myself, since I'm the only one I can really speak for. I personally find it hard to accept people who are starving artists and who are in their thirties then. I myself am a writer, but I also work as an administrative assistant. I don't expect people to help me just because I'm creating beautiful works. So my complaint has to do more with the the characters themselves rather than the age of the characters. But I could accept it more in a younger person who hasn't had a lot of experience yet.

I hope that answers your question. I do understand what you're getting at.

ETA: This is not to insult anyone who currently is a "starving artist." I only have a problem with the ones who feel entitled to something (as I feel the characters in RENT seem to portray), not the ones who are working very hard in every direction they can. I know I am and I respect the rest of you who are doing it as well.

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Updated On: 5/3/07 at 12:47 PM

SorryGrateful, I totally agree with everything you said. I dragged some friends to see Rent with me, and none of us are rich or privileged. They all go to school full-time and work at least part-time and have to commute to school and work. The people that Rent was supposed to speak for were actually angry at the characters. They felt that the characters had major entitlement issues who whined too much about things that could have been solved once they found jobs. It wasn't the fact that they needed help that bothered them but it was their sense of not having to find work and not having to do anything but them wanting it anyway.

Why Adam and Anthony doing this is sort of sad to me is that I would think that they'd be bored with these roles by now. You sort of wish that Adam and Anthony were past that stage of their lives where they felt they needed to be bohemian starving artists and were in a stage where they could still represent what they believe in and yet do it in a way that isn't self-indulgent and immature. I know that they're actors and they need money, so it'll be stupid for them to not take advantage of the situation. However, I think it's a bit ironic considering the message of the show.

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yeah, I don't really get that either. I understand where you're coming from, but does that also mean that Luciano Pavarotti can't play Rodolfo, the starving artist, in La Boheme?

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The people that Rent was supposed to speak for were actually angry at the characters.

Would those same people be upset at the barber in "Sweeney" for killing people to make meat pies?

You sort of wish that Adam and Anthony were past that stage of their lives where they felt they needed to be bohemian starving artists and were in a stage where they could still represent what they believe in and yet do it in a way that isn't self-indulgent and immature.

What exactly do they "believe in" that would hinder them from recreating a Broadway role they helped make famous? Also, what is self-indulgent and immature about accepting the job, and what is it about this particular Broadway show that makes you feel this is beneath them?

Also, what is self-indulgent and immature about accepting the job, and what is it about this particular Broadway show that makes you feel this is beneath them?

The sentence you are responding to is horribly written and I apologize for causing confusion. I was editing it, and in terms of what they believe in and being self-indulgent, I forgot that I was no longer talking about the characters of Rent but Adam and Anthony in the sentence.

What I meant to say was that not that they can't believe in the message of the show, but as 30-something year-olds who originated the role more than 10 years ago, had success since then, and were able to play the characters on film two years go, I would think that playing these characters would be tiresome. It gets to the point where it's ridiculous to be screaming about not wanting to pay rent when you're taking this job to do just that. Yes, again, I know they aren't their characters and that they're only actors. However, people take jobs that interests them and that they can relate to, unless they're starving actors who'll take whatever they can get. Many Rent-fans have established that Adam and Anthony are not those people. So either Anthony and Adam are recreating these roles because they enjoy the characters and love the message, doing it to take a job and get paid, or believe their doing Rent-fans a favor by returning to these roles.

What ever the reason, I think it's funny. One is that they still believe in the message and like the characters, which is what I personally find sad. The other is that they're doing it to pay their rent which is funny considering what the show is about and what it means to people. And the third is them being self-indulgent.

Of course, the fourth reason could be that they actually like the music and material of Rent. If that's the reason, then there's nothing I can really say about it.

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Great! Now if only Idina would come back during the same time period, I'd be thrilled. Not holding my breath! I saw the original cast many moons ago, but am taking some relatives who weren't old enough to see the show back then.

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Yes, and now Anthony has posted one saying it is confirmed, as well as the new article BWW just posted.

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However, I hope that you had the same complaints when Will Chase, Tim Howar, Christopher Hanke (who is in his 30s despite his given age), and various other mid-30s actors were hired.
Exactly. Tim Howar, Luther Creek, Karmine Alers and Shaun Earl are just as old if not older than Adam and Anthony, and there has yet to be a thread whining about them. Don't claim it's about RENT and not Adam and Anthony if you've never once objected to older actors in Rent before now.

You sort of wish that Adam and Anthony were past that stage of their lives where they felt they needed to be bohemian starving artists
It's not like these are the only roles they've ever had. They have worked since Rent. Besides, they're actors. Actors rarely grow out of the "starving artist", working paycheck to paycheck routines. Ever seen A Chorus Line?

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