Time article; "Life After Rent"

[MadPhan]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 5:54pm

I subscribe to Time magazine, and got the newest issue yesterday. There was a article in in about what Broadway will do to get young audiences after rent is gone. I thought it was interesting. What do you all think?
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1718572,00.html

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 6:12pm

While Rent will be a great loss for a variety for reasons, it's not like there aren't other "gateway" shows currently running and yet to come. Spring Awakening, although nowhere near Rent in quality, can probably do just as much to draw in young audiences. And as for the "where will Broadway find its next Rent?" question that the writer poses, I think we'll be hard-pressed to find something that is such a phenomenon for a long, long time. But that doesn't mean shows won't continue to get young audiences to the theater; Broadway isn't going to suddenly lose its teenaged demographic just because Rent closes.

Updated On: 3/1/08 at 06:12 PM

[DMsquared2]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 6:20pm

Well put, luvtheEmcee!

And to think that Broadway is loosing its teenaged demographic is absurd when Wicked is still a hot ticket and Legally Blonde gets covered by MTV.

[East Village]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 6:24pm

I don't think Broadway has any trouble bringing in young teen and family audiences. It's the college and hipper 20 something demographic that's been problematic.

[lakezurich]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 6:51pm

I was just going to say, has the writer not been to Wicked and seen all of the teens... and me?

[East Village]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 7:12pm

I don't think by younger he's talking about tweens that are dragging their parents to Wicked and LB. It sounds like he's referring to a more culturally diverse crowd of 18-30 year olds which marketing folks typically refer to as the hip, trend-setting audience.

[lakezurich]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 7:21pm

IDK. From what I got out of it I thought he was referring to the tweens, but I didn't write the article.

[East Village]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 8:52pm

Well he's making comparisons to Hair and Rent -- did they really play to the 12 and under crowd? A lot of critics are mentioning Hair when they talk about Passing Strange and In the Heights --- which I don't get but that's that generation's way of referring to the audience for contemporary music. Granted its now the iTunes crowd -- and its skewing younger then ever before.

[Steve2]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 3:15pm

I was going to post this but I am glad I did a search first.
I enjoyed the article even though I didn't agree with everything in it.

[me2]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 4:46pm

Thanks for posting. I'll check it out.

It amazes me that RENT was still a youth draw for so lang after its opening.

FYI, there was also a great article in the Entertainment Weekly (the one with the Oscars on the cover).
Broadway Blog: Clip Me, Kate

[Gobstopper]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 5:04pm

Yeah, I agree, Wicked's youth appeal is not remotely the same as that of RENT. For one thing Wicked primarily appeals to younger teens as opposed to RENT's older teens and 20somethings. Secondly, Wicked is pretty traditional musical theatre stuff (albeit the traditional mega-musicals, but still), especially in comparison to the music of RENT.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 6:31pm

It amazes me that RENT was still a youth draw for so lang after its opening.

Why, though? Rent's fan-base has always been a bit like a revolving door; there's always a new generation of young people discovering it for the first time.

[LittlexFallxOfxRain]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 6:33pm

There will never be another Rent.

Spring Awakening and Wicked are definatley bringing in a younger crowd to Broadway, but asking what the next rent will be is rediculous. There will never be anything like it.

[Chloe]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 7:58pm

I hope that sometime soon there'll be a show coming unexpectedly out of nowhere, who knows of what kind of story but making a big splash with audiences and the press. I agree that there hasn't been a phenomenon like Rent since it opened.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 10:08pm

Glad to see TIME covering the end of this amazing era.

Well said, LittlexFallxOfxRain.

[snl89]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 10:33pm

you know, it's kind of annoying. I had really felt like I was pretty much past my RENT obsession phase. I mean, the show will ALWAYS hold a special place in my heart, and I will always be greatful to it for having really gotten me into Broadway, but I hadn't even listened to the obcr or movie soundtrack in forever. And now with all these things coming up since it is closing, I'm remembering just how much this show really does mean to me.

I DO still feel like I'm passed the obsession stage, but like. I listened to the obcr again the other night in bed. I had meant to only listen to a little bit of it and then fall asleep. Yeah, I ended up listening to the whole thing stright through. And then I was up literally all night thinking about it, and starting to get really sad that it's closing.

As much as a pretty large part of the reason this is emotional for me is because of Jonathan Larson's story, that's not to undermine the fact that the show itself really IS unbelievably powerful, and even, dare I say, life changing for a LOT of people, myself included. When I first saw the show, what made me fall in love with it was NOT pity for what had happened to Jonathan. I did not even know that story at that point. It was that the show was raw, emotional, and I connected with it like I had never connected with any show before. And as much as a lot of people on here seem to like to call it cliche, it really will be a great loss to the Broadway community.



I DO just have one more thing to say though: Lately I've heard lots of rumors that Spiderman might take over the Nederlander once RENT is gone. If this ends up happening, I will have some major, MAJOR issues with it. Don't get me wrong, I totally don't mind big, mindless commercial shows like that because they're needed to attract big audiences that turn a profit. But the Nederlander Theater is the ONE theater that I truly care about what shows go in there. I understand that RENT has to end, and I will deal with that. But it does NOT mean that just any show should be able to come in and destroy the spirit that has resided there for the last TWELVE years. To me, the Nederlander is a little bit like sacred ground. Not necessarily because of RENT itself, but because Jonathan Larson spent the last 5 years of his life living, breathing, and dreaming RENT. And this was it's home. All I would ask is for the next show that goes in there to be something Jonathan would be proud to have proceed his baby. And Spiderman just does NOT fit that bill. Give me Bare, give me Next to Normal, or any other show that is innovative, unique, and meaningful, and I will be fine. But do NOT go into a theater that has that much spirit in it and fill it with a silly commercial show like Spiderman.


Sorry, wow, HUGE ramble. I'm done now, I promise :)

Just had to get all that off my chest lol

Updated On: 3/5/08 at 10:33 PM

[jpbran]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 10:39pm

This week's Entertainment Weekly had a similar article (well sorta):

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20180989,00.html

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 1:31am

Thanks for posting!

[LittlexFallxOfxRain]

Posted: 3/7/08 at 12:22am

Snl89, I agree 110%. 120%.

Just the thought of them painting over the Rent mural kills me. When I first found out about Rent closing, I felt empty for a while...I can't explain it. It hurt me so much that a show that meant so much to me and changed my life in so many ways could just...leave. I felt like Daphne, Adam, Anthony, Wilson, Jesse, Freddi, Idina, Taye and Johnathan were leaving me forever. And then a night about a week after I saw the movie on my lap top and I cried harder than ever. It just hit me.

However, even though the show is leaving, the lives that have been affected by Rent will remain changed. The show will always be in our hearts.