Am I the only person who hated Rent?- Page 2

[Marquise]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:29pm

"Rent" is dated. "Rent" was even a little dated when it premiered in 1996. Certain aspects of the show were dated already. The East Village "performance artist scene" depicted in the show was all but a memory in 1996. Also the use of beepers to remind HIV+ patients to take their AZT meds was also a thing of the past. The East Village by that point was experiencing a gentrification and alot of the buildings and the area itself were undergoing major renovations. New upper-scale businesses were cropping up and of course the rent there was increasing. So as far as "Rent" giving you an accurate picture of what was going on in 1996 it really wasn't a good one. The show is more a combination of different elements and experiences of that area that Jonathan Larson himself experienced. I think this is why for the movie they went more for a mid to late 1980s time frame because it's more believable in that context. After a couple of years everything that was set in a "current time period" starts to look dated. I'm sure by 1972 "Hair" looked ancient to some people. As far as you hating the show, I say "to each his own".


Updated On: 4/17/05 at 03:29 PM

[hak]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:30pm

my friend Linda hated it too. she said since she wasn't a drug addict or lesbian she couldn't "relate" to the theme of the show. which means that she didn't open her mind to look beneath the surface and see the that the theme is LOVE

as far as the age thing goes, i'm 40 and love the show.

[Marquise]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:32pm

Boy that is one narrow minded comment!:

...she wasn't a drug addict or lesbian she couldn't "relate" to the theme of the show

she TOTALLY missed the boat on this one hak.

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:37pm

YES! Ugh Rent is so awesome, I can't even describe it. It's not everyone's cup of tea though.

[jeremykushnier1fan]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:38pm

Wow, i didn't know so many people had such negitive feelings towards it!

I geuss i didn't know that cause i loved it so much myself. Well, i feel you have to be open-minded to accept this musical. If you go into the theatre assuming what your going to see than you'll never be ready for rent.I mean i did my research before i saw it and i had a good idea of what was going to happen. Than when i saw it i got all i thought...PLUS MUCH MUCH more that i never expected!!(but i loved it all)

So please go into a theatre with an open mind.

[magic8ball]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:49pm

THANK YOU, MARQUISE! I scrolled through all of these posts and became sadder and sadder when I realized how few people actually see "Rent" for what it is. "Rent" is a PERIOD PIECE. It's about a very specific time period, a very specific location, and a very specific demographic. To view it and expect to see characters that you could meet tomorrow on the street is moronic.

Personally, I love the show. But to fully appreciate it, I also believe that you have to understand that what you're watching is a depiction of something that doesn't exist anymore (or, at least, not NEARLY to the extent that it did during the time period in which the show takes place). The thing that makes "Rent" so noteworthy is the ability of its themes to transcend the limitation of the time period and reach out to anyone who sees it. "No day but today" is and always will pertinent to an audience. But, to fully understand the content of "Rent", it's my opinion that one needs to FIRST understand the envelope that it comes in... which is its historical background and relevance. Honestly, if I viewed the show and didn't take any of that into consideration, I don't think that I would like it nearly as much. I certainly wouldn't understand where Larson was going with the writing. Actually, I'd probably think that it was a mess.

Updated On: 4/17/05 at 03:49 PM

[WISHIHADATONY]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:57pm

the legendary Tony Randall very publicly and vocally announced that he absolutely HATED "Rent." He went on to explain why, but he kept repeating that he absolutely HATED it.

[magic8ball]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:00pm

Yeah- I don't really understand where the person who started this thread is coming from. In my experience with people in the theatre community, it's become almost as trendy to hate "Rent" as to like it.

Updated On: 4/17/05 at 04:00 PM

[insomniak]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:12pm

I'm no expert as to how dated Rent is or is not, but I want to disagree with the people who think Rent is only good if you go in knowing the backround. I saw it randomly one time because my school got us ten dollar discount tickets; I had no clue what it was. I loved it, though I did find it difficult to follow at times. (Nosebleed seats)

The dated thing I will believe, but I'm not so sure that that automatically makes Rent a BAD show. If I had known when it was supposed to have been set and realized that didn't match up with the appropriate period, I might have felt differently. I really didn't know what was accurate or not, so I suppose knowing those things could change an opinion. If you only hate Rent because of the missetting, though, I think you ought to try to look at it as a whole show and then judge.

[magic8ball]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:15pm

insomniak, I think that the fact that "Rent" is period material ENHANCES it. Like I said in my previous post, I wouldn't like it nearly as much if I didn't understand where Larson was coming from when he wrote it.

My point is that there are a lot of weaknesses in the show's material that would normally bother the hell out of me- but it totally changes my perspective when I take the historical context of the show into consideration.

Updated On: 4/17/05 at 04:15 PM

[maybethistime]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:16pm

Aside from a few select songs, I cannot stand RENT at all. It sounds like an excuse for mediocre actors to scream at the top of their lungs.

[magic8ball]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:24pm

^once AGAIN, no understanding of the show's historical context

[insomniak]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:27pm

Who doesn't understand, 8ball?

That may be the case for you. I guess I can only speak for myself when I say I liked it without knowing when it was set, other than at a time when AIDS medicine was less advanced. Having never seen the real Villiage, I didn't compare it to anything and focused more on the score, storyline, characters and overall point.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:33pm

I adore it - and I always will.

As far as being "DATED," come on guys. That's a rediculous statement and it doesn't make any sense.

[Plum]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:37pm

It completely wasn't the setting that made me dislike the show. I can handle historical context. I didn't like the show because the main characters were whiny and unsympathetic, the music was over-amplified, and the singers couldn't enunciate to save their lives. I liked Angel and Collins, but that wasn't enough to save things.

[magic8ball]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:38pm

"Who doesn't understand, 8ball?"

maybethistime. Clearly.

insomniak, I already responded to your post earlier.

"As far as being "DATED," come on guys. That's a rediculous statement and it doesn't make any sense."

The content is dated. The themes are not.

[Becky]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:38pm

Yes. You are the only person *ever* to dislike Rent.

(from someone who isn't a fan of posts that begin with "am I the only one who....")

Is anyone EVER going to be in the category of being the only one in reference to anything? Yet, I've lost count of the number of posts that begin that way.
Updated On: 4/17/05 at 04:38 PM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:42pm

"The content is dated. The themes are NOT."

This can be said about almost any show in the history of musical theatre. RENT is no more dated than LES MISERABLES or WEST SIDE STORY.

[Plum]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:45pm

Of course there's tons of shows that aren't set in the modern day. As far as I can see, the difference between "historical" and "dated" is in the quality of the writing. Either the show transcends its time or it doesn't. For me, Rent did fine at transcending its particular setting. I just didn't like it.

[magic8ball]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:46pm

Yes- you're right. "Rent" is as much a period piece as "Les Miserables". Which is my point.

[maybethistime]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:49pm

I understant it. I know everything it stands for and tried to convey about poor, AIDS-effected people, etc. I think that is a fabulous idea for a musical. I just don't like, enjoy or appreciate this one.

[TGIF]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:52pm

I have to ask...

When people say its "dated" and thats a "bad thing" are they really saying that the show is just tired? It has been running for 9 years and some of the people (Matt Caplan) have been with the show for many years. I think it needs to be tightened up and refreshed. Maybe a new cast? *shrugs*

As for having to know the show/ideas before see RENT, I don't know. I knew the whole show before I saw it, so I have no clue if it would be hard to follow if you didn't know it.

[magic8ball]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:52pm

maybethistime, don't get me wrong. I wasn't jumping on you because you said that you don't like it. I was jumping on you because someone who "gets" the show surely wouldn't call it "an excuse for mediocre actors to scream at the top of their lungs."

[Steve2]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 4:54pm

Yes

[Plum]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 5:07pm

You can "get" what the show is trying to do and still think it doesn't do a very good job of it.