Future of RENT
Future of RENT
martinman
Chorus Member Joined: 12/13/06
#1Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 10:02amAnybody else getting a little concerned with the attendance numbers? Do you think it will still be playing 3 years from now?
#2re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 10:03amIt's been running over a decade, hasn't it? Is it really that sad if it closes? They'll just revive it in four years anyway.
yr ronin,
joey
joey
#2re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 10:07amOoo, or if we're lucky they'll bring the London production over!
There are some people in the world who say that writing stories, or composing music or dancing sparkly dances is easy for them. Nothing interferes with their ability to create. While I celebrate their creative freedom, a little part of me just wants to punch those motherf*ckers in the teeth...[tos]
#3re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 10:56amthe numbers went down a lot, but now its virtually the same as it was before A&A and they made a ton of money off of them. Rent is a relatively inexpensive show to keep up. While I do think its end may be approaching, I don't think it's the downfall of the percentage that will cause it.
<-- Gwen Stewart, SOLoist at the last show of RENT
Cages or wings? Which do you prefer? Ask the birds. Fear or love, baby? Don't say the answer Actions speak louder than words. (Tick, Tick... BOOM!)
Cages or wings? Which do you prefer? Ask the birds. Fear or love, baby? Don't say the answer Actions speak louder than words. (Tick, Tick... BOOM!)
#4re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 10:59am
Agreed -- almost 12 years is a GREAT run.
It'll always have a special place in my heart, but I won't shed too many tears if it closes. "Timely" in 1996 is rapidly becoming "quaint."
erinrebecca
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/29/04
#5re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 11:22am
Hey, they're bringing back Matt Caplan to save the day! 
The numbers in the past two weeks are much lower than they were in the months leading up to A & A's run. They haven't been this low, in succeeding weeks, for a long time.
To answer the OP's question? No, I don't think the show will still be around in three years on Broadway.
#6re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 11:36amThen we can all take a breath and find a new show for people to obsess with :P
yr ronin,
joey
joey
YessicaB
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/05
#7re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 12:10pmStarlyricist... almost choked laughing there. Trust me you don't want the London production... it's horrid.
lamigon1992
Chorus Member Joined: 2/12/07
#8re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 12:19pmThe London production is AMAZING! Ive seen it once and am sseing it twice next saturday, that is how good it is, im almost at the stage where I would see it rather than Wicked!!!
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#9re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 12:22pm
I think tha Rent is winding down. I was talking to haven Burton at the stage door of Blonde. She was saying that the return gave the show a much needed boost. And she as well as the other members of the cast were upset that the director hasn't been by in a long time to help re shape the show.
This lead me to believe that the producers and the team aree not giving the show the attention that it deserves.
"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
#10re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 12:54pmMichael Greif could show up every 2 weeks and it still wouldn't change the fact that cast members are half-assing their way through the majority of performances, yukking it up for laughs, talking in the background, and rolling their eyes when they're not the center of attention. They don't need a director, they need a babysitter.
Like a firework unexploded
Wanting life but never knowing how
Wanting life but never knowing how
mauriposa
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/14/05
#11re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 3:54pmI agree skittles. When I finally saw the show on Broadway, I was sorely disappointed. If the caliber of the show does not improve, I really think it would be better just to close. Keeping RENT alive with sub-par performances is just going to further tarnish the show's once-good name.
Broadway Dancer
Understudy Joined: 10/15/06
#12re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 4:34pmI don't think Rent will close until another show expresses interest in the Nederlander. Since no one else really wants that theater (due to its location), and Rent is cheap to run, it will continue to play.
Understudy Joined: 12/31/69
#13re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 4:56pm
Since no one else really wants that theater (due to its location), and Rent is cheap to run, it will continue to play.
Not if it starts to consistently lose money.
Broadway Dancer
Understudy Joined: 10/15/06
#14re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 5:01pmOops, I forgot to add that part! Thanks for pointing it out!
#15re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 5:04pmIf your UNLUCKY youll get the London one because it will be closed by Christmas and we'll send it lovingly to you but DONT send it back!
A young actress with Noel coward after a dreadful opening night performance said to him 'Well, i knew my lines backwards this morning!''
Noels fast reply was ''Yes dear, and thats exactly how you said them tonight'!'
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#16re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 5:09pm
They don't need a director, they need a babysitter.
Just wanted to say that I completely agree with this. Would Greif's presence have made Haven Burton look a little less bored on stage every night? I'd like to say yes, but I'm guessing no, unless her job was actually on the line. Sadly, we know that no one's job is seemingly ever on the line in Rent (see: Matt Caplan and Cary Shields).
#17re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 5:46pmuh huh... and antonique and mayumi
<-- Gwen Stewart, SOLoist at the last show of RENT
Cages or wings? Which do you prefer? Ask the birds. Fear or love, baby? Don't say the answer Actions speak louder than words. (Tick, Tick... BOOM!)
Cages or wings? Which do you prefer? Ask the birds. Fear or love, baby? Don't say the answer Actions speak louder than words. (Tick, Tick... BOOM!)
#18re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 6:21pm
Im going to guess the person on here who just said the London rent is amazing is about 15 years old, this is one of the worst shows i (and it would appear most of the UK) have ever seen
Wicked is prob wrong though, the show wont be closed by xmas as they have a huge reserve fund to keep it running.
I hope the broadway one sticks around
Namo i love u but we get it already....you don't like Madonna
sally1112
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/13/04
#19re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 6:25pm
I used to think RENT closing would be equal to the end of the world, but maybe it does need to go away for awhile.
It is a great show, and many of its themes are timeless, so let's let it settle for a while, and revisit this in another decade or so.
#20re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 6:50pm
songanddanceman2:
agreed with everything you said.
especially that last part 
"It means nothing to come and sit in a theater night after night and immerse yourself in fantasy, only then to walk out the door and be unchanged in reality. This show will live on in our hearts. But where it truly must survive is in our actions, our compassion and our generousity of spirit towards one another." - Adam Pascal on the closing of RENT
#21re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 7:12pmDo you think RENT will close before this summer??? I haven't even seen it on Broadway yet.. And I would die if I never got the chance... Does it have a shot??
"It's terrible to have a house fall on you, it is, but accidents will happen"
ILuv2shop531
Broadway Star Joined: 7/12/07
#22re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 9:34pmi just looked on broadway.com on the rent page & it said tickets are on sale through 3/23/07 so it should definitely still be here at Christmas. I don't think they would close & have everybody get their tickets refunded who bought for that far, it would be too crazy.
broadwayguy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/18/03
#23re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 9:40pm
that happens ALL the time, ILuv. Standard practice when any show closes.. shows only have to provide the cast with two weeks notice before closing.
#24re: Future of RENT
Posted: 10/23/07 at 10:17pm
the eternal optimist in me likes to think that the low numbers are just because so many fans went so many times during A&A's run that they're just taking a break from it, and the show will continue to run.
Also, it's not an expensive show to run, so maybe it will be able to survive a period of low attendance.
honestly, I'm not ready to see it go. I love Rent, especially during the cold months.
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