Edgier Version of RENT in London
Edgier Version of RENT in London
RentBoy86
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
#1Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 5:53pm
Didn't know if anyone posted this, I searched, but alas, I didn't find aything. They're doing a new "edgier" version of RENT in London. Link below.
Article
Updated On: 5/8/07 at 05:53 PM
erinrebecca
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/29/04
#2re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 5:57pmIt'll be interesting to see what an "edgier" version actually will be. Maybe they'll have Mimi die at the end, like one previous international production did.
#2re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 5:58pmYou know, I actually think it would be fascinating to see Rent mounted with a different physical staging. I'm not sure what they could mean by "edgier" other than that, though.
#3re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:09pm
I hate the word "edgy."
Up there with "random."
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#4re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:11pm
Can anyone actually locate where on WhatsOnStage.com it claims there'll be a new 'RENT'? It's not like we haven't had it rumoured for months, but I'd still like to actually read the original article, only I can't find it.
Trafalgar Studios = definitely ace venue though. :3
(RentBoy86 - we often talk about London productions on the West End message board on this very site. We've definitely discussed this production a few times! 
)
Updated On: 5/8/07 at 06:11 PM
RentBoy86
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/15/05
#5re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:14pmI hate when old white men say they want to make something "edgier." They better not to try to update the slang and stuff. I think it's like A Chorus Line, where it's a period piece, so keep it in the period. Maybe "Edgier" by adding more actual live rock music instead of just synths. I think the show would work better on a whole if they cast people that were actually the age, or close to the age of the actual characters. If you don't then you just have grown adults bitching about not paying the Rent.
#6re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:16pmI agree, RentBoy.
One time, Patti LuPone punched me in the face...
It was awesome. - theaterkid1015
It was awesome. - theaterkid1015
#7re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:17pm
Does the slang need updating, though? Nothing in the show is so old that we don't get it or that it sounds funny. We're not talking about a show that was written in the 70s.
I'm curious to hear more about this.
#8re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:18pmTrafalgar Studios is a great place for the show!
Your fupa is showing.
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#9re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:49pm
I recall when they were first talking about re doing this show that they were going to change the location to London as oppose to NYC. A couple of people that i talked to agredthat it would kill the show if they changedthe location. There was someone on the west end forum who said that would totaly kill the show if they changed locations. I also recall reading not that long ago the closing notice form the Shaftsbury production. It gave off the impression that the show was too "new York" for west end.
But, I don't think that they are going to change the story line. Such as Mimi dying at the end ect.
"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear"
Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#10re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 6:53pm
As a huge Kylie fan, it's well known that the extremely talented and extremely annoying Willie Baker has both done wonders for her career and created a few probs. He has staged and directed her last 3 tours though with great results...
But then again a tour director doesn't equal a theatre director no matter how theatrical they are (just look at the awful directing done for Closer to Heaven by the Pet Shop Boys great experimental tour director)
#11re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 7:03pmthis is really interesting... do you think that they will show more drug use? that's the first thing that popped into my head...
misschung
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/18/07
#12re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 7:47pm
Edgy is such broad term, so who knows what they are planning, but I'd love to know more about this. I agree that the slang isn't really dated yet. I think audiences understand that its a period piece, albeit a recent one. I mean people didnt have a prb with the slang in Company.
Interesting idea about the drug use - they might, instead of just showing the bag of drugs, show them actually using.
The morning star always gets wonderful bright the minute before it has to go --doesn't it?
#13re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 7:54pm
I just don't see showing them doing the drugs making it "edgier". You see that on half of the kids shows. Ok, maybe that is an exaggeration but it has become so mainstream not edgy.
I hate the term "edgier". I really don't see how this could be edgier or why they would want to make it edgier in the first place.
BroadwayBoobs: I'll give all of you who weren't there a hint of who took the pictures ...it rhymes with shameless
SOMMS: I knew it was Tink!
#14re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 7:54pm
Yeah, but Company is to the point that if you stage it to be contemporary without changing the script, it has anachronisms. "On the wagon," the reference to the Seagram's Building, "when are we going to make it?" etc. -- just to name a few. They're not bothersome, but they're there.
Anyway, back on topic, I think this could be fantastic, or it could be a disaster. There's so much that could be done to the show to make it really dirty, but I think with this kind of thing, there's a way to make it theatrically beauitful, but it's also very easy to go overboard.
#15re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 7:56pm
I mean people didnt have a prb with the slang in Company.
Yes, because Company is known for its edgy slang. 
I also think it would be interesting to see a different direction of Rent. Not necessarily "edgier" or "more street" or whatever, just a different perspective on the material.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Updated On: 5/8/07 at 07:56 PM
Wanting life but never knowing how
#16re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 8:00pmIt sounds cool. An intimate location would be awesome.
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#17re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 8:01pmskittles - I agree. A different take on it would be fine, but don't make it "edgier" just to score points with teens or something, and that is what it sounds like to me at the moment.
BroadwayBoobs: I'll give all of you who weren't there a hint of who took the pictures ...it rhymes with shameless
SOMMS: I knew it was Tink!
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#18re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 8:19pm
I mean they could go all out like the holland production did. That production had whatever Mark was filming show up on screens around the stage and they symbolized Roger's refusal to leave home by having him sit under a giant bed.
But, there have been so many small things done over the years to different productions of the show. For instense, I recall reading about one international production that acted out the events that were shown in the film at the start of the finale.
"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear"
Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll
#19re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 8:26pmhttp://www.compulsivebowlers.org/boards/viewtopic.php?t=5208&highlight=
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#20re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 8:48pmWhile I guess in a way it's dated in terms of social issues, like AIDS medication has improved and the East Village has been gentrified, but changing the show to reflect those would require extensive altering of the story. Other than giving Benny a Blackberry and updating some of the costumes, there's nothing in the show on surface level that's so drastically different now than it was when the show opened.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
#21re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 8:55pmRENT is sacred. I hope they don't change it too much. It always creeps me out to hear it sung in an english accent anyway...
#22re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 9:04pmi really wonder what they are going to do to the book... i'm all for changes and adaptations, but moving it to London just really does not make sense...
misschung
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/18/07
#23re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 9:18pm
"changing the show to reflect those would require extensive altering of the story"
Exactly. You can only update a musical thats set in the late 80s/early 90s in NY so much without losing credibility for the story, too.
I mean if it looked too contemporary, it wouldnt be believable that this group of young people who didnt have that much money could live in a loft downtown. If they were going to make those kinds of changes, it would be much more than just making it edgier.
Who knows, but I'm looking forward to seeing what they actually do.
The morning star always gets wonderful bright the minute before it has to go --doesn't it?
#24re: Edgier Version of RENT in London
Posted: 5/8/07 at 9:22pmgymnastdzb2, please don't post again until you grow up, get some perspective and stop making Rent fans look like complete idiots. Thanks.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
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