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

[Soozie]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 2:57am

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.

[actor]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 5:29am

What high school boy won't feel comfortable about being a drag queen? I mean, if they cut things like that, it won't be the same musical with the same message.

[tazber]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 7:58am

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?

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 8:57am

capn, I'm not sure how UNCG is going to be doing the show since the rights are not yet available. Are they advertising that? It's only the school edition which will become available in the near future and those rights would not be granted to a college.

High school shows give kids the opportunity to ACT. Too often people forget the purpose of high school theatre. Will it be a show that all schools will do? Obviously, not, but there are many schools out there that have the talented (and mature) kids necessary to perform it well, and the communities which will not throw a hissy fit over the content. To say that the material is inappropriate is wrong, in my opinion. Take a look at many shows which are routinely done by high schools and you'll find that there are probably lots of situations portrayed that are not 'appropriate' for high school kids. That's why it's called acting. Do schools that put on productions of Guys & Dolls, or Les Mis, or Ragtime, or Into The Woods, or AIDA, or Sweeney Todd, all of which contain 'questionable' subject matter, draw the same kind of complaints? Are kids somehow mature enough to play those roles but not the ones in Rent? I don't buy that argument.
Updated On: 2/28/07 at 08:57 AM

[ccpdramaking]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 9:09am

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

[tazber]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 9:43am

I couldn't agree more. The thought of a 16 year old doing Out Tonight is very unsettling.

[Crazy_for_the_Q]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 9:49am

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.

[withoutlovewithoutU]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 10:09am

Those changes make me mad. especally as someone who hopes to work as a high school drama teacher. This is a show that shouldn't have a high school version, not because I think that high schoolers shouldn't do the show, but because it dameges the show greatly.
MTI should just have the unchanged version. Sure most high schools won't get to do it, but the ones that do will have a better chance at doing it justice.

[sondhead]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 10:17am

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.

[winston89]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 10:29am

Tazber, Do you not realize that there are so many things that high schooles are aware of and know about and okay with that adults disagree with. I am not at all a fan of the high school version of Rent. But, there should not be any censorship for what can be done in a high school show. I don't believe in censorship. Let the kids be the judge of what they find approprate to them and not the adulest. Teenager defenatly have the ability to say I don't like this this isn't for me. Or I love this. Adults act lik teens can't think for themselves.

[withoutlovewithoutU]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 10:42am

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

[sidjones09]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 10:46am

This is a VERY BAD idea, and a sleazy $ grubbing move on the parts of MTI and the producers of RENT.

I understand that there are high scool age kids who are mature enough to digest the subject matter that is presented in RENT. But does that neccessarily mean it is right for them to bring this subject matter to life on the stage? I'm not so sure. It's ONE thing to be able to watch RENT, it's ANOTHER thing to bring it to life on the stage.

Secondly, Yes there will be droves of kids jumping to be a part of a school production of RENT, but don't you also think there will be some parents telling their kids NO? There will be parents with talented kids, who for whatever reason do not want their kids being a part of this production. Not because they don't like the show, but because they feel it's inappropriate for their child. And can you blame them. We're talking about kids any where from 13 to 18 years of age playing these characters. Doesn't anyone else feel that a high school production should be inclusive to everyone who has the talent and wants to be a part?

[tazber]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 10:47am

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.

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

[sidjones09]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 11:00am

"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."

Great point. I agree completely. There is so much accessible material of high quality out there for high schools to do. I just don't understand why they want to water RENT down to throw it in the mix.

[littlechavela2]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 11:00am

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.

[Kringas]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 11:27am

Tazber, Do you not realize that there are so many things that high schooles are aware of and know about and okay with that adults disagree with. I am not at all a fan of the high school version of Rent. But, there should not be any censorship for what can be done in a high school show. I don't believe in censorship. Let the kids be the judge of what they find approprate to them and not the adulest. Teenager defenatly have the ability to say I don't like this this isn't for me. Or I love this. Adults act lik teens can't think for themselves.

Eeesh. Clearly your high school isn't doing its job.

And yes, teenanger have the ability to say what teenager like and no like, but the high school has to balance not only the needs and desires of its students with the standards of its community. Some high schools might be able to get away with something like Rent, but I'd think that most wouldn't.

I agree with everything Tazber said as well.

[geekgirl06]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 11:40am

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.

[Kringas]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 11:45am

it's not like drugs are really accepted in the musical

"To marijuana!"

[tazber]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 11:50am

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!

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 12:55pm

It's bad enough to have to listen to them belting the score outside the theater.

I second that!

[LostLeander]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 1:06pm

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.

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 1:12pm

^ Amen! When I saw the original Broadway cast limping toward their respective final performances...

Well, let's just say there were some weak as hell vocals going on at the time. Now imagine all these untrained high school kids screaming these songs for months. The only people who will be excited by the end are the doctors who will rake in a fortune performing all the surgery to remove the vocal nodes and the now voiceless kids.

I won't get into the ludicrous idea that this is. It's been covered throughout this thread. I will just say that there are MANY shows high schoolers shouldn't do and I will now add this to the list - in either version.

[Kringas]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 1:17pm

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.

[withoutlovewithoutU]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 4:19pm

No, there are NO talented singers in High school. They are ALL untrained. Yeah. Right.
I'm not really sure if Rent belongs in HS, but not due to lack of talent for the roles in most schools.
I say give high schools the option of doing Rent, but only if they can do the uncut version.
Some of the cuts they've made for the school version seem so dumb. I really hate the changes for light my candle.

[*brina-doll*]

Posted: 2/28/07 at 4:21pm

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.