Rent Closing Rumors/Marketing - From an Old Renthead- Page 3

[Jonny boy]

Posted: 7/23/07 at 2:10pm

"I don't get why everyone here seems to hate RENT"

I dont hate RENT. I have seen it live over 40 times...... I just think it is time for a break! The show has just gotten really played out.....

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/23/07 at 8:08pm

"But you did imply that there was not a single person actually involved with Rent understands it."
Actually, the implication was that those involved with the show, whether they "get it" or not, seem to have no interest in maintaining a certain level of integrity for the show. It's as though they've become desensitized to the whole piece to the point where there's no genuine, urgent need to engage with the work anymore; hence my desire to see them just wipe the slate clean and get some people in there who have their hearts in the piece at this point in time. It's not that they don't understand it or have the capacity to understand it (though there certainly ARE those who don't...), it's that it's become a mere job for most involved, or merely that show that's making them money.


As for the rest of your post, I think you've made it quite clear yet again that you really do NOT understand where I'm coming from, nor do you make the effort to, so why you feel the need to attack me (yes, attack me...WHY do you never actually DISCUSS things with people?)each time I post my opinion on this show is beyond me. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume it's my failure to clearly communicate what I actually mean when I discuss this show. And I'm very sorry that I post my opinions about the way the show is being handled too often for your taste, but I do believe that you've been attacking me like this since I can remember, and not ONCE can I recall you having anything constructive to say or anything to contribute in regards to the actual discussion of the show and the way its being handled.

So when it all comes down to it, I'm still curious, orange. Do you actually find that when you've seen Rent in recent years that it feels as fresh and vibrant as it did years ago? Do you honestly believe that the show it be handled with the same care it was over ten years ago? You really don't think they could at least do a little better?

I'm also curious about what I'm going to think about Adam and Anthony when I see them on Monday, since you OBVIOUSLY have my entire psyche figured out.
Updated On: 7/23/07 at 08:08 PM

[misschung]

Posted: 7/23/07 at 9:03pm

I recall someone posted a threat not that long about auditioning for rent. One of the posters said that they spoke to Anthony Rapp and a book signing and said not to. Rapp apperently siad that the show isn't what it used to be and the message and the whole meaning of the show have gone out the window.

I'd also like to hear an elaboration on this. I have no connection whatsoever to Anthony, but I find it hard to believe that he would respond that harshly with charges that the show has completely lost its message and relevance. Other than his returning to Rent next week, he also just finished directing a production in South Africa. I don't know why he would put so much effort into a production if he thought it ultimately futile, you know?

Updated On: 7/23/07 at 09:03 PM

[Becky]

Posted: 7/23/07 at 10:53pm

I dont hate RENT. I have seen it live over 40 times...... I just think it is time for a break! The show has just gotten really played out.....

Maybe it seems played out because you've seen it "40" times and you need a break. The people who are seeing it for the first time night after night probably don't share your opinion.

[courtney4]

Posted: 7/23/07 at 11:32pm

The producers probably don't care about advertising it anymore because they know that no one wants the nederlander and the show is cheap to run so even if ticket sales are low they can still keep it running. I mean, there will come a point when it definitely needs to close but I don't think that time is now. I think closing at the end of Anthony and Adam's run would be stupid. The show should close the way it opened, with fresh and new people.

And a person a few pages back said something about Anthony Rapp telling someone not to audition for Rent because it's not what it used it be. Well, if he thinks that then why the hell is he coming back? And if Rent is in fact "not what it used to be" then that's because it went so mainsteam when the movie came out, so Anthony Rapp contributed it that by being in the movie.

This is just my opinion.

[moosepower93]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 12:45am

i didn't have time to read everybody's response but here's mine coming from a huge renthead:

as much as i love rent maybe it's about time for it to close. it's had an amazing run. the producers should wait 5 maybe 10 years and open it back up. maybe there will be a huge rent phenomena again.

i don't know it's just a thought. i know i will be terribly sad if rent closes, i'll probably cry for days and days on end but all good things must come to an end, right?

honest living,
kasey

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 12:53am

I don't get this mentality that shows should "run forever." I don't think there's anything wrong with a show running for maybe 5 years, but I just think all artistry is lost after that.

B'wayGirl, if you don't think the show should close now, when do you think it should close? Do you think CATS should still be running and spreading its message? Or what about HAIR? It's been 10 years! Let the show close.

[moosepower93]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 12:55am

Harley Jay (who played mark in the 2006-2007 tour) just anounced that he will be playing Mark on broadway for a 7 month run. so i guess we have atleast about 9 months.

www.officialharleyjayfanpage.com

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 12:58am

No f---ing way! He was horrible! He can barley sing the show and Marks the easiest vocal part! Oh geez. His acting was okay though. Well I gues he got his equity card...

[[e-mail]]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 1:10am

I agree, after 5 years you should be out of there....

I think this whole A Chorus Line/Phantom/Les Miserables approach to running shows for years and years and years is absurd. The broadway of 1989 had all of these shows...

Rent needs to close, less revivals, more original works. Broadway used to be the thriving vehicle for the American Composer and librettist. What happened?

[[e-mail]]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 1:10am

I agree, after 5 years you should be out of there....

I think this whole A Chorus Line/Phantom/Les Miserables approach to running shows for years and years and years is absurd. The broadway of 1989 had all of these shows...

Rent needs to close, less revivals, more original works. Broadway used to be the thriving vehicle for the American Composer and librettist. What happened?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 1:27am

I agree. I think Broadway needs a radical change in producers or theater owners. What happen to the artistry? It's only become a "business" because we've let it.

I have no problem with movies turned into musicals, but there's a way to do it with grace, and a way to do it to just make money.

You can't rush great art.

[RockabyeHamlet]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 1:42am

"We've been hearing for years how "Rent" and "Hair" and even "Tommy" changed the direction of Broadway"

- Tommy gave us Michael Cerveris. That alone makes it beat Spring Awakening and RENT, as the foundation of the rock musical. Geez, where have you people been?!

[Craww]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 1:59am

He can barley sing the show and Marks the easiest vocal part!

Barley is a hearty and nutritious grain. An odd analogy to compare someone's vocals to barley, but certainly not unflattering.
Updated On: 7/24/07 at 01:59 AM

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 8:36am

I don't think you can make generalizations about the entire cast not having the passion for or the understanding of the show any longer. There have always been castmembers who perhaps did not give the show the respect or passion it deserves, and it is certainly not a phenomenon that has only been in evidence in the past few years.

The show will close when the producers make that determination. There have been closing 'rumor's and wishes for years. If you think that it should close, that it is tired, that Broadway or prospective patrons don't 'need' it there any longer, then there's an easy solution, don't go see the show! I've seen the show close to 100 times probably, I no longer keep track. I have friends and family members who have been in the show. Have there been performances which are lacklustre? Sure. Does that mean I now hate the show? No.

Bringing in all new people to the Neder will never happen and there's no guarantee that it would provide what some people here on BWW seem to desire. The casts since 2001 have been almost entirely new casts in each leg, and there is still a range of talent and passion. To the thousands of new fans over the past five or six years, those kids are just fine. Same with the new people who see the show at the Neder and see it just once (which is what most people do!) The cast is, on most nights, providing a product which pleases the audience and the SM.

p.s. Anthony would never have made the comment about the current production of Rent, especially to a stranger at a booksigning!

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 11:50am

RentBoy, I'm more or less talking in idealist terms. You're talking about the general pattern of a long-running show that opens with a bang, and then after a few years starts to become stale. But I'm saying that's entirely BECAUSE of the people involved. If there were producers (and other staff) who considered a certain sort of care for the shows they produce and work to be part of their job rather than just bringing in enough people and raking in enough money for the show to squeak by as it slowly dies out, that wouldn't be the case. That's what I'm talking about. A good show shouldn't have to close after 5 years if it's done the right way, nor do I think it should have to die a slow painful death like Rent is. At this point, they HAVEN'T closed it after 5 years so it could go out with some dignity as you recommended, so...I'm suggesting they put some more into it and let it run its course the way a show with some integrity would. I mean, in an ideal world, a show would run with a certain vitality and it would just close when it stops selling the tickets to keep it open...in other words; when almost everyone who would seen the incarnation has.


erinrebecca, that's exactly the complacency I'm complaining about. You really think people are going into Rent having their lives changed the way the show supposedly did years ago? I'll tell you, the first time I saw the show in about 2002 or 2003--before I was at all familiar with the show--I didn't like it. I loved the music, but the whole thing came across as concert that had a vague story about whiny young adults who didn't want to pay their rent for no reason. And I can't tell you how many times in the past few years I've heard the same reaction (or that it's..."the AIDS show")from virtually everyone I know that saw the show recently. Now, of course when I watched the original cast and sat down and listened to the CD and READ the thing, I realized that that is not at ALL what the show is at its core. And truthfully, I think it's entirely because whatever's happening on stage is not coming together to tell a cohesive, meaningful story and despite the flaws with the unfinished work, the fault is not really in the libretto, as it's been proven in the past it can work.

If you, as a fan of the show, are complacent with people walking out thinking that sort of representation of the show IS what Rent's all about, and you're fine with people thinking it's a washed up joke because of it, go ahead. But it frustrates the hell out of me, because I think it's so much more than that.

Updated On: 7/24/07 at 11:50 AM

[moosepower93]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 2:54pm

oh and along with Harley Jay going to b'way, Declan Bennett will be joining him. They start on September 10th and there contracts in March of 2008.

[BrianIdol]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 3:48pm

Part of me agrees with this "5 years is enough" idea....but i have to say - I saw The Phantom of the Opera in Toronto well into it's run (probably 7 or 8 years into it) and I LOVED IT. That was the show that inspired me to become a designer...so I think some shows can stay fresh with the right cast choices and an occasional update.

[Becky]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 4:06pm

erinrebecca, that's exactly the complacency I'm complaining about. You really think people are going into Rent having their lives changed the way the show supposedly did years ago?

I certainly can't speak for everyone, but I can give my own perspective. I've seen the show more times than I care to reveal (dating back to early '97). In recent years when I've gone to the show, different things stand out. I find myself noticing the reaction of the crowd during the performance and listening to conversations before the show around me and at intermission. I was kind of surpsised in a way that so many people seemed to be first-timers. Pay close attention - people are genuinely moved. Still.

As for whether or not "people are having their lives changed"? You can't possibly know either way. But I'll tell ya, I still read posts on message boards all the time from people of all ages who have just discovered the show and appear to be just as enthusiastic as I was 10 years ago. Not to mention I still bring people to the show who've never seen (as recently as a couple of months ago) it and it's thrilling to see their faces full of tears and laughter by the shows end.

I think the "played out" feeling sometimes has more to do with people that are tired of what they are seeing and their own expectations rather than with the state of the show itself.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 4:49pm

I think anybody who's seen any show more than two or three times is going to have a pretty warped vision of what they're seeing on stage in terms of the show as a whole instead of its parts and how the audience is reacting. And I am including myself in that statement. Just because people are still walking out moved doesn't mean the show is as vibrant as it used to be, nor does the fact that the show is becoming a tired, stale, joke in many circles all that telling of a measure either. But in my opinion, the people over at Rent are NOT doing the job they could be, and even if they're pleasing people, I think they could easily be pleasing more, and reaching them more deeply. Why would you settle for merely pleasing casual theatre-goers, when you can have higher standards for the work? People in the audience with higher standards will be more pleased.

I tend to think in these terms because of my first experience with the show; it, to me, was really telling that what later became my favorite show was so empty to me the first time I saw it, and in retrospect, I think it's because the actors, sometimes as individuals, but even more importantly--as a company, as an ensemble--were not doing their job in telling the story. No matter how extraordinary a libretto is, if the people doing the story-telling are not collectively doing their job, the work itself comes across as less than it is. That's generally something repeat viewers of a show won't see in the same terms; instead it's easy to pinpoint that such and such an actor is not so great, or the show is having an "off-night," etc.
Updated On: 7/24/07 at 04:49 PM

[courtney4]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 5:11pm

Many of the people in Rent have been doing the show for a really long time so maybe the reason "they aren't doing their job in telling the story" is because the are bored with the show. I mean, Frenchie Davis was with Rent for 4 years and both times I saw her she looked absolutely bored out of her mind at some points in the show. Now I'm not saying that looking bored onstage is excusable I'm just saying that Rent continues to recycle the same people over and over again and I think they just need some new people. However, their are many people in the current cast who are very passionate and really do an amazing job every night.

[Becky]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 5:26pm

But in my opinion, the people over at Rent are NOT doing the job they could be, and even if they're pleasing people, I think they could easily be pleasing more, and reaching them more deeply. Why would you settle for merely pleasing casual theatre-goers, when you can have higher standards for the work?

How do you know how deeply people are being reached - or how pleasing it is - or what the standards of the theatergoers are? All I know is what I've gathered from listening to people engage in conversation, looking at their reactions, and reading thoughts posted online. I just don't happen to think it should close to please the people who have had the chance to see it upteen times and are done with it (as long as new/old audiences are still coming). I also don't happen to agree with the opinions that people/producers involved with the production are sitting around collecting checks and could care less about the state of the show. I've never felt that was the case and don't now.

I've seen the show go through its ups and downs over the years as far as the energy level or how they "click" as a whole. I've also been at a show with people who commented on how "bored" or "bad" someone was when others had the exact opposite feeling. So how good the cast is at any certain time is purely subjective.

**BTW, I'm beyond happy that they are bringing Declan to Bway in Sept. One of the best casting moves in a long time IMO.
Updated On: 7/25/07 at 05:26 PM

[RENTingFAME]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 5:42pm

I have read some of and gathered the general idea of posts on this thread. All I would like to do is post my humble little opinion.

I saw the show for the first time in 2004 (while Jai Rodriguez was playing Angel). It did change my life and I was genuinely moved by it. I have been a serious RENThead for almost exactly 3 years now (I was only 6 when the show debuted on Broadway, so forgive me for being late) and I still love it as much as I did the first time I saw it. I'm going to see Anthony and Adam in it in August, which will be my 7th time seeing the show, and I imagine I will still love it then. I have only seen RENT twice on Broadway but four times on three various tours. There are differences every time and not every performance is equally good, but I still enjoy the show every time.

I can't speak specifically about the broadway cast, but I strongly believe the show itself is not played out. To people like me, who are a kind of second generation of RENT fans, this show is still fresh and new, and certainly as releveant as it was eleven years ago.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 7:22pm

How do you know how deeply people are being reached - or how pleasing it is - or what the standards of the theatergoers are? All I know is what I've gathered from listening to people engage in conversation, looking at their reactions, and reading thoughts posted online.

Like you, all I know is the information I gather about the show from people I know that have seen it for the first time recently and the way people on message boards that AREN'T specifically for Rent respond to it, and in the eyes of so many of these people, it's mediocre, washed up, or a downright joke. And frequently I'll ask people who they saw, and much to my dismay, it's often a strikingly similar set of people as I saw and was enormously disappointed in when I have seen the show. *I* personally have not sat in the theatre watching the Broadway cast of Rent--I, a huge fan of the show--and felt the urgency and depth delivered. I see very little attention given to the story and it's bigger ideas. I see a lot of singers who can ham it up but not act; I see a lot of potentially good actors who don't even make specific choices; I see a lot of actors giving line readings without actually adding anything to the text; I see a lot of characters who are written with an arc not going through the entire journey they need to; I see a few individual actors who are quite good but are simply not open to or not surrounded by people who are willing to give and take with them in scenes, and in my opinion, that's NOT going to allow Rent to reach people in the way that it could. Maybe it's fine for some people, but given what I often hear from people who see the show, I've a hunch I'm not the only one who feels that way.

And I'm certainly not saying that anyone and everyone from '97 on has sucked (as orangeskittles often likes to pretend). I'm just saying that...from the times I've seen it over the past few years, it hasn't exactly been what I'd call Rent. It's the book, the music, the lyrics, but these things never really come to life the way they could. And while I haven't seen everybody, it's not exactly promising that some of those people who I felt were really bringing the show down are still in the show.

Updated On: 7/24/07 at 07:22 PM

[joanna2]

Posted: 7/24/07 at 8:30pm

Declan Bennett = fantastic. From September last year to April this year, he developed and grew so well on stage. It was amazing to see what he started off as...and what he became! Excitment!