is it because im young?

[teebz]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 1:58am

my favorite show in my limited experience is RENT
ive seen it 6 times and never get sick of it

but some people on the board seem to think its overrated or just not that good

i wonder if its just cause im young now and it deals with alot of issues younger people are dealing with?

i dont know..but for those of you who dont like it..do you mind sharing why not?

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:00am

Old people deal with AIDS, too.

And scarves.

[Kringas]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:00am

I wish they'd make ReNT into a movie.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:03am

I think there are way too many answers to this question.

Some people just don't like Rent -- for whatever reason, often for its sugar-coated ending. Some people used to like it and now they're past that "phase," because they've grown up and entered the real world of business suits and corporate offices.

I certainly don't think that Rent is only for young people, or that its impact is limited to young people, but those are obviously the people it most often, and most strongly, connects with.

The specific issues are not age specific, mostly -- AIDS, disease, things like that. I think the universal issues hit the age group so hard because in a way, it's about figuring out who you are; something very familiar to young people. But in terms of the themes that deal with love, community, and essentially, how you spend your time, are pretty universal, IMO.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:03am

i wish the damn thing would close and be restaged properly. Such great material and such a poor staging.

that's right i said it, let's see how many people freak out at me now.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:05am

BwayBaby - To punish you, I will lock you downstage!

That's right.

If you try to go upstage, you will be smacked by a large table.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:05am

Why would they? You're faulting the director, which... people do fairly often, at least in part. You're not faulting the beloved material itself, which I could see people freaking out over.

Then again, maybe I underestimate the psychotic Renthead.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:08am

Rentheads turning on each other critizing the direction.

It's like a microcosm of America!

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:09am

Rent was HUGE when it came out. 10 years later, it is not as huge, so for the people who are younger and just discover it and think it is the most amazing thing in the whole world, it is HUGE. But people have already lived through the Rent phenomenon, and it has become overrated in the sense that
A) It is dated, and some of the message has been lost over years, simply because it is no longer relevant
B) Becuase people are sick of hearing about it
C) Because there has been better stuff since RENT came out, and it is no longer as revolutionary as it was since it first opened

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:09am

You know what else is HUGE?














Wicked.

[teebz]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:11am

luv
i totally agree with you

one of my favorite things about rent is that it makes you feel accepted no matter who you are.

on another level though
ive seen it with adults and every single one ive seen it with say the same thing "oh it was too young for me blah blah blah' and its kind of upsetting because they're missing out on the main theme itself.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:13am

Please?

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:14am

Someone uses MAC!

[teebz]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:14am

i really liked wicked when i first saw it

and i HATE saying this because it sounds so cliche-but it was primarily because of idina.

when i saw it the second time
it just wasnt as good

i kinda thought it was corny and had a really weak plot
also, the songs-besides everybodys favorite..defying gravity, just werent really that catchy or well-written.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:14am

I don't have any major problems with the direction; I think there are several scenes and moments that could be better staged, but it's by no means a disaster.

It's 2 a.m. and I really don't want to get into THIS argument again, but neddyfrank -- Rent is period. Rent is not dated. Dated indicates irrelevancy, and even though AIDS is not what it is, and the East Village is not longer filled with such squalid conditions, the themes that make Rent truly effective are still *very* relevant -- they're the ones that can transend a location change, or a time period change. If it were simply "no longer relevant," it would not still be getting the attention and the love and the following that it has and continues to get. And even if it is period, ever hear of learning from history? If you just blew off everything from the past because it's happened and changed, that would be a pretty useless outlook.

Saying that people have lived through it isn't really an excuse, either -- not that I know what you're using it as an excuse for, honestly. Rent is kept going by its fanbase, but also by the "younger generation" discovering it, though the "new" fans are not really all young. I was almost 17 the first time I saw the show. I wasn't some 13 year old who thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. It's not like some standard right of passage, as many people like to think. For some, it's been there, done that -- but if that were the case for everyone, Rent wouldn't still be around, or a big deal. It continues to be a big deal in a way very different from when it opened.

I don't think it's *geared toward* young people, per se, but that by virtue of what it is, those are the people whose attention it catches. It's not for everybody, and that's about taste *and* age.

ETA -- yay for Mac users!

Updated On: 5/6/06 at 02:14 AM

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:16am

neddy, you are very, very wrong.

The message is lost because Mimi wakes up.

[pemberlee]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:17am

This is one lol away from a total cliche.

If you really love RENT, why bother with what other people say?

[teebz]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:19am

i agree with the whole stupid mimi waking up thing

and according to the producers and the director
the reason she wakes up is because jonathon larson didn't want to end his show with death. He wanted it to end with hope or something like that.

the ending itself i think could have been better instead of just being abrupt and out of nowhere.

but nonetheless, i still find it really moving.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:20am

If Mimi died, it would be a completely different show.

And yes, that's why.

[teebz]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:20am

i just wanted to here other people's thoughts on why some people find it "irrelevant" or just dont like it.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:20am

Then again, why even care how a show ends nowadays?

It will NEVER top Carrie descending the Stairway to Heaven. Except, she dies at the bottom. In HELL!

And Sue, her only friend comforts her - while her mother dies half way between Heaven and Earth. She was too good of a Christian.

It makes me cry.
Updated On: 5/6/06 at 02:20 AM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:21am

Er, hear?

I think the irrelevancy argument is very narrow, but if people just don't like it, then that's their deal. It's definitely not for everybody.

Oh, BSo...

[pemberlee]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:23am

I think the reason some people may consider RENT to be irrelevant is because it is kind of like the Titanic of musicals (very popular, commercially successful, winning lots of awards). But in getting more mainstream people percieve it as losing its edge. Not to mention it gets to be old news.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:24am

Someone uses MAC!

Well, yes, I've used Macs since about 1990, but the screenshot is from Macromedia. I just found it on a GIS.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/6/06 at 2:24am

Now. Titanic was the Titanic of musicals. It had everything. Music. Dancing. Laughter. Disaster. A big fat enemy.

And it sunk.
The ship.
And the show.
They both sunk.

But, while Titanic sinks, Carrie lives on forever.