Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Mark2
Chorus Member Joined: 4/17/05
#0Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:18pmI'm new here so forgive me if this has been beaten to death, BUT! I see so much here about Rent....I saw it for the first time over this past Xmas with Nick Lachay's brother and Frenchie, et. al.......aside from Frenchie's solo and the girl who played Mimi (AMAZING...wait check my Playbill...her name is Krystal Washington).........I thought the whole thing was really dated. Do people like that exist anymore? That neighborhood they were supposed to be living in is totally high rent now and not a vacant lot in sight (if there is a vacant lot, I can't even imagine it's value today) Those people would have cell phones and Ipods now. The music was good but Nick Lachay kept defaulting to his 98 degrees voice. The whole thing had a "phoned in" quality to it which I know has a tendancy to happen to long running shows........
broadwaystar2b
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/28/04
#1re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:21pm
The show is of course circa 1996 so iPods wouldn't be in existence then
but do people who live life as outcasts, are poor and have AIDS still exist, the sad answer is yes
but as far as your distaste towards it, perhaps it wasn't your cup of tea, and that's ok
#2re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:21pm
you're not the only one. My dad can't stand Rent. I, on the other hand, love it.
jera
"It's not a problem, it's just a challenge, it's a challenge, to resist temptation."
#3re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:22pm
The answer to your question is Yes .You are a freak, because RENT is the best show ever! 
Okay, slightly joking there. I suggest seeing it again without Drew...it might change your opinion. And it's too bad you feel it's "dated" because it still deals with issues that are very relevant today, even though the show is adecade old. It perfectly portrays what was going on at tha ttime, wh ocares if the area changed, you can't expect the show to be revamped every year to keep up with whats going on in the Village. The show is AMAZING!
Sunchips: Best Kept Secret in the chip aisle!!
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#4re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:22pm
No.
You are not the only person.
I consider myself, however, to be one of the earliest individuals to dislike RENT.
Updated On: 4/17/05 at 01:22 PM
Mark2
Chorus Member Joined: 4/17/05
#5re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:23pmI saw it with my parents (the only thing left at TKTS) and they hated it too.....I felt so bad for them..........
#6re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:30pm
I believe that the people who don't like Rent are those going into the show without any background information, either not knowing the plot/not having the recording, or not understanding Jonathan Larson. All of that together makes Rent one hell of a show!
However, my mom said "I have no interest in seeing it" yet I am taking her this Deember because I saw it and LOVED it...It's just not some people's cup o'tea. Some people say it's too 'whiney' with them complaining about how they can't afford rent, yet there's a deeper meaning, and they do have reasons why they can't afford it.
People are allowed to like/dislike anything they want.
And the other thing about the Phantom Lady was, Bert, she realized, in the city that never sleeps...
What did she realize, Kitten?
That all the songs she'd listened to, all the love songs, that they were only songs.
What's wrong with that?
Nothing, if you don't believe in them. But she did, you see. She believed in enchanted evenings, and she believed that a small cloud passed overhead and cried down on a flower bed, and she even believed there was breakfast to be had...
Where?
On Pluto. The mysterious, icy wastes of Pluto.
FosseBoi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/30/04
#7re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:30pmYou liked Krystal!? Imo she was HORRABLE! You guys arnt the only few, my friends dosnt like it. He said that it is NOT all what its hyped up to be, in his opinion. I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
"I've always secretly longed for an actress to get to the top of the cherry picker and projectile vomit all over the guards below."- Wonderwaiter in the "Defy Gravity?" thread.
~~~~~~~~My dream? Sutton Foster as Cassie in A Chorus Line
LouW95
Leading Actor Joined: 9/27/03
#8re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:30pmRENT was not high up there in my opinion. I saw the great shows of the 1950s, 60s and early 70s so please understand where I am coming from. I did enjoy many shows from the 1980s on but most did not have the singable music as did the fine older Bway musicals.
#9re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:31pmNo, Mark you're not the only one. I hate Rent and have always hated rent and will always hate rent.
And hang on, when did you win the discus?
#10re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:35pmI agree with EverythingIsRENT, go see it without Drew. Maybe you'll enjoy it more.
A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.
#11re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:38pm
so, i'm getting the impression it's all the "older" people who don't like RENT. You have to be young and hip to enjoy it!
Sunchips: Best Kept Secret in the chip aisle!!
ikmbway
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/05
#12re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:39pmYeah definately go see it without Drew Lachey! I am in love with Rent and its amazing. Dont think of it logically now i mean its from 1996 and its in that time not in 2005. Think of it as if it were 1996
Mark2
Chorus Member Joined: 4/17/05
#13re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:41pmFosseBoi..I thought Krystal was amazing during "Out Tonight" that whole thing she did on the fence, bouncing up and down, back layouts, etc..........I was exhausted from a hard day at work and just couldn't believe how much energy she had....
#14re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:43pm
well, what you were seeing WAS her "hard day at work" lol she probably rests all day to prepare for a show.
Sunchips: Best Kept Secret in the chip aisle!!
Updated On: 4/17/05 at 01:43 PM
DAME
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/15/04
#15re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:43pmNo. I hated Rent. And I felt it was dated from the very beginging. ( And I saw it with the original cast). And that comment someone made earlier about it being a age thing. That is Bull. A good show is a good show no matter what.
HUSSY POWER!
------ HUSSY POWER!
Mark2
Chorus Member Joined: 4/17/05
#16re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 1:46pm
EverythingisRENT.....It may having to do with being "older" in that musicals have changed over the years (Andrew Lloyd Weber and now these "juke box musicals") I agree with LouW95. I much prefer the older, more singable classic musical comedys from "yesterday"..as a whole they were much more creative and original..(and YES I do think that Rent was creative and original, I guess just "not my cup of tea" as others have said) and that's all I'll bore you with about my opinion of
Rent....
musicnmath
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/13/05
#17re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 2:01pm
Actors, sound quality, and background can really make the difference.
I took my parents to see RENT (one of the first tours) where the sound was so horrible that we moved to an unoccupied area of the theatre at intermission so I could sit between them during the 2nd Act and literally sing along so they could understand what was happening. They *love* La Boheme (the opera), so I tried to explain the characters and who was with whom beforehand. didn't help.
I took my mom to see it again two years ago. We sat closer. Better sound. She knew the story better. She loved it.
That said, obviously we don't all love the same shows. Or even like them. I can't stand Phantom or any of the old stuff from the so-called Golden Era. Doesn't matter what actors/sets/lighting/sound you show me, I just don't like it.
#18re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 2:03pm
Well, i have no clue how you could ever possibly hate RENT?!
But, if you saw it with Drew then...well maybe i could see how you wouldn't like Mark...but the story behind the whole produnction is amazing and touching.
RENT, is, in m thoughts more for the younger generation...but older people may like it too. Buut if a vote was taken...it would be mostly the younger population who enjoyed it.
Yes, it is very different from your classic broadway show, but i always love change!
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#19re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 2:18pmI didn't like it much when I saw it- I think it was around 2001. Basically, when you find yourself thinking that the central characters are whiny brats who should quit squatting and find a job, something's off.
#20re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 2:26pmto answer your question, no....my friend Bob hates it too.
There's always room for pathos - and jazz hands.
#21re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 2:38pm
I think that it is (wow I can't believe I am about to say this...) ok to not like RENT (has to sit down from the excessive amount of effort it took to "say" that) everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Like I can not stand Smokey Joe's Cafe...other people adore it. Thats ok. Just try to keep your silly dislikes to yourself (just kidding) 
Seriously, try to see it without Drew. He is too boyband for the role. I'm sure he will be gone soon enough. Get some background info and think of it as 1996 not 2005 as others have said. RENT is a show that envokes alot of emotion and passion. Go in with an open heart and you should love it.
"All the while making faces like a baby platypus who forget to take some Beano before eating a chimichanga." FindingNamo in reference to Jessica Simpson's singing.
TheatreDiva90016
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/04
#22re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 2:41pm
While I didn't HATE it, I did find it "less than acceptable". I'm glad I had heard the OBC recording before hand or I wouldn't have known what the frig was going on.
I noticed that a couple of posters said that maybe the audience wasn't in the know, but you shouldn't have to know the plot ahead of time for a show to work. It should stand on it's own.
It's sort of like the movie version of DUNE. It was SO confusing that I walked out. Later, folks said, "I helped if you had read the books before." Sorry, but that a load of bull.
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
kelzama
Broadway Star Joined: 9/14/04
#23re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 2:44pm
I've seen a lot of musicals where I didn't like some characters but cared for others, or maybe didn't care for the music but enjoyed the storyline. The tour of Rent that I saw had characters who showed no redeemable qualities (well stated, Plum), the sound was terrible, the music sounded loud and boringly bubblegum, and the choreography was uninspired.
I'm willing to make allowances for bad sound mixing (not the performers' fault) but with a combination of bland script and virtually no character development, that doesn't leave much for an audience member to latch onto.
BwayBaby18
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/19/05
#24re: Am I the only person who hated Rent?
Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:14pm
I HATED IT WITH A FIREY PASSION
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