is it because im young? — Page 2

since i really started getting into it again only after the movie came out-before the movie i only saw it once in 2003-was it as popular as it is now after the movie?

was there this many people trying lottery or buying tickets?

Rent had long lines for lotto - people camped out.

I miss the faux-80s. (The mid-90s)

the only time i've camped out-if you call camping out sitting next to the theater with crazy people starting sing alongs and making puns-was for the 10th anniversary. I was there at 3:30 am.

It was absolutley insane. That's another part about rent that i love..the dedication fans have for it.

actually..i take that back to an extent.

i hate the "dedicated" fans that are they just to see what a hottie Roger is or to see Mimi ask him to light her candle.

Teebz

Some of the hostility you may perceive is not really directed at you specifically. It's a generational thing. Some people (myself included) can't help but get a little grumpy when we encounter young people who have not yet broadened their interest in musical theater. Not that we are all old grumps, we just get a little frustrated. We want you and the Rent and Wildhorn and Wicked fans to realize how incredily broad and diverse this area of the entertainment world is. (And excuse me if I am assuming that you are one of those young people).

For instance, did you know that the story for Rent was actually written in 1895? It's true. Giacomo Puccini wrote an opera named "La Boheme" which debuted in Turin and then Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1896. It was about young, starving artists in the poor inner-city of Paris and in particular, about the love life of a man named Rodrigo (Rodger) and a young woman named Mimi who was slowly dying of tuberculosis. Sound familiar?

You should take some time (and again forgive me if you already have) and go to the library and soak up as much as you can about the history of musical theater, you'll be amazed at how Broadway has influenced the world, the entertainment industry, the music industry...

I spent hours listening to scores of obscure shows and reading every book I could get my hands on. At first, it's as boring as ****, but soon, you begin to see the common links between Broadway, Hollywood, Opera, pop music, politics. Think of is as The Da Vinci Code, but with a better story and cool music. It's amazing.

Broadway needs to be continually refreshed with the blood of young people who bring a sense of wonder to the industry, like you do. You may be new at this, but there's a giant and exciting world waiting for you out there. IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK FOR IT.

Broadway has led the way in the entertainment world for a century now and continues to provide new and vibrant material - like Wicked and Rent. And if you know where we came from, it's so damn exciting to be a part of where we're going.

---

Reading the arguments re RENTS relevancy it strikes me as to how similar to the Hair debate.

"Old people deal with AIDS, too."

exactly......and frankly those of us that have lived the AIDS epidemic since it began can relate to this piece a lot more than those who did not.

---

You are right, but not everybody feels that way, which is why unfortunately people are now saying it's overrated.

Right, I'm aware of both things -- that not everyone feels that way (I never said they did) and that people feel it's overrated.

There's a lot of similarity here and in the debate about Hair. Last time this came up, though, people were arguing that Hair still had *far* more relevancy than Rent does; probably because of the war context, and it's a little bit more straight forward relevancy.

I'm nineteen and I don't like RENT. Why? Beyond your run of the mill human compassion/sympathy, I don't feel anything for the characters. They're not poor by circumstances outside their control. They CHOOSE not to have jobs (and when Mark gets one, he promptly quits), some of them CHOOSE to do drugs, sucking up the little cash that they do have, and they choose to live contrarty to societal norms. These are not things beyond their control like the events in a well-written tragedy (which would also actually have Mimi die, BTW). They live in a self-created poverty and demand my pity and the pity of others because they are poor.

Is it really about pitying them, though? Is that the purpose? I'm not so sure it is. I think you're, ideally, supposed to connect with and feel for them, but I don't think the main point of the characters (and the show) is to bed for pity. Yes, they're poor, ill, and drug-addicted, but I don't see begging the audience, so to speak, to feel sorry for them is the main concern of the show; I think it *happens* inherently because of the circumstances, but that's not the same. I also don't think it's really a tragedy -- you say it's a bad tragedy because Mimi doesn't die... but maybe it's not a tragedy because of the message that comes out because Mimi *doesn't* die.

---

Updated On: 5/6/06 at 10:36 AM

Wow, Chad, what a brilliant analysis. You really said it all.

Freeadmission, Maybe it's a matter of perspective, but I don't see the characters as asking for pity, persay...it's more of a, "this is our lifestyle, this is what's going on in our lives, deal with it ,we're not going away!" That was a bad way of putting it but hopefullt you get what I mean. It's not about pity as just acceptance and understanding...

And if someone uses the word "dated" one more time, I will poke out both my eyes.

---

i don't agree that they're looking for pity.
it think it's more of just presenting to you what they were dealing with and what they had to go through.

everybody here is making really valid points and im loving it.

allofmylife,
yes i do know all those things.
and i've seen a pretty decent amount of plays old and new.
it's just that for some reason rent always hooks me back in.

I think allofmylife hit the mark.

From my perspective, at least on this board as opposed to adults who see it and ask why don't they just get jobs and pay rent, it has to do with...word choice even. Rent is and always will be one of my favorite shows. But there was a time I would call it the best show ever, which I now don't.

It's certainly not terrible by any means, but there are some flaws--in the direction for instance, and some of the book of act 2. I think many older people get very frustrated when young kids refer to Rent as the best without understanding the rest of theatre.

And of course there's the society cycle that anything that becomes a phenomenon for a phase eventually experiences backlash. People went to see Titanic 5 times in the theatre, and then a year later said it was overplayed.

---

BSoBW2 I agree about Pearl Harbor with two tiny caveats. The POV shot of the bomb that is dropped to strike The USS Arizona is an arresting moment and the actual impact of the bomb - when the entire ship lifts up out of the water is an amazing SPFX - as is the way they almost get a performance out of Josh Hartnet.

Anyway,
I personally have nothing against "Rent". I have seen the show a few times and it is very moving. Of course, the tragic, tragic death of the creator permeates the entire experience so greatly. I just can't help wondering what would have happened to the show had Johnathon lived and then I can't help but wonder.... you know where I'm going here....

What I was saying is that there seems to be so much superficiality in the way kids talk about musicals. Did anyone ever describe Alfred Drake as "dreamy"? I just want to help people who use Rent and Wicked as their gateway drug to find that Broadway hasso much more to offer.

Teebz, I am so glad you are not one of the people I was alluding to. I hope you take no offence with anything I may have said.

I'm also very impressed to come across such literate debates on this profession unique. People of all ages here have some very interesting things to say. (And I laughed my ass off at the person who posted a picture of a keyboard with an arrow to the **** key. tHAT wAS fUNNY!!!!)

---