RENT is coming to high schools... — Page 2

This past summer, in partnership with MTI, campers at Stagedoor Manor staged a development workshop of RENT (for high schools).

I happen to think it is a great idea that this show has become available.

I see both arguments here, but to me the bottom line is the show is completely inappropriate for HS kids.
Changing certain words won't make it any better. I mean,Mimi is a heroin addict who dances in a strip joint and is HIV +.
I'm not prude at all (believe me ).
I realize that a lot of people in HS post here and think it would be exciting. And no doubt to them it would be. But our HS posters have an understanding and love of theatre. Am I wrong that most people that age aren't mature enough to perform this material?

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Wow, this high school version sounds TERRIBLE!!!! I hope I NEVER have to see it. ever.

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I got to see bits of the "revised" version this year at Stagedoor and well... some of it is really ridiculous.

During Light My Candle they changed it do "They used you doll you up" "it's a living" "I didn't recognize you without the makeup"


I just don't feel it works for HS kids. It's awkward to watch. However I will say the girl at stagedoor who did the soloist section in "Season of Love" really did it justice. But that kind of talent doesn't exist in every school.

How does a revised version "damage" the original show? Hate to break it to you but 99% of the world will never even know this revised version exists, not to mention that it will not change anything about the original version. It will stay in its same form.

I agree winston, i agree.
And i GUESS I won't judge it till I read the script.

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Winston, I am not at all saying HS students can't make up their own minds. And I'm sure if the students could produce the show completely on their own they would do it intact. But the issue is that the teachers/adults will be paying, directing, and giving space for the performance. Whether you agree or not, there are certain standards that they will most likely insist upon.

Also, I am against any form of censorship. That's why I do not think the show should be watered down for HS. Artistically it will suffer.

How do HS students benefit from doing an edited version of any play when there are so many excellent choices that could be done as intended. The message is "ok, we can do edgy material, but only if we take the edge off". That's TEACHING censorship.

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Updated On: 2/28/07 at 10:47 AM

Wow. I can see where Rent would be cool to be in, because it is soo popular among high-school people, but I can't see it being staged the way it was intended to be. Yes rent has great music. Yes rent has a grest message. But...high school? Junior versions just don't work for me. Certain things get cut to make it more appropriate, blah blah, but its just not the same show. I could see it working in colleges in its full form, but not in high schools in a cut up "appropriate" version. I can't really say much more without reading the script, but I think part of the reason rent is so cool is that its almost always has amazing, passionate, people in it. With highschoolers in these roles some of the awesome moments will be passed by.

I think a lot of students could handle RENT in the original form. My old high school, for instance, had a large homosexual population, and many of them were in the theatre department, so it wouldn't be too hard to find a boy willing to go in drag and be in a relationship with another one of the boys, and same with the Maureen/Joanne pairing. And the group was already listening to the recording, so it's not like any of them hadn't already heard the words to La Vie Boheme. We learn about drugs in middle school, so singing about taking them wouldn't be such a big deal (it's not like drugs are really accepted in the musical, they are trying to send Mimi to rehab after all). So I don't really understand why they need a junior version. Parents just need to accept the fact that their kids are growing up and are going to learn about this stuff soon enough, and it's better if they do it when they are younger and have a more open mind then later in life. And, personally, I would rather see a school like mine take on RENT then try to do Cinderella where the whole time you know the prince wouldn't be with Cinderella because he obviously has a thing for the herald.

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I just found this partial songlist for the HS version:

Seasons of (platonic) Love

Light My Candle (b/c it's good to conserve energy)

Out Tonight (but not gay "out", b/c that's a sin)

I Should Tell You (not to do drugs b/c they're bad)

La Vie Boheme (minus all those references I don't get)

Coming to your local HS soon!

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Screw high school kids trying to act in it, how about them trying to sing the SCORE?

This is going to spell irreparable damage to so many high school students voices.

Little Betty Sue trying to belt out "Over the Moon" or Jimmy Joe singing "One Song Glory" for a 2 month rehearsal period and performances?

These kids will not have voices! You need voices of steel for this show - either technical perfectection or Aretha Franklin-like endurance. Maybe even both.

Eep, I can't just imagine the butchering of the Seasons of Love solo right now.

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All this being said, if there's a high school even remotely near me that winds up performing it I'll be there in a heartbeat.

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I completely agree with LostLeander and Broadway Bob. But I also feel that, yes, it is a way of getting kids into the theater; but will people truly find the message of the show?
Can't you just see the popular jock goofing of as Angel while his friends snicker in their seats? I also have the feeling that they'll try to sound like the people from the film. Not only will that truly screw your vocal chords; but it'll make the audiences ears bleed. Grrr...this does not make me happy at all.

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