Edgier Version of RENT in London- Page 2

[folkyboy]

Posted: 5/8/07 at 9:27pm

i honestly have seen RENT too many times i'm so over it. if they do another version i'd be interested to hear a cast recording if nothing other than to hear the way it'll be performed.

other than that i could give a rip. the music honestly reminds me of being angsty and 15 years old. i'm 27 now. time moved on...

[misschung]

Posted: 5/8/07 at 9:30pm

actually I was wondering the other day if they would ever do a new cast recording

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/8/07 at 10:53pm

First of all, Rent is a flawed piece to begin with. It exists in a time warp. What was supposed to be happening "now" in the East Village had already happened and the gentrification had already begun. It was outdated before the first performance.

I really can't think of anything that would make rent "edgier" unless they performed it in a place where the audience had to sit with real junkies and homeless people.

I saw the original cast perform the show. Over time, the show has lost its punch. Since 9-11 and the Iraq War, it's hard to find empathy (sympathy?) for the characters in the show.

Posted: 5/8/07 at 11:06pm

I posted this to the Kylie forum I belong to (www.togerland) and got this response that made me laugh (if you've seen the tours he's designed for her)

"great there'll be Doctor Who style androids, boys in speedos and lots of feathers now.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/8/07 at 11:14pm

No, Eric. That's called Mammia Mia.


Emcee, I think it's hard to see this as a "period" piece just yet because it is so recent. I think we would have ran into the same problem in the early 80s if we tried to revive "A Chorus Line," ya know? Some of the slang isn't outdated yet, but it doesn't need to be updated either. I dont think we need "what's up"(s) and "tight"(s) thrown in to make the story hipper to a new audience.

I hope they focus more on the story/characters than just the general mood of the piece. And I hope they actually use american accents rather than english accents.

I'm curious if they'll keep the "Seasons of Love" staging. That's the only song I can think of where the staging is just ingraved into everyone's minds.

Posted: 5/9/07 at 1:17am

Hhaha touche--actually WIll baker would be much more suited to Mama Mia...

So do we know if this will be a whole new staging or is WIll Baker and all just "retoching" things (the article makes it sound like it could be either)

Until 1980 or so the tours of Chorus Line did sligthly update things--then they decided to just freeze it as 1975

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/9/07 at 1:34am

I'm guessing it's an entirely new staging, which is suprising because it seems certain shows are just so rooted in their original stagings (Chorus Line, Les Miz, Cats) that its interesting to see a new version of a show, but I'm suprised they picked such a small location and not a well-known theater director, but hey, that makes it all the more interesting.

Posted: 5/9/07 at 7:21pm

If Baker is the director and not just designer--I am concerned (and I'm not even a big Renthead). I have to admit his arrogance in interviews puts me off but I think he stages some of the best *BIG SCALE LAVISH* theatrical concerts ever--Kylie's last two rival and may overtake Madonna for me personally.

But that's the thing--he met Kylie and became her personal stylist in the late 90s when he ran into her in a clothing store he worked at and did the designs for. He wouldn't leave her alone and eventually they struck up a friendship. He's great at taking imagery from pop culture and mixing it in interesting ways but I can't say he has a lot of depth to his look (then again sataging a flashy pop concert wouldn't show if he did one way or another). To do a tiny production of Rent and hire him is... well it's an odd choice. But at least we know Angel will have some thrilling costumes