How did you become a RentHEAD?- Page 2

[Ulla-la]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 11:29am

I discovered RENT by accident a short time ago (relative to some people here) but it came to mean a lot to me very fast. I picked up the CD as an attempt to cheer myself up when i first moved to Montreal last year I didn't know anyone in a new city and cast recordings are my guilty pleasure for cheering myself up

Anyway it was an eventful and traumatic year and RENT became my soundtrack-from being alone in a new city, through the death of my father to having to leave the city and some very close friends at the end of the year. RENT was my soundtrack to life and also almost all I listened to while writing the play I spent the last six months working on... so it's been the soundtrack to my personal and creative life. And FINALLY when I'm back in New York this December I'll get to see it live!

[NYCBWAYFan24]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 1:37pm

Wow Patronus that was such a touching story!!!

[GirlforTartaglia]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 1:46pm

Patronus, your story is very touching.

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 2:02pm

Thanks so much for the kind words everyone and thanks for reading it. I've tried over the years to shorten the story and it just keeps getting longer.

[quote]
Patronus, WOW, that is quite a story!!! I'm touched. But, are you saying you made living arrangements with a random girl online you never even met before?? LOL that is so nuts, but look how it turned out...I hope you name your first son Mark!
[end quote]

Well, we did spend a magical week together before we moved in together and talked on the phone quite a bit before we met and I stayed with here in Southern California - but yeah, I took a SERIOUS leap of faith.

I was young. I DEFINATELY don't recommend looking for love on the internet. I think this only worked out so well because we weren't looking for that and it just sort of fell into our lap.

Our first child could very well end up being named Mark, but lately we've been discussing Sutton for a girl.

[liotte]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 2:04pm

Patronus, love the story!

And it's so strange to me that almost all the stories on this thread are so recent, rather than a couple of us who became rentheads when Rent first appeared 10 years ago. I'm glad all you youngins are able to experience the show now, and I hope it will be around for a long time to impact the children of the future (so Whitney Houston, I know)

[Ulla-la]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 2:27pm

I agree Liotte, I was thinking something similar when Rosario said in the Bryant park interview she couldn't believe it hadn't been in her life since the start- I just hope it's around long enough (on stage) for a lot more people to think that too.

And Patronus wow! what an amazing story, yes it was an amazing leap of faith but nothing ventured nothing gained right? I'm so glad RENT brought you so much happiness

[Theaterlover2]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 7:59pm

First, AMAZING story Patronus.
Now my story...which is not at all exciting. But hey.
I only found RENT a year ago-which is amazing to me because it feels like it's been in my life forever. Before Rent I never went to broadway sites;I would just go to the store and buy Musicals that sounded interesting. So RENT really was a catalyst in allowing me to find out about this incredible community online. Because when I started researching RENT, i stumbled onto Broadwayworld.
Anyway, I had been talking one day with a friend who also likes broadway and she said to me, "Hey i think you'd like this show called RENT." The name sounded vaguely familiar and I remembered that we actually owned the recording. I had asked my mom about it months before and she had said that when she saw it (years before) that she had hated it. So, I didn't bother. But now I was interested, so I listened to it for five hours straight on a trip and I fell in love. I loved the message, the voices..It was all Amazing. (gushing over haha) And so I found out all I could about it. Then last March (31st to be exact) I went on a trip to NYC and saw it. It was one of the best moments of my life. Now I'm going to NYC again in a week or so and I'm going to see it. And then again I'm seeing it for my Senior trip this year.
I talk about RENT all the time and try to use it as a starting place to discuss Gay rights and AIDS awareness, among other things. I've been able to make my mom appreciate it more. And now that the movie is coming out, (great timing for me..several months after I found out about the musical, the movie started production.)I hope to introduce more and more people to the power of RENT.
Well, that's my lovely story haha.
Theaterlover

[MissElphie]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 8:53pm

A friend of mine buys every new musical CD that is out, and he came in one day, handed me the RENT CD (which had come out the day before) and said, "You HAVE to hear this. You'll love it. Check out the girl who sings a song called 'Over the Moon'. She's amazing." So I went home, listened to it, and was in love instantly. Then, when it finally hit Toronto, I waited in line at 2am for tickets to the first show, and never looked back. :)

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 9:15pm

I first got addicted to Aida and then I became a huge fan of Adam Pascal. After doing little research, I found out he was the original Roger in Rent and went to my library to borrow the cd. I remember on my first listen I would only listen to the songs Adam was on, and that was it. I then listened to my burned copy of Rent only once in awhile.

fast forward to a vacation in nyc with my parents. My mom and I had tickets to Nine and my dad went to meet with his friends to go to TKTS and pick up whatever tickets they could get. So the got Rent and I was pretty jealous. My dad came back and said it was pretty good. After the trip, my 6th grade teacher kept raving about how good it was. So I then decided to listen to the whole score and fell in love with it. A few years later the tour came into Chicago and I went to see it. Ever since then, I have been a semi-renthead.

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 9:33pm

I first discovered RENT when I was 9. The theatre company I belonged to did a variety show of a bunch of Broadway shows, and RENT was one of them. We performed "What You Own", "Seasons of Love" and "One Song Glory". Of course, being 9, I didn't really know what the story was about. I knew it had something to do with homeless people and AIDS (which I really didn't know what it was except that it was a disease) and love, but that's about it. I loved those 3 songs, but after the variety show, well, I didn't really think about it anymore.

Until I was 11. My friend was like "You need to hear RENT. You'll love it." So she gave me the OBCR, and I fell in LOVE with it and forgot how much I loved those 3 songs, along with loving the rest of the recording.

I became well, obsessed. A few months after I got the recording, I saw the show on Broadway. I knew all of the words, and by that time, I actually understood the storyline. I bought the RENT bible, saw the show a bunch of more times, and have been hooked ever since.

[LuvBroadwayHugs]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 9:34pm

I wouldn't say I'm a RENThead, exactly. But here goes. When I was little, back in the day when the show opened, my cousin was infatuated with the show and one day I was in her car and she played me a few songs (the ones appropriate for a 7 year old child to hear--Rent, What You Own, Seasons Of Love) and I really liked it. I would listen to those songs here and there but basically forgot about it.Cut to aproximately 9 years later, I was listening to Sirius 77 and Light My Candle came on and I said to myself, I've never seen Rent. My friends who don't even like theater have seen Rent. Long story short, I was asked what show I wanted to see for my brithday this year and I saw Rent. I haven't stopped listening to the album since. And I'm going again in 2 weeks.

Updated On: 8/12/05 at 09:34 PM

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 9:37pm

it was a couple of years ago when i first got the highlights of the CD, and i really liked the CD and i said to myself as i said often "i'll get the full CD eventually--" and i waited for like a year and finally got it, then i didnt really get to listen to it that much and i met Anthony Rapp during Little Shop of Horrors tour and i got back on track to listening to my RENT CD, it was magical....

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 9:38pm

I've only been a RentHead for about 8 month. I discovered Idina in February '04, and my parents gave me the Rent cast recording for Hanukkah last December. The rest is history. :)

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 9:53pm

Back in 1996 I was a 9 year old who followed every action of an older friend of mine (he is 5 years older than me). This friend was and is an actor and knew all about RENT from the time it came out. He had many friends who were directly connected to the AIDS crisis of the late 80's, and felt a very deep connection to RENT! When he first played the OBCR for me I loved that the show had profanity (and lots of it from the POV of a nine year old sheltered kid). At this point in my life I knew what AIDS was and what homosexuality was but did not truly understand it. Because of this I could not truly appreciate the message of RENT!. Over the next 4 years I would listen to bits of RENT every now and then but I was still unable to grasp everything.

Flash forward to June of 2001: I saw AIDA, and I recognized Radames' voice. I looked in the playbill and saw he was in the OBC of RENT. This got me listening to RENT obsesivly, and it also got me interested in the late 80's/early 90's AIDS crisis. With the internet I had the means to finally understand everything, and with that understanding I grew to appreciate RENT!

And that is how I became a RENTHEAD!

[Feathah]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 10:02pm

5 years old? 9 years old? Wooo boy. I feel old! :)

I was in college when RENT was playing at New York Theatre Workshop and interning at an indie record label. A fellow intern had seen it and loved it. Told me the run was sold out but was moving to Broadway. By the time I was able to afford tix it was THE hot ticket in town and hard to get but I managed to get my hands on one. Saw the OBC. Obsessed ever since!

[corsairstw]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 10:13pm

My friends introduced me to RENT, and then I went out and bought the CD last year in 10th grade. That's where my obsession began!

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 10:18pm

Just a fun aside...

This is also where I developed my love for Norbert Leo Butz. In the show I mention in my story earlier in this thread, I saw Norbert's first performance as Mark (it was also Marcy Harriell's debut as Mimi) and from that moment I was a fan.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 10:35pm

Is anyone else having as much fun reading all these stories as I am? Great thread!

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 10:42pm

Yeah, this has been a great thread.

I am shocked that there aren't more "original rentheads" posting.

I know there are some older guys and girls out there...

[ashley0139]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 10:46pm

I only wish I could have been an original RENThead. I would love to claim that. But I was, you know, eight.

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/12/05 at 10:54pm

Wow, that makes me feel so old. Am I am not old by a long shot.

[Fantabulous428]

Posted: 8/13/05 at 12:55am

Not that I had any idea of what it was at the time, but my entire class sang Seasons of Love at our elementary school graduation. Couple years later, my friend, who was RENT obsessed and had never seen the show, had an extra ticket and invited me. I distinctly remember singing little butchered bits of Light My Candle on the cab ride home. I think within days I bought the cast OBCR and I suppose looking back it really was all I talked about, seeing as how my mom knew the perfect Hannukah gift would be tickets. We saw it on New Year's Eve, which can I say was such a bad idea due to location - and just a tad dissapointing (a show with a song titled "Happy New Year", and they didn't do anything special). I even organized a trip with my 8th grade class to see Rent because my teacher had seen the OBC and was dying to see it again (Adam Pascal's headshot was so cute!). Anyway, I have since seen RENT an additional 6 times.

Also - do any of you guys find it annoying when people don't know how much you know about RENT and think that they know more (that sounds really confusing) Example: I was in a elevator today wearing my RENT tanktop and the woman in the elevator who I have never met before looks at me and says, "Oh, do you know they're making a movie of RENT?" She continued to talk about how a friend of a friend knows Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs and how Idina's last name is really Mentzel and how they received death threats. And it's not like this person knows I'm a huge fan and knows all of this info already, but these little things irritate me. Anyone else - or just me?

Updated On: 8/13/05 at 12:55 AM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/13/05 at 12:59am

I think we take for granted how much we know, being very committed theatre fans; and we sort of forget that there are people out there who still like the show, but don't spend their free times surfing the web and eating up every piece of news, you know?

Posted: 8/13/05 at 1:58am

It hasn't come to pass...and I'm hoping it never does.

[today4u:proofpositiv]

Posted: 8/14/05 at 8:51pm

jeremykushnier#1fan and xrent_headx started singing la vie boheme one nite so i had to listen to the cd