Rent attendance anecdotes — Page 16

I was fortunate to be at the special screening in Baltimore (my hometown) at the Senator on the 21st in honor of Tracie. She and John Waters are some of the few famous Baltimore folks I know to have DAYS named for them! Anyway, that was a joy in itself. You were there for that screening so I don't think I have to say much. I loved the movie and it was a night I'll never forget.

Onto my second Rent movie experience:
This one is drastically different from the previous one. My family inherited a house in the middle of NOWHERE from my grandparents in Pennsylvania where my parents plan to retire. We use it as a vacation house. My mom and brother had seen the show but my dad had not. The only movie theater around was the one in the mall in Hagerstown, MD. The area is very conservative. Being 18, openly gay and from Baltimore juxtaposed with being in a small town is interesting for me. Nevertheless, on Friday the 25th, my family and I entered the theater to see that it was not very full.

The previews began and some more people filed in including an elderly couple. I didn't think much of it though, for I was too excited to see the movie again and to see it with my family.
The movie started and the audience was fairly quiet. No big reactions. There were some fans of the show behind us, so we weren't the only one's who were enjoying it. As soon as "Today 4 U" started, the elderly couple looked at eachother and got up and left. I shouldn't have taken it personall but I did.
Later, during "I'll Cover You", the black middle-aged couple that was sitting to my left mumbled something and got up and left. They laughed hysterically at Tyler Perry in drag as Madea in another sequel to "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" during the previews, but a love song between to gay men of color seemed to be too much for them.

The movie continued and the audience warmed up more. The room was incredibly still and quiet during the funeral scene and the I'll Cover You: Reprise" and during "Your Eyes" the girls behind me cried. What made me forget my frustration with the members of the audience that had left earlier was that during the credits as the lights slowly came up, applause came slowly then filled the theater. For the people who stayed, the film was enjoyable and a emotional journey.

Thank you for your posts Athony! I hope this was what you were looking for.


**To be specific, by left I mean they never returned to the theater. Some people took bathroom breaks, but they rushed back and forth so they wouldn't miss anything.

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Updated On: 11/28/05 at 01:13 AM

I live in Miami and I honestly expected it to be a huge crowd when I went, but there wasn't a whole lot. It could be that I went at 1:30 in the afternoon. I wanted to catch the first showing. There were more people the second time I went. I know I will be supporting it as much as I can. I think it was a wonderful adaptation to stage production. I was weary, but was won over. It's exciting to know the legacy will live on.

I am in small town, Central Florida. It's a pretty conservative town, a lot of "red state" mentality. I wanted to rush out and see the film on Wednesday evening, but I waited, because a friend of mine was coming down from NY and we were gonna see it together. Long story short, he never made it, so last night (Sunday the 27th) I went to the 7:30 showing by myself. I would say there were about (i've never been good at estimating numbers) 35-40 people there. This is actually not too bad considering it's a Sunday evening in a small town.

There were a few married couples, an older couple, and two young guys who seemed familiar with the material - I think they were a couple, as one of them grabbed the other's hand during "I'll Cover You".

The audience was pretty quiet. Sadly, there was no applause at any point, although I must say, there were moments my heart was LEAPING out of my chest. As soon as the credits started to roll, most people left. Some stayed for the cast credits, then left. I stayed till the very end, until "Thank You Jonathan Larson", and by then it was only me, and a couple seated a few rows in front of me. She was wiping tears away. As I walked by her she said "wasn't that wonderful? It's the second time I've seen it, and I want to see it again" Then I somehow mentioned that I was going to New York this weekend and would probably see it again there, and they were both like "We need to go to New York and see this on stage". That made me smile.

By the way, Mr. Rapp, if you are still reading these...I can't tell you enough how much I loved your performance. There are no words.

I went to a 10:30 showing Wednesday night in my tiny little Ohio town. Even the liberals are conservative in my hometown, so I was a bit surprised to see that the theater was about half full. The late shows in that town usually don't have much of an audience. The crowd was made up of mostly Rentheads, but there were also a few middle-aged folks and a few couple in their early-mid 20's. Everyone laughed at the funny bits and there wre definitely some tears at the sad times. I was really bummed that no one stuck around during the credits. As soon as they began to roll, people were on their feet and headed for the door. But it was pushing 1 am, so that may have had something to do with it. The sound quality in the theater was terrible. I almost went out to the staff and asked them if there was something wrong. I felt bad for the rest of the audience. They really missed a lot not having the music cranked.
I took my brother with me as a bit of a litmus test. And the fact that he went despite the fact that he hates musicals is a testament to what a devoted sucker he is. He laughed a few times and I saw him really trying to get into it. It just wasn't for him, though. He was really intrigued by the story but had a hard time following it because the singing freaked him out. It did inspire him to spontaneously burst into song for the rest of the weekend, though.
Something that really surpised me was my grandmother's reaction to the cast's appearance on The View. She never misses that show and Friday was no exception. And it made her want to see the movie. This from the woman who taught my mother to always vote republican and who once told me, "This writer thing you're going through is a cute rebellious faze but eventually you'll have to conform and be like everyone else." I'm guessing she probably won't see it in the theater but might buy the DVD when it comes out instead.

Saw the movie again last night (south of Baltimore near BWI airport). Took 6 of my friends (3 of us were seeing movie for 2nd time, 3 for first time, 1 who hadn't seen or heard anything from rent - stage or screen). Audience size was shamefully low, maybe 20 people. Audience age was teens-middle age, i think my two friends were the only gay couple there. Audience was very attentive - you could hear a pin drop at every song transition.

Three young girls were giggling when Collins and Angel first met and when Angel first showed up in drag -- they ended up leaving the show. Another middle-age couple left before OSG. I am assuming they didn't know the background of the show, but it aggrevates me that people can be so offended by this material.

Side note, my co-worker (nearing retirement age, broadway lover) saw the movie twice over the weekend when she was in NY and was very impressed. Said she actually liked it more on screen than on stage. (She was also appalled to hear that people left my theater last night - and this is why I love her).

When Angel died, i of course cried, there was some woman who obliously has no emotion and said to her boyfriend or whatever "will this ***** ever shut up?", there were also other people crying so i didn't feel quite as bad, but the theater was definately packed.

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hey anthony!
so today was a day i had been fearful of for a while, it was my first day of classes after the movie had opened and i would be hearing what people thought of it. well, they all loved it! included the big macho quarterback of the football team. every single person i talked to had one thing to say though "i loved mark!" they all raved over you!
well done!

I went opening night near (but not in) Salt Lake City. I took my wife, my father, and my sister. We were the only ones there, except one 20-ish guy who we talked to before the movie started and who liked to make a point of his homosexuality in every other sentence. As to audience reaction. My wife had never seen the show, and she liked the movie. My sister and father had seen the tour and neither liked the movie. I saw it on Broadway the week it opened and didn't care for the movie very much at all. the othey guy wept and laughed VERY loudly.

(if anthony ever gets this far in reading the thread, hehe)

I was at the midnight showing at Ziegfeld, and it was so wonderful, anthony, that you and tracie came, it made it really special for all of us, so thank you. what an amazing energy that audience had, clapping, crying, MOOING! it was just a lot of fun, great reactions, no one singing (thank god)everyone just really respectful and really happy to be there. when it was over, i was so overwhelmed with emotion, i just wanted to come over and give you a hug to say thank you for making this beautiful film, but didnt want to be a part of the crazy scary fan-ness. so thank you.

i saw it again yesterday with my 72 year old republican father, and i am proud to say i turned him into an "us" for once, instead of a "them" he loved it, really connected with the story, the characters, the energy of the film.
so i think this film is going to be really successful in speaking to a lot of people, which is what jonathan wanted, isnt it?

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Got to school today, and it seemed EVERYONE was talking about RENT. Almost every person I talked to mentioned how they loved it. People were quoting it at lunch. Lauren and I did what short steps we know of the Tango... all day... even at rehearsal, backstage, in our 1800's style costumes.

Raves from everyone I talked to. I've only heard of two people who didn't like it, but one is impossible to please and the other isn't big on musicals.

Hi anthony and to whoever else is reading this!
I saw rent for my 4th time today. The first time was with all of you at the Q and A session. The second time I saw it Thanksgiving day in RI which I believe I already mentioned. The third time I saw it was on a Friday night in Rhode Island. It was pretty busy. I'd say all in all about 70 people or so. It was a good audience, they laughed appropriately and cried appropriately. Tonight I saw it in Boston where I go to school. It was VERY full and the audience was fantastic. Everyone laughed, cried some even clapped. It was fabulous and EVERYONE loved it. I didn't see anyone come out of there dissapointed.
Hope that helps! Thanks Anthony!
xoxo
Sarah

I live in Wisconsin and I saw it 2 and half times (technical difficulties the first time). Wisconsin is blue, but that's mostly thanks to Madison. I live farther north, closer to Green Bay (which is pretty red), but I saw it in Appleton which is more or less even. I'd call it a purple area. lol

The audiences have mostly been theatre people. Lots of teens and young adults. A few middle aged couple though, too. The responses have been really positive from what I've seen here. I can hear everyone crying from Without You through to the end.
The third showing I saw had, by far, the best response. There was applause after Seasons of Love, cheers and applause when Angel entered just before Today 4 U, many tears and applause at the end.

I've taken friends and seen some of my peers at the show. Most of them knew little to nothing about Rent prior to seeing the movie. Many of are a lot more closed minded than I am since I do live in a more rural town with a population of about 3,000 (it's about a 20 minute drive to see a movie) but their responses were very positive. That was a bit surprising. I think there's going to be a lot more interest when the tour come to the area in Feb!

I loved the movie, too, by the way! :)

the first time i saw rent was a screening on like november 9th so it was extremely packed, the second time i saw it there was maybe about a row empty so yeah that was pretty packed and same with the third. Oh this is in West LA...not exactly a small town or anything...but its seriously AMAZING the best movie I know, friends of mine agree. Thank god you were back from broadway. I think I might have died if yuo hadn't been.