Some people (myself included) get a bit defensive when others compare RENT to BARE, but they really are musically similar. Both feature sung-through scores; although there are bits of spoken dialogue and spoken lines here and there, by-and-large both shows all sung.
Both shows also draw on a variety of contemporary music genres: rock, pop, dance, traditional Broadway, etc. (BARE even draws on lithurgic choir harmonies.) If you want to get into the nitty-gritty, BARE is the more poppy of the two, having more ballads, while RENT is slightly more rock. Both shows also deal with youth and being young in the contemporary world.
But the similarities end there. RENT has a larger scope: more characters, more intertwining plots, and it deals with larger issues like art in America, the new bohemia, counterculture and the need for expression, and life and death at the turn of the millennium. These themes are explicitly discussed and debated within the show.
BARE is a much more intimate show, and it firmly focuses only on the adolescent experience (and particularly Catholic adolescence, and how the Church doesn't speak to the concerns of today's generation). BARE is a less issues-driven show; although the show certainly deals with issues, unlike RENT they don't function as food for thought; rather, in BARE the characters live their issues. (If you want, I can post my excessively-long synopsis of the show.)
One thing I will say: a lot of people who have seen BARE have said that it was like watching the original cast of RENT for the first time: the same energy and freshness, raw talent and power.
If BARE becomes a success, I think that, like RENT, it will make stars of some of its original cast members - particularly Michael Arden, who delivers a truly remarkable performance, full of sensitivity and a wide-eyed suffering that will haunt you.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
Updated On: 8/6/04 at 11:47 PM
In all seriousness, great post!
