Brantley on RENT....- Page 2

[hermionejuliet]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 1:45am

Interesting and valid point!

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 2:35am

I love Rent as much as the next musical theatre fan of my generation but it just has so many flaws. I realized recently that there is not one character in the entire show that I relate to or feel sympathy for. I find all of them to be genuinely unlikable.

I'm finally seeing this next week, so I guess I can form my opinion about the revival then. I love Brantley though, and our opinions tend to coincide. It was much too soon for this comeback.

[MeggilyWeggily08]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 8:12am

Updated On: 6/19/12 at 08:12 AM

[RainbowJude]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 8:39am

AC126748 wrote: I'm surprised by his praise for Annaleigh Ashford, who is the epitome of miscast as Maureen.

Even after his Melanie Griffith love-fest when she was in CHICAGO?

best12bars wrote: I think RENT is suffering the same fate as A CHORUS LINE. It was such a product of its time in the theatre world and a result of the people who "inhabited" it originally, that future productions feel like "younger siblings playing dress-up."

DO the cases totally line up though? Despite what changes there may have been, the revival of A CHORUS LINE was much closer to a straight reproduction than this RENT is of its original production. Therefore, I think the demands on the cast of RENT are different to those of A CHORUS LINE. The other thing, of course, is that RENT in its original staging lacked the masterful hand of Michael Bennett. Being able to see Bennett's work itself is worth the trip, even if the cast seems like 'younger siblings playing dress-up'.

Kad wrote: Maybe it wasn't the best idea to have Greif direct it again.

I'd say that's fair. I think someone new might have found a way to change more than the wrapping, or at least found a way to engage with the subject matter in more depth than someone who is kind of repeating, but kind of not, the task for which he was responsible in the original production.

littlegreen2 wrote: I love RENT as much as the next musical theatre fan of my generation but it just has so many flaws.

I have a difficult time with RENT. This is probably one of the biggest problem shows for me. Despite its flaws, I found the original production incredibly cathartic and there is a great deal about the show that I like. There is so much right with it, but ideologically there are several things that just don't sit well with me.

Updated On: 8/13/11 at 08:39 AM

[hermionejuliet]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 1:05pm

MeggilyWeggily,

I completely disagree with your thoughts that most of the fanbase is way to young to understand what a revival is. Actually, most of the original "Rentheads" (you know, the ones that slept on the street before there was a lottery) are now in their 30's and 40's at this point. Far old enough to understand a revival.

Though if this is a revival, a revamp, or a remounting seems to be in question. Everywhere I read about this production, someone is saying something different.

Frankly, I think there was alot of different ideas about what this was (other than a way to bring Rent back to New York and make some money), and one way of artistic thinking was never fully chosen.

I don't think that comparing the general feelings garnered from the original production and this staging is particularly wrong.
You walk away from most shows with a feeling, and that feeling is what makes something enduring, meaningful, and lasting. The revival of Normal Heart still left many with an urgency and feeling of grief even though times have changed. In the latest La Cage revival, you still walked away with a sense of hope and family even if the thought of two men as fathers wasn't as groundbreaking as it once was.

If Greif doesn't acheive the same type of emotions or truth that were embodied in the original production (which in my opinion are far more general than time specific : enduring love, friendship, acceptance, passion for an art etc), then that could be saying something about the production - not necessarily the fanbase.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that one can not like the "revived" "revamped" "returned" production for reasons other than they don't want change.

For example, I actually LOVE the changes to Contact and Over the Moon. I even love the new takes on the characters. But I feel like other directorial and artistic decisions distract the audience from the story being told.

[MeggilyWeggily08]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 1:57pm

I'm sorry, I phrased that really poorly. Of course there are other reasons for people to dislike it! To each his own! I've heard a lot of really intelligent, insightful negative thoughts written about this revival, and then I hear "It's nothing like the Broadway production, they don't wear this, they don't have this prop, blah, blah, blah." - I think comparing it to the original production is fine, I do it myself. I think putting it down because it's not the same as it was on Broadway is something else - not saying "His voice wasn't good.", but saying "He didn't play the role like Anthony did." and saying it in a negative light just sounds stupid. I've just come across many close minded Rent fans, and maybe I'm just talking to the wrong people. A lot of people want it to be like Broadway and think that if it's not, then that's something to looked down upon, because they don't get that this isn't supposed to be the same as Broadway.

When I said that the fanbase was too young is probably where my writing of that post failed the most, because frankly I was insulting myself. I didn't mean to point the finger at all the fans, but most of the comments (that I've heard) putting the revival down only by comparing it to Broadway have come from people my age, give or take a year or two, and I was born on the night that RENT opened on Broadway. You do the math. It seems a little odd for someone my age to be saying that the performances given by this revival cast "aren't the same" (duh), or will never be as great as the original cast, when they were newborns and infants when the original cast was performing. Aside from crummy bootlegs, a 15 year old cast recording, a horrible movie, and the returns of Adam and Anthony - the original cast of RENT is not accessible to me at all. I have no problem admitting that. So, that's where my age comment came from. What I think are the stupidest comments that I've heard have come from people my own age, and it's clear that some of them either don't understand or can't accept that this wasn't meant to replicate the Broadway production.

And, hey, maybe you think my comments are stupid, and are laughing at me for being so young and ignorant and saying them :) I dislike things about the revival simply because I dislike them. Not because Idina Menzel didn't deliver the line like that in my 15 year old bootleg, and therefore Annaleigh has no understanding of the character.

[hermionejuliet]

Posted: 8/13/11 at 5:40pm

That makes more sense. I guess I see your point if people are complaining about props or wishing for the exact same costume. On the other hand, I just wanted to point out that just because it is different doesn't mean it is good. Especially if it doesn't further or interrupts the story being told! Frankly, the changes that are clearly being done for a reason other than being different, I actually like.

I also think it is more difficult for everyone because no one is really sure what this is...it's in New World which is basically a home for direct Broadway transfers or original off Broadway material as of late. But this isn't a direct transfer, but it isn't completely new either. There are plenty of things that are pretty much identical, but just as much that is different. This is some bizarre half revival situation.

But as for the casting comparisons, I think that this is just a general fan base issue particularly with Rent.

The OBC was very talented and, as people have noted in this thread, were somewhat living the life they were playing (if you doubt it, read Rapp's book). They then continued to succeed in movies and other shows. Following the original production for some time and people's comments on replacement casts, the OBC cast or even early replacement casts are brought up alot compared to say... Mamma Mia or something of that sort. I wouldn't really say that it is just people in your age group that do this. And I understand why it is so easy to do.

The fact that the comparisons are being done in a professional review is a whole other discussion!