Original RENTHEAD or 'Newbie'?- Page 3

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:13am

But honestly, is there any difference between a one year long Renthead and a 10 year long Renthead?

Yes. One gets flamed more.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:16am

I'm not picking at anyone, please understand, all I'm saying is that I think people in bigger cities with more focus on theatre perhaps may not realize how isolated the rest of us feel and often are.

Good point -- but I do wonder about something. I've never felt or been culturally isolated (SF Bay Area), but I still wonder how people can have "Broadway" in their usernames but not have heard of Rent. After all, they're online, so...hm?

Even before I had a computer at home ( which would've been around 1998 ), I was doing plenty of research on my own about things I liked. Doesn't anyone else do that?

Updated On: 1/9/06 at 03:16 AM

[Feathah]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:19am

Original Renthead here. I guess. I saw the OBC at the Nederlander but that was way after New York Theatre Workshop. I think if you were stagedooring at NYTW you win. Win what? I don't know. Is this a contest? lol

I say if you love the show, whether you've been a fan for 10 years or a day I'm happy for you. It *is* weird for me personally to see that there are Rentheads that were only in elementary school when the show began. But that speaks to the timelessness of the message of Rent. I guess it doesn't matter if some of the details make it seem dated.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:23am

But honestly, is there any difference between a one year long Renthead and a 10 year long Renthead?

This sounds like a second grade math word problem. The difference is nine years.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 9:11am

I agree that people should be honest about why they may not have seen the show onstage and not just cite which state they live in. Tours have been crossing the country for 9 1/2 years and they've all had rush seats for $20 bucks so it's not a case of only the upper classes can afford to see it. I'm aware that someone may be too young, or may not be able to travel, etc. but it's not just the big cities which have had Rent tours. Especially in the past four years, the non-Equity tours have hit many, many small towns.

It's funny that California was mentioned because, as I said, it's probably the most visited state. Just some of the cities where it's been over the years: La Jolla, L.A., Costa Mesa, Palm Desert, Bakersfield, Sacramento, San Diego, Long Beach, San Francisco, Cupertino, Santa Barbara, Thousand Oaks, San Bernardino, Anaheim, San Luis Obispo, San Jose, Fresno, Santa Cruz, Arcata, Davis, Redding, many of those multiple times.

Utah seems to have a more valid complaint. I think SLC has only hosted the tour once.

[zzprincesskatt]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 12:38pm

Okay, I'm typing this AGAIN because I had it all typed out and then it didn't go through.

I'm very protective of Rent. I've been a fan for about four years, after hearing someone perform Take Me Or Leave Me at a talent show, and then going out and buying the cast recording. I feel that being a fan of Rent for so long, you start to feel that people who just see the movie are just jumping on the bandwagon. And many of them are. My friends who saw it [or even just saw the previews] tell me that THAT NUMBER SONG IS THE BEST SONG EVAA! Or that Adam is SO HOT! They even act like they know all about it after seeing the movie once. I must have heard "Did you know Jonathan Larson died of aids?" twenty times, which drove me insane. I feel that seeing the movie isn't going to change people's lives like seeing it onstage has.

I loved the Rent movie despite its flaws. I loved that I could go see it whenever I wanted to. But at the same time I hated that anyone with six dollars could go buy a ticket and see it, and then feel that they were allowed to criticize the material, and simply write it off as "a bunch of gay people doing drugs and sitting around giving each other aids and being too lazy to pay the rent" [and yes, that exact statement was told to me]. My best friend refuses to see it, and refuses to listen to the soundtrack or the original recording because she thinks its wrong. And she is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet...you would think that she could be a little more open minded.

I waited all year to see the movie. I counted down the days. I went to see it expecting to be able to fully enjoy it, as I would if I had gone to see it live. Unfortunately for me, the people next to me hated it. They yelled throughout the movie how disgusting it was, how liberal. They played with their phones, they commented on everything. What right did they have to criticize the material? They invested two hours of their lives into Rent. I've invested four years. At the same time, I feel that people who have invested that two hours and liked the movie cannot act like they are the world's biggest fans.

I think its great if someone really loved the movie. I wish that everyone who saw it would understand its message and love it. But I feel like people who are just now fans don't have the same devotion to it that people who were fans before have. How could they? Maybe they will someday, but people who are fans of the movie have liked it for about two months.

This is just my opinion, flawed as it may be.

[RENTingFAME]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 2:02pm

I agree with you completely, zzprincesskatt. I'm going to repeat what I said because I still think it is very true:

"if the first song that comes to your mind when someone says RENT is Seasons of Love, that is not being a RENThead. lol. I'm sorry. I love that song but it's not my favorite from the show. RENT makes me thing of La Vie Boheme, plain and simple. Seasons of Love got so overplayed in November. And suddenly everyone who knew that song thought they were RENTheads."

It's even worse when they don't know the name and it gets called "that one song with the numbers" or something along those likes. Like you said, "That number song"

[bwaylover86]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 2:35pm

I love that you said this rentingfame, its sooo true... I never even really loved Seasons of Love that much, I mean its a great song and all, but I agree with you, La Vie Boheme is the best in my opinion! I hate those people who just like something because its popular. Its like a friend of mine who saw this bracelet my other friend had and thought it was really weird and hated it.. a month later everyone was wearing them and she actually had the balls to call her up and ask her where to get them because they are sooo cool... why cant people just have their own true opinions and not care about what is popular? If you love RENT for what it truly is, great, if you don't even know the name of the song, you are just pathetic and sound pathetic to anyone who is a true fan.

[RENTingFAME]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 2:41pm

"I hate those people who just like something because its popular."

THANK YOU! That drives me crazy. I'm kind of the opposite actaully. A while back, I was looking for Teen People cause I wanted the Anthony Rapp article, but I felt like a horrible person even standing in front of the teen magazines. They make me sick (and i'm 15). I'm definitely all about originality over here. A lovely quote: "There is only one you for all time. Be fearlessly yourself." woo.

RENT is awesome. If you love it, love it. If you don't, don't pretend that you do, because the people who truly do will soon find out you're faking it and then be really mad. lol.

[renthead112305]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:29pm

I have only been a RENThead for about 5 1/2 years now, and sometimes people are still like "You're not a RENThead, you've only been a fan for 5 years etc." and it irrates me, RENT is a HUGE part of my life, i'm not sure where i would be without it, and it irrates me. Like other people have said whether you have been a fan for a year or since the OBC, we are all equally fans....if that makes any sense.

[SirLiir]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:33pm

"But honestly, is there any difference between a one year long Renthead and a 10 year long Renthead?

This sounds like a second grade math word problem. The difference is nine years"

You know what I mean OS. If a newer Rent fan gets the message of the show and enjoys it immensely, how does this make him or her different than one whose be like that for ten years? It's like that old Coke vs Pepsi test. If they taste the same and you can't tell the difference, well, thats how I feel about dedicated Rent fans.

[RENTingFAME]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:38pm

Well according to some people's standards, I'm not even on the radar at being a fan for about a year and a half. But I love the show more than some people who have been fans for years, and they've said so themselves. I consider myself a RENThead because I love the show, it's message, it's music, it's creator, and it's OBC . As I've been saying the whole time, as have some other people, it's not about time. That's my opinion.

[Billboard Girl]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:43pm

I'm a newbie, but I'm not one of the "bad" newbies (at least I don't think I am). I was only vaguely familiar with what RENT was when I saw it on Broadway for the first time back in October (I had heard Seasons Of Love and Light My Candle and I knew it was being made into a movie with most of the original cast), but I was just so completely blown away by how powerful the music was that I needed to know more about what I had seen and heard. As soon as I got home, I sat down at my computer and Googled away to find out about the history of the show, to look for answers to questions I had about confusing plot points, etc. I know that my knowledge of/connection to the show is nowhere near that of someone who has been a fan for years and has seen it dozens of times, but that doesn't bother me too much. I'm just happy that I did find out about RENT and that those songs are there to help me through tough times.

To the long-time Rentheads who are fed up with the newbies: Don't worry, the bandwagon-jumpers will move on to something else soon enough. The people who truly appreciate it will stick around.

[elphieisperky]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:46pm

Wow, this has become a real debate thread, now hasn't it? :)

But seriously, I would consider myself a Renthead in general. I don't classify people, whether they're a new Renthead or a ten-year Renthead. As long as you love Rent and get the message, that's good enough for me. Bash this idea if you want, I don't care.

And as for "teeny-boppers" prancing around singing Seasons of Love, I get that every day in my school. Since I'm known as the Renthead to my friends and other people, it's not a surprise when someone comes up to me like, "how many minutes is in that song?" But I don't blame them, the people in my school hardly know what Broadway is, let alone Rent. It's very, very depressing!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:56pm

What right did they have to criticize the material?

They had EVERY right -- they just should've done it according to the rules of common courtesy. (Waited until afterwards.)

[xM3L24x]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:57pm

well we all knew that there would be these newbies after the movie. I knew I'd be pissed off about people who are annoying. The Monday we got back to school from Thanksgiving weekend, people would come up to me and say did you know Jonathan Larson died of AIDS and he worked at the Life Cafe? I wanted to shoot myself.

And I'd just like to say that anywhere you live in the world you could easily listen to RENT--buy the cast recording. You don't need to see the show. Unless you live in a box, and in which case I don't know how you'd have a computer, you have no excuse to say ohh well i live in kansas so i dont know about RENT. Thats just stupid.

I consider myself a new fan as I saw it a year ago, but I've invested so many hours into RENT as I'll have seen it 4 times by the end of January, and I don't even want to know how many hours on my computer I've spend on boards like these. I went to Bryant Park over the summer to see performances by OmovieC and broadway cast, I have ten video tapes of performances, and magazines/newspapers. RENT means so much to me, and words cannot describe how much I love it. I wish I had RENT in my life for the past 10 years instead of 1 but I was only 6 when RENT came out and was not allowed to see it until last year. I don't think you can put a time limit on what it is to be a true fan.. but I honestly dont think anyone who sees the movie can truly UNDERSTAND it fully and can say that they are on the same level as original fans of the show.
Updated On: 1/9/06 at 03:57 PM

[xM3L24x]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 3:57pm

double post Updated On: 1/9/06 at 03:57 PM

[drumtilyoudrop]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 4:02pm

I'm a newbie, I admit. But come on, I live in Minnesota. My family hates musicals. I'm 14, so it's not like I can go to the Ordway by myself and see it; and when was the last time Rent was here anyway? What am I supposed to do? I don't think it matters if you've seen the movie or the musical or for how long you've been a Renthead or whatever, I think if you love the story and can relate to it and it reached out and touched you in some way, then you can call yourself a Renthead and people should respect you even if you've never seen the show on Broadway, because not everyone has access to broadway shows.

Ahhh, got the Rent rant out. Excellllllent...

[xM3L24x]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 4:06pm

I don't think you can call yourself a RENThead from seeing the movie, IMO. A fan, yes, a renthead...?. And again, your location has nothing to do with knowing the show. Everyone has access to a library, you could take out the cast recording whenever you wanted to. And i'm also 14.

[xrent_headx]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 4:09pm

I don't know what to consider mysepf. I started to like RENT about 2 years ago . I have seen the production twice. And i have nothing against "Newbies" except that they should know what RENT is about.
There are alot of people at my school who think they are considered RENTheads because they saw the movie and when i ask them who Johnathon Larson is, their clueless.

Im not saying everyone is that stupid, All im saying is learn and Read the Bible.
On another note, WELCOME TO ALL RENTheads NEW AND OLD.

And i too know how it is living in a city/ country where RENT doesn't play often anymore and when it did i was to young.

- I might be smart - No day but today

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 4:10pm

1. I'm glad I didn't really get into musicals until I had graduated from high school.

2. Sometimes it sucks when something has a following, and that following gets a name.

[drumtilyoudrop]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 4:13pm

"2. Sometimes it sucks when something has a following, and that following gets a name."

What do you mean by that, lizzie?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 4:22pm

Because then argument ensues over who is entitled to the name.

[drumtilyoudrop]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 4:24pm

Maybe we should just do away with titles, then. I like saying "renthead," though.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/9/06 at 4:29pm

Do away? Good luck with that. Here's your barricade and red vest.