The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater- Page 2
The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
#25re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:23pmNo, this is literally the front of the building.
#26re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:25pm
Does anyone have a picture of the RENT Wall that they can post? Or instructions on how to get back there to see it? Are people even allowed to go and just look at it? Or is it in an area that's off-limits to regular theatre goers? Haha.
I'm not RENT obsessed by any means, I'd just like to see it.
Sorry for all the questions!
#27re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:30pm
WOW!! I mean it's one thing if your a fan of the show, but seriously, don't go writting it all over the theater. I think it's extremely disrespectful to the theater itself. Im a RENT fan, but I've never wrote it on the front of the theater.
I also agree that the Heath Ledger thing is a bit much.
Hank
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#28re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:32pmI'm not a big fan of graffiti, but I think it's appropriate in some places, for instance, the Berlin Wall, certain bathroom stalls, or here at The Nederlander. It just adds to the gritty charm of a show like Rent.
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#29re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:33pmThis proves our priorities are way out of line with both the graffiti & Heath Ledger matters.
#30re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:33pmThe Rent Wall is way different. Writing stuff on the outside of the theater is a bit much. I say take out The Rent Wall and auction it off, like was previously mentioned, and then gut renovate the theater and get rid of those uncomfortable seats.
#31re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:33pmYeah, until you actually see some of the stuff people put up there. It's obscene, self-righteous and creepy. There's nothing charming about that kind of thing.
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#32re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:39pm
The theater is way off the beaten track so getting another show in there will be hard. if not for rent, i doubt it would have been in use 1/2 the time it was. Prior to Rent the hit shows were few & faw between. Some one night stands actually played this theater when called the Billy Rose
Billy
Here's Where I Belong
One Night Stand - Closed in previews
#33re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:42pm
41st Street is one block from 42nd Street.
That's "way off the beaten track"?
#34re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:43pm
"Does anyone have a picture of the RENT Wall that they can post? Or instructions on how to get back there to see it? Are people even allowed to go and just look at it? Or is it in an area that's off-limits to regular theatre goers? Haha.
I'm not RENT obsessed by any means, I'd just like to see it."
There aren't instructions. It's on the pathway to backstage but no one is allowed to go back there unless you're invited by a cast or crew member. Let me dig through my facebook albums to see if i can find a picture for you. Anyway I hope so much that they don't paint over it when they renovate. The outside of the theatre is graffiti, its stupid and its gross, but that wall is historic.
Okay here is outside of the theatre: 
This is a picture from last june, look how the wall is clean: 
Okay and a couple from the real one: 
Cages or wings? Which do you prefer? Ask the birds. Fear or love, baby? Don't say the answer Actions speak louder than words. (Tick, Tick... BOOM!)
#35re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:53pm41st Street is no longer a million miles from Broadway and Times Sq as it was 2 decades ago. The Nederlander will no longer have problems finding a show to go in. The theatre is closer to Times Sq than 3 or 4 other major houses
#36re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:55pm
If one block below the heart of Times Square is "off the beaten track," what exactly do you call the Cort and the Belasco?
There's a door from the house that goes into the alley where the wall is. I have no idea if you're allowed to just wander back there; I know some people who found it by mistake when trying to get out of the theater.
#37re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 12:58pm"There's a door from the house that goes into the alley where the wall is. I have no idea if you're allowed to just wander back there" Not without permission.
Cages or wings? Which do you prefer? Ask the birds. Fear or love, baby? Don't say the answer Actions speak louder than words. (Tick, Tick... BOOM!)
#38re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 1:00pm
Well, we were in the house with some cast members following a performance, which is probably why they weren't stopped when they opened the door. 
But it's marked as an exit and it's not like there's anything stopping you. I'm surprised more people don't mistakenly try to exit that way.
#39re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 1:08pm
The front of the theatre's graffiti is not "gritty" or "edgy". It's tacky. It's not artwork, it's a mess. People even wrote OVER the artwork on the outside of the theatre. They've covered every conceivable space, above the doors, on the artwork, over the dumpsters. It's bananas.
Also, I know the "regulars" or "locals" are going to get blamed for this, but honestly, hardly any of this was here prior to the return of Adam and Anthony. On many occasions the stigmatized "regulars" told people to stop and that it wasn't the wall that they thought it was. Every time I was at the show I would see at least 10 people signing the wall. Every time I told someone to stop they told me to mind my business, and that I wasn't being a real fan even if I didn't know that this was the wall that the cast signed. I told them what they were doing was illegal and they either told me no it wasn't, or that they didn't care. After a couple weeks, I became tired of trying to stop it since those fans were crazy, didn't listen and the management wasn't doing anything to try and stop it.
A bunch of fans overstepped their bounds (at the very least legally) and spent about 5 hours cleaning the outside of the theatre. They got a good amount off, but it still looked smudgy and there were rumors that they messed up some of the paint. They were banned from lottery (and since they were all between the ages of 15-23 this was the only way they could afford to see this show) and haven't seen the show since.
There are no "instructions" to get back to the real wall. They don't take random people back there since it's supposed to be special and if everyone went back, the wall would have been filled many years ago.
Updated On: 1/27/08 at 01:08 PM
#40re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 1:12pm
The graffiti outside the theatre started this summer with the return of Adam and Anthony. Prior to that it was mostly clean.
It started fall of 2006. In the picture Mealz posted of the "clean" wall, you can see the things written on the door frame behind Luther Creek's head.
I'm not a big fan of graffiti, but I think it's appropriate in some places, for instance, the Berlin Wall, certain bathroom stalls, or here at The Nederlander. It just adds to the gritty charm of a show like Rent.
No, it just adds to the stupidity of the current generation of Rent fans. Where did you sign?
Wanting life but never knowing how
#41re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 1:14pm
It started before Adam and Anthony came back. It just became far worse over the summer. And yes, it definitely became more of a problem as people increasingly thought that it was the wall.
And surely the people who were banned from the lottery could save up and still see the show. They could just see it, you know, less often. I mean, if they put aside the money they'd spend seeing it from the lotto seats three times, they'd already have enough money to buy a regular ticket with one of the readily available discount codes. If they haven't seen the show since, it's probably more out of embarrassment than anything else. Not that they should be embarrassed, because they were trying to do a good thing, but you know.
RoseStopnikCooks
Stand-by Joined: 12/19/07
#42re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 1:21pmI've just walked back there and seen it. They don't usually bother you, as long as you don't go any further than the wall.
#43re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 1:27pmI've seen quite a few people try to go over there thinking that its a bathroom but then they've always been told by an usher that the bathrooms are inside the theatre and they'll have to wait till they're unliked or go to bar41
Cages or wings? Which do you prefer? Ask the birds. Fear or love, baby? Don't say the answer Actions speak louder than words. (Tick, Tick... BOOM!)
SDav 10495
Broadway Star Joined: 7/21/06
#44re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 1:31pm
Wow...I haven't seen the show or stopped by the Nederlander since doing lotto in March of '07, and back then I was annoyed by what little graffiti I saw on the facade. I had no idea it had gotten this bad.
Such a shame, too, that the actual ARTISIC graffiti by Paul Clay and the original designers has been vandalized. I know there are some who detest everything that was done to the Nederlander in 1996, but I've always defended the artistic license taken inside and outside the building, almost all of which can be undone once the show leaves later this year. But to have defaced the original artwork while the show is still running? Ugh. How emblematic of what the production and--sorry for the gross generalization--its most ardent fans have become since the 90s.
#45re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 2:59pm
Mealz- Those pics that you just posted look like graffittis in a men's bathroom
in a gasoline station rest area... sad! 
J*
Updated On: 1/27/08 at 02:59 PM
#46re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 3:03pmExactly Jaystarr! x
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#47re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 3:39pm
The theatergoers of the future.
Ponder it. Will they chain themselves in front of the theater when it closes? Will they blame GWB for it closing?Will there be a mass hari kari when it closes?
Get a grip guys. I could see the hoopla over something like Moose Murders or Lestat but Rent? I loved the movie but barely made it thru the show.
#48re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 3:45pmThose pictures aren't an overall representation of the RENT wall. I have a video of it from about 2 years ago, and will try to find it to post it, but really, it is an entire alleyway with beautiful drawings and messages. You are literally engulfed by the love for the show, and it is out of the way- so no one but cast/crew and those invited back there ever sees it. It doesn't get in the way of anything. And, just so you know, there have been traditions such as this for decades. I know several theatres on Broadway where departing actors sign the walls/counters of their dressing rooms before they leave.
#49re: The Graffiti on the Nederlander Theater
Posted: 1/27/08 at 3:47pmthats true, my high school graduation was at lincoln centre and I noticed a similar wall and spotted John Lloyd Young's signature on it. That made me happy.
Cages or wings? Which do you prefer? Ask the birds. Fear or love, baby? Don't say the answer Actions speak louder than words. (Tick, Tick... BOOM!)
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