RENT/London Photos- Page 4

Posted: 10/19/07 at 11:35pm

Well, did she see the movie first? That might explain it

It's still hard for me to fathom being confused after you had the opportunity to see and rehearse the scene as it is in the show. I guess she could think the setting changes at the point Mimi descends into Roger's apartment, but Occam's razor applies here. In my mind. At any rate, the "Cat Scratch Club" mentality didn't seem apparent to me at any point during the 10+ times I saw her. On the other hand, I think her performance in that song is generally uninspired, probably due to her not being a natural dancer, and I think she'd make for a boring S&M stripper.

I took Tamyra's statement about not understanding Without You more as her saying that she literally didn't understand what was happening at that point in the plot. Hopefully I was mistaken and she's not quite that dense. I agree re: truly "getting" the song should enable the actress to perform the song on a deeper level, but there have probably been dozens of actresses who get the song on a deeper level but cannot translate that to their performance. Of course, this is a bit of a tangent. I wouldn't be surprised if Tamyra is just generally clueless about he role and the songs. Great voice, great effort, but I still maintain she seemed inorganic in the role, like you could see her making overly conscious acting choices at every point. To me.

[Craww]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 11:49pm

Yeah, I pretty much agree, even if I came out liking her a tad more.

Posted: 10/19/07 at 11:53pm

Well, you're more naturally benevolent with opinions of performers, so that would make sense.

God, our avatars back to back.

[misschung]

Posted: 10/19/07 at 11:56pm

I guess she could think the setting changes at the point Mimi descends into Roger's apartment, but Occam's razor applies here.

Yeah, it does, and nowhere in the libretto does it explicitly say that Mimi is anywhere else except her apartment throughout the course of the number, at least not that I'm aware of. I was just saying that maybe the movie gave her a different perspective as to what other possible settings there might be - which still doesn't explain why she didn't ask or discuss it with the rest of the creative team..

It's not clear to the audience that she lives right above Roger and Mark, or even in their building - does she even live in their building?. So her traveling down the staircase might have been indicative of her coming from somewhere else, like the Cat Scratch Club. Now, I can understand audience members thinking this - but, like you said, I find it odd that the character portraying Mimi is hazy on these details.

Updated On: 10/19/07 at 11:56 PM

Posted: 10/19/07 at 11:59pm

Right, I suppose there are other possible settings for the song within the stage show, but it's hard for me to imagine anyone actually ascribing much validity to them. I mean, Mimi even (usually) does that compact mirror move. That obviously isn't happening when she's stripping.

[misschung]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 12:02am

No, but I think that the sequence of events used in the movie for that scene could be translated back to the stage version, and have it still make sense.

Sort of unrelated - but why did they stop including the synopsis in the Rent playbill? Because it's there that they specifically point out "in her apartment, Mimi is dressing to kill." I feel like unless you're familiar with the show, you wouldn't know that by the stage direction. There's nothing on that top balcony that even signifies that it's her place, you know?

Updated On: 10/20/07 at 12:02 AM

Posted: 10/20/07 at 12:08am

When she magically goes from dancing at the strip club to descending the fire escape into Roger's apartment? I honestly don't think there's anything in the scene to indicate that she's dancing at a strip club for the first half of the song. If anything, the choreography hints otherwise. I can understand momentarily ascribing the same pattern of events to the stage show if you saw the movie first, but I would also think that the viewer or performer would think twice before deciding that the movie's pattern of events exactly mirrors the show's. Kind of like how What You Own doesn't necessarily literally take place on a mountain cliff.

[misschung]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 12:25am

I can understand momentarily ascribing the same pattern of events to the stage show if you saw the movie first

That's all I meant. No, I don't think that an audience member would assume that the movie entirely mirrors the show. I just thought, in a more general sense, that I could see why Tamyra might think that the film and stage versions of Out Tonight might overlap a bit (particularly after having seen the movie first).

Honestly though, I'm wondering when she raised this question to the director. How long has she been performing with the assumption that the number takes place in the S&M club? lol

Updated On: 10/20/07 at 12:25 AM

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 2:29pm

"It's not clear to the audience that she lives right above Roger and Mark, or even in their building - does she even live in their building?. "

well, itd be odd if she came over from another building to ask someone for a match.

[misschung]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 2:42pm

lol, true.

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 2:49pm

"How long has she been performing with the assumption that the number takes place in the S&M club? lol"

Unless someone has told her since the interview, she still is. And she calls her a stripper, though i guess actingwise considering yourself a stripper or an s&m dancer doesn't make a whole lot of difference.

[misschung]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 3:20pm

Oh I thought maybe in the interview, she was referring to what she first started.

I'm hoping someone told her since the interview, although I don't really care that much to tell you the truth. It's just embarrassing for her

[Chloe]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 5:05pm

You had to sweat it out a bit.
I did, and it was great, because I had really fought the audition. I live in San Francisco, but I was in L.A. and there was a nor'easter going on in New York, so I was stuck in the airport for 10 hours. I thought, "I'm just gonna go home and forget it," and I almost did. But instead I went and got a copy of the Rent movie and spent the entire time studying it.

Studying?
I didn't understand "Without You" or "Out Tonight." It had been almost eight years since I had seen the show, and I couldn't put into context what the deal was with "Without You" and why she was howling in "Out Tonight." I just didn't get it. But I watched the movie, and everything made sense. I was like, "Okay, 'Out Tonight' is a performance piece, she's at a strip club, she's doing her thing. Got it. 'Without You' is a memory piece. She's going through her memories because she just lost the love of her life. Got it."

She was talking about her audition and what she believed at that time. Though there's no indication that she doesn't still think of "Out Tonight" that way, it's quite possible that she understands it differently now.

[Feathah]

Posted: 10/20/07 at 9:23pm

Have any Bway cast members past or present commented on this production yet? And does the London show have it's own website?

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 6:50pm

God, do me this favour and keep this show open so I can see it on my trip to London in January? I must see this trainwreck in person.

But...in regards to the Mark 'remixed', I found these comments from Oliver's blog interesting:

...I thought it might be fun to let you know how we are slightly changing the character of 'Mark', so that when you come and see the show you'll have some idea of how we rebuilt characters for the 'remixed' version.

When I was offered the role of Mark, all my friends said things like 'Is that the one with the camera?' or 'Is that the one with the scarf?'. Having seen the original Broadway company, we all have total respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp, but Will felt out of all the characters, Mark, seemed to have a smaller emotional arch and was remembered for his camera rather than his 'journey of self discovery'. In this way we decided to make a 'remixed' Mark, so that the audience will hopefully follow his story as much as Roger's.

I know a great deal of people are surprised that I'm a little more 'High School Musical' rather than 'rock and grunge Rent', but we thought it might be interesting to make Mark more 'middle class' - from the text it's evident that he is from a different upbringing to other characters such as Roger or Mimi. It would seem that Mark makes the choice to live in 'poverty' and 'bohemia' (he could go home at any point and has a healthy relationship with his family, they even send him a hot plate and call him regularly throughout the show), whereas characters like Mimi are trapped due to their drug addiction and so forth. I think in this way it highlights how removed and different Mark is from the rest of the group. In some ways he appears the leader, in other ways he is completely detached, alone and isolated. This makes for an alternative and interesting new way of defining the character.

I'm aware people who know the show well, might be worried that characters will be changed too dramatically, but don't worry Mark hasn't become a bare chested model, just a little more 'preppie' than 'geeky' due to decisions on his upbringing, but I can assure you every choice has been carefully thought out. So, get ready for abercrombie, no glasses and ooohh there's a fierce tango. Anyway we open reallllllllly soon...so you can decide for yourself. I hope you all have a great time and even if you don't, I think it's always good to experience alternative ideas.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=186798400&blogID=315349195

Updated On: 10/21/07 at 06:50 PM

[misschung]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 7:09pm

hehe. I posted that blog awhile ago (on another thread, I think) and I found the line about Mark being remembered for his camera rather than his 'journey of self discovery' interesting. Only because from what I've heard and seen, they seem to think that making Mark a hottie will fix this. The London Mark doesn't seem to be the kind of person who would blend in and get "lost in the mix" like I've always thought Mark does.

I think it's apropos he's remembered for his camera, and that it says a lot about his issues to begin with, but maybe it is a weak point in the show that I've just never noticed before. I feel like they're unraveling more than they're fixing in this production, though.

And how do they know he has a healthy relationship with his family?

Posted: 10/21/07 at 7:27pm

The lack of emphasis on Mark's emotional arc (or there lack of) isn't really a flaw in my eyes. As far as I know, there's no unwritten rule saying that Mark and Roger should have been or have to be on equal footing, and there will always people who are more invested in Mark anyway.

[misschung]

Posted: 10/21/07 at 7:34pm

That's true. And in some ways, I think Mark's lack of emotional arc, like you said, says something in and of itself.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 12/9/07 at 11:12am

I am going to London in a few weeks and I can't decide if I want to see this or not. I am curious, I have to admit.

[DaneSaw]

Posted: 12/9/07 at 1:24pm

I just have to comment on the topic of Mimi's entrance into Roger's apartment. I completely agree that she is, no doubt, in her apartment during the song.

However, Mark states in the opening monologue that Mark and Roger live on the "top floor of what was once a music publishing factory." This being the case, where in the HELL is Mimi coming down those stairs from? The roof?

[Elphabuff2]

Posted: 12/9/07 at 2:10pm

Dane, excellent point. IS she coming down from the roof? I guess she would have to be, right?

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 12/9/07 at 2:52pm

everything in this show is bad guys, i cant emphasis how bad it is (well actually i did in my review lol)

The show will still be open in January as they have just announced a new cast member for december 27th (Jesse Wallace from BBC soap Eastenders) as Maureen

The show closes in April

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 12/9/07 at 4:04pm

in regards to mimi's apartment... it's a play, not real life. just use your imagination, that's how the stage is set up it works for the show, and with such a "minimalist set" you have stuff like that. I mean why not ask, why does angel randomly go up stair in TFY, why is there a band in their aparment? Why is the christmas tree made out of metal? why do Joanne and Roger have the same mom? why are these people singing? you know?

[outovfashion07]

Posted: 12/9/07 at 4:09pm

Will there be a CD?? Please god tell me there will.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 12/9/07 at 4:27pm

who knows, there is not talk of a CD and when i asked Luke Evans he said they were no plans