At RENT now...- Page 2

[winston89]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 10:49pm

Not suprised at all.

The think is that correct me if I am wrong. But, haven't Rent's grosses been pretty low for the longest time now?

If so, it amazes me that the producers can go on and actually keep the damn thing open.

[george95]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 10:50pm

I am now starting to remember a time when I saw RENT in Spring 2006. On the way out of the theater, there was a bottleneck walking out the sidedoors onto 41st St, and this guy came from behind me and elbowed me out of his way. Since he came from behind, I didnt see him, and he elbowed me so hard I lost my balance and almost fell on this old lady in front of me. I caught myself, just in time to come in contact with him again when I stopped myself from knocking the old lady down. So he put one hand on my face, and one hand on my chest, and knocked me all they down, said about 10 or 15 curse words, his girlfriend pulled him away, and by the time I got up, he was gone, and I was left with a bunch of suburban pre-teen girls taking pictures of me on the sidewalk with their cellphones. I went home and took my RENT cds out of my cd player (for the first time since 1996) and I vowed to never see the show again. But....RENT and I have since made up.

I hear what everyone is saying about closing it so it can go out with dignity. I think that would only work with tv shows--- like ending Seinfeld before it got really bad; stuff like that. But with RENT, since its supposed to be the same every night, I dont think the solution is to close it, I think the solution is to advertise it more, and make sure the cast is first rate.

[winter_sky]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 10:52pm

Well it's pretty cheap to keep open. It's pretty useless to speculate on it's closing since it's gone against the odds for years now.

I think the lack of locals and regulars at lottery has to do with the new lottery policy and some actors extensions. OH well.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 11:10pm

My prediction? It'll be gone by the end of this year.

I know some one who's in the cast and they know closing is definitely on the horizon.

[winter_sky]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 11:15pm

People say it'll close at the end of the year every year. At least since 2002. If people keep saying it every year, one of these years they're bound to be right. Also the cast never has any kind of idea what's going on. The fans knew about Adam and Anthony coming back before most of the cast did.

[brainlessorwise]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 11:33pm

Maybe I'm daft, but it seems people on this board are so eager to jump on a misspelling to signify the death of something.
Roger is the best Roger?
Daphne in the best Daphne?
What are we achieving with this?

Someone cared enough to post during the intermission of a show that means something to a lot of us. So, let’s insult the 13 year olds and this poster. Do we feel better now? I guess I don’t. Some people have the luxury of sitting here and judging everyone else. Go see a show. Have it matter to you and have the courage to post it, honestly from wherever you are in your life. Than sit back and wait for the barrage of dilettantes. It’s sure to come. I’m not impressed by them, but I’m likely to be impressed by you and your courage. This board is getting old. I’ve taken Into the Woods at stages. The first time I saw it I wanted to pour bleach directly into my eyeballs rather than sit through the second act. Now it is my Almanac.

Rent is my constant. My North. The cast is irrelevant to me. So be it. It concerns me that there is nothing better to discuss at BWW.com. Spelling. Hooked on Phonics has made the value of a generation of posters irrelevant. So, for me, yea, I’d be there in a heartbeat if it were not for the fact that life has dealt me a blow. I care about the Roger that is there today, whatever his name is. I care that the theater is empty. So, Roger is the best Roger. It may be a hidden compliment that someone like me would work through all that is reality to see it. For every moron ready to jump at the fact that you made a spelling error, there are ten of us who say nothing wanting to hear what you have to say.

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 11:35pm

I also heard that the closing is on the horizon by the end of this year. I know that is said every year but this seems to be true.

[Craww]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 11:38pm

Rent, is the talk on the cereal box.
Roger, is a smile on a dog.

[george95]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 11:45pm

Wow Brainlessorwise,
your post really knocked me out. You captured so eloquently how so many of us feel about the snide and rude comments people make about such trivial matters as spelling, and how its not necessary to be so mean to people who just post about shows that they love.

I have to say a big hearty THANK YOU though on behalf of those of us who post about shows we truly love, especially the long-runners that so many on BWW seem to hate so passionately.

RENT (along with phantom and before les Mis) is my constant as well. There is something very comforting about knowing that no matter what kind of crap goes on in the world, or no matter how bad a day i'm having, Mimi will still be in those blue tights tonight and Roger will still be trying to write that one great song.

I took the liberty of checkin into RENT's grosses to see if all this apocalyptic talk about RENT is really necessary.
So here goes:
1996 $18million gross, 85% full (april-dec 96)
1997 $28million gross, 102%full
1998 $27million gross, 97% full
1999 $23million gross, 86% full
2000 $22million gross, 82% full
2001 $20million gross, 82% full
2002 $19million gross, 78% full
2003 $16million gross, 73% full (2003-worst year for RENT)
2004 $17million gross, 71% full
2005 $20million gross, 77% full
2006 $24million gross, 79% full (RENT movie bump)
2007 $17million gross, 67% full

Updated On: 1/14/08 at 11:45 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 11:48pm

Actually, sometimes I wish I didn't have favorite shows -- I get MORE bitter and jaded when I see a disappointing production of them. And had I known better would probably have just stuck with what made me happy in the first place rather than trying something which I thought was comforting. (Hi, Les Miz revival...)

[Craww]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 11:50pm

Grosses, are a walk on the slippery rocks
Low running costs, are a light in the fog

[IsolatingAge]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 12:49am

As was said before, it is extremely cheap to put one. Plus it got a pretty good boost over Christmas. 600,000. It's not like Wicked where it needs a million dollars a week to stay running. Besides that, it's the number 1 show on the showcial network. It's a broadway favorite, and a lot of people would be disappointed with it's closing. Personally, I know I will never get sick of that show, and I hope it keeps on running long after Phantom closes.

Look at Phantom (20 years) and Beauty and the Beast (13 years) and The Lion King (10 years)... and Rent is cheaper than all those shows.

[masb19872]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 12:52am

I was at the show tonight, and it was empty. There were about 40 people at lotto, because not everyone won. The problem with tonight was that a ton of people were clapping at parts where it makes no sense to clap/scream. But yeah, the current cast... there are a handful of people who are good and the rest I wonder how their contracts have been renewed.

I just wish the show had better marketing. I mean, they advertised the heck out of A&A. But what's the point of a stunt cast like Tamyra if no one knows she's in it? A street team or something would definitely help.

Also, the "Daphne is still the best Daphne" thing is a reference to something someone wrote on the Nederlander. My personal favorite is the "Adam Pascal ruined my daughter's birthday" hate note.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 12:52am

I also have heard that RENT will be gone by the end of 08. But not without a few extensions due to popular demand...

[winston89]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 1:04am

I am not ashamed to say that up until a couple of years ago I saw Rent religously. But, I didn't consider myself a Renthead. To me that meant being part of the teeny bopper fan club that goes with the show. Instead I avoided that like the plague. I saw the show 27 times in shy over a year. Going alone. Always alone. Never made a friend there. Never wanted to. It was the show and the music and the message that made me fall in love with it.

I grew out of that funk not that long ago. Just didn't continue to go for whatever reason.

Adam and Anthony comming back made me want to see it again. I did twice. The first time was annoying because I was in the rear Mezz and my glasses cracked in two. I mostly heard them and what I heard was amazing. The second time was compensation for not being able to see them the first time. I was in the Orchestra. I remember feeling so angry during the show I couldn't figure out why. It was because of the fact that there I was looking at this wonderful work of theatre that I love with all my heart. I was watching it being performed by people who looked as if they didn't want to be there. As if they didn't care. It just made me so angry to see something I love so much being treated as if no one cared about it anymore.

As much as I love the show (And I do. I always will) I think it is time for it to go. It is not getting any better from the fact that it is having a rotation of the same few cast members who have been around since the beginning of the decade.

It hurts me beyond words to see such a life changing event of theatre to be ripped to shreads by actors phoning it in all the time.

If that is what is going to be of this show then I would rather it never be on Broadway anymore.

I am still crossing my fingers and hoping that there are people in the production team that still care about this show. It isn't looking very likely.

[DaneSaw]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 1:51am

Are Broadway shows often packed on a Monday? To be quite honest, that would be the last day I would ever consider purchasing a ticket for a Broadway show.

It seems that Rent needs to stay relevant to stay popular. It seems like it started to lose its popularity right before the movie came out. The movie was looming in the horizon and boom, the show was popular again. It stayed that way until last year and boom, Anthony and Adam came back.

My thoughts are that Rent has to advertise more and re-build its overall self-image. I've never seen a theater go so neglected in my life, and never thought I'd see the day where people were actually allowed to WRITE on the exterior walls of a theater.

I'd say publicity is the way to go. Advertise more. Stupid contests on the show's website aren't going to boost ticket sales unless people KNOW about the website. Maybe make the show look gritty, edgy and real again and people will be more inspired to go see it.

Or maybe it's just one of those shows that needs to close and re-open again to get its edge back?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 2:00am

I'd say publicity is the way to go. Advertise more.

Voices for Rent worked so well.

[BroadwayBound86]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 2:02am

I love RENT. I love the message of the show and the music, but I think the show has run it's coarse. The way I see it, I can't see RENT closing until someone wants to step in and renovate the theater to open a new show. They are probably making enough to cover weekly costs and then some (I'm not sure of what the nut for the show is), so it seems more realistic to keep the show running rather than have a dark theater. No one seems to be jumping at the chance to put a show there either...I don't blame them with the horrible shape the theater is in. It's disgusting!!
Updated On: 1/15/08 at 02:02 AM

[winston89]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 6:41am

Keep in mind one thing regarding the Nederlander.

It was set up to look like the east village. Just like the O'neil was set up to look like the 50's when Grrease played there.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 11:33am

No matter what you do to the Nederlander, it will always be an undesirable theater.

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 12:11pm

"Nederlander...be an undesirable theater"

-why?

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 12:18pm

The condition of the theater is apparently atrocious.

[BroadwayBound86]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 12:24pm

Keep in mind one thing regarding the Nederlander.

It was set up to look like the east village. Just like the O'neil was set up to look like the 50's when Grrease played there.

I understand that. But it is definately something that is helping to keep the show open. I personally have never heard of any rumors of upcoming shows wanting to call their home the Nederlander.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 12:29pm

That's fixable, though, ljay. Isn't it more the below-42nd street location? I know it's only a block away and the area is cleaned up now, but it's the only one below the token marker, and I know that's always been a point against it.

I personally have never heard of any rumors of upcoming shows wanting to call their home the Nederlander.

Maybe because they've known it won't be available for a while. You know, just like you don't hear about any shows coming to Broadway and saying they want the Majestic.

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 12:32pm

But whatever show opens after the theater won't have to restore it, that's Rent's job. When a show trashes a theater like that (ala Cats), they must set aside money from the initial budget to pay for restoring the theater after they leave. Also, where do you thing the 1.50 theater restoration fee goes?