Rent brought people into the Nederlander for about 12 years and it has toured almost as long.
Filling a theatre for 12 years doesn't happen on sentiment. It doesn't happen just because of a Tony. And it doesn't happen due to the writer's death.
Most likely, many of the people who have seen Rent over the 12 years don't even know who wrote it or when and how he died. I would say this common for any musical. Especially for young people who saw the musical after a bit of the hubbub subsided.
I think many of you forget that in it's time Rent was groundbreaking. It touched upon subjects that were not particularly common on (popular) stage and screen. I know that as a young teen, "Angel" was the first drag queen I'd ever seen, and Rent was probably one of the first shows I'd seen with gay relationships (specifically loving relationships).
The language, the roughness, the fact that it was departing from the British spectaculars that dominated Broadway and addressing a very serious issue of the time (AIDS) were all things that weren't particularly prominent in musicals at the time.
The fact that it became mainstream with all this is amazing. Yes, the show is unfinished, and I know that Larson followed in the tradition of many writers and composers before him, but I believe Rent will be considered a "classic" in the future.
Sondhead, it's called suspension of disbelief... but I do agree that she probably WOULD die soon after the finale.
So, that was the Drowsy Chaperone. Oh, I love it so much. I know it's not a perfect show...but it does what a musical is supposed to do. It takes you to another world, and it gives you a little tune to carry with you in your head for when you're feeling blue. Ya know?
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