london RENT recording?

[timrobb]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 4:01pm

Hello all! Anybody seen/heard of a recording (audio/video) of the revamped RENT in London? I am curious to see it and hoping somebody out there can help.

I am not a RENTHEAD - so please let's all be nice and just answer the question at hand without the mocking -

thanks in advance :)

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 4:03pm

I am not a RENTHEAD - so please let's all be nice and just answer the question at hand without the mocking -

I could mock you for the distinct possibility that this thread ain't gonna last very long.

[timrobb]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 4:05pm

why wouldn't it last long? i am not asking for a bootleg - just curious if anything has been recorded or plans to be.

[knicknut]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 4:54pm

It was universally trashed, apparently the reorchestrations are terrible. I youtubed a few and was not impressed to say the least, so I gave up.

[timrobb]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 6:45pm

never thought of you tube - thanks - kind of a duh!?!?

happy 081

[Chason]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 9:01pm

Dude - let me know if it's terrible. I might be interested! I would probably love any NUMBER of Rent renditions! And I AM a RENTHEAD (and proud of it!)

[winston89]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 9:52pm

Chason,

True you might enjoy a various number of different renditions of the music from Rent. But, I don't think you will like this.

There are audio clips of the songs on youtube.

Out Tonight sounds like it should be in Chicago most likely right after All that Jazz.

And, Take Me Or Leave me sounds like it should be blasting out of the stero of the gay bar down the street from the theatre as oppose to the theatre itself. Those were the only ones I had heard. And that Seasons Of Love is pretty much the same. But, keep in mind that there isn't much that can be done with song in terms of re orchestrating it.

[Chason]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 9:56pm

Oh, okay. I should go check those out. Actually, if I hated them it would probably piss me off. You know, WHY would London wait all this time to re-stage RENT and then screw it up so royally?

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 9:59pm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/audio_video/times_online_tv/?channel=Arts%20and%20Entertainment&clipid=1152_timesonline0294

[Chason]

Posted: 12/31/07 at 10:23pm

everythingtaboo: Thank you! You know I kind of liked that clip. I got into it. It seemed like their hearts were into it - and I think that's the most important thing. I'm not trying to defend it - the rest of it could be awful. Sure is a small stage they have it on there! They were just crammed together, and even then they were almost touching the walls. Is that a really small theatre that RENT is playing at in London?

[kyle.]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 1:22am

Chason I tried to PM you but it wouldn't let me.

[winston89]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 2:58am

The only song that wasn't changed was seasons of love and you saw that in the clip. Yes, the stage is small. But, if they wanted to they could have done Rent with its original sets and staging in that space. Keep in mind that the show that is playing on Broadway in terms of sets ect is the same thing that played at NYTW. And that stage is MUCH smaller then eiather one of the theatres.

As for the reason why they changed it royally. They did it becuse when the Shaftsbury production opened it was considered too American and too New York City for thier tastes. Yet, what the creative team in this production refuesd to realize is one big thing. That in all the years after The original production at the Shaftsbury, the show has gotten an underground following. I do think that if they realized that and decided to try the show again once more as is, then they might have gotten somewhere.

From what I heard and read, the score was all over the place so much so that it was hard for anyone in the audience to get a sense of the storyline.

[Chason]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 3:15am

"From what I heard and read, the score was all over the place so much so that it was hard for anyone in the audience to get a sense of the storyline_____________--______________________________________________________
That's terriblle! Can you explain - or anyone??
I write a play/musical - it's in my NAME.... How does someone have the right to produce it without my permission? I know Larson is no longer with us - but SOMEONE should be protecting this copyright, YES??? How is this all turning out to be this London nightmare? What if kids in High School decide they want to do it??

[winston89]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 3:38am

I don't really think they re ordered the songs. But, with the new orchestrations and with what was going on onsatge it was hard for many to figure out what the hell was going on.

As for reorchstrations. There is nothing stopping them from doing that. They did produce Rent by Jonathan Larson. But, they took artistic lisence and ran with it it way too far.

The copyright is protected. Your allowed to reinvision the peace as much as you want so long as you follow the basics of what was on the paper. That is the beauty of revivals. Is that it lets you take the work and creat yoour own spin to it.

All the producers had to do was produce Rent by Jonathan Larson and use his script and music. Those are the only requierments for a revival.

So, they aren't breaking any copyright at all.

Updated On: 1/1/08 at 03:38 AM

[exedore]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 9:09am

"I don't really think they re ordered the songs."

You think wrong.

Tango: Maureen was moved between "We're OK" and "Christmas Bells", the latter song being the new end of act one. Act two starts with Over The Moon, and LVB goes straight into Happy New Year. Little bits of SOL are scattered throughout and the full song is done as an encore (giving us a total of seven renditions through the show). The funniest thing about this new version is that all the pre-opening press was about trimming the show to 2 hours and getting down to its essence, but it ended up being so padded that despite some cuts it still runs 15 min. longer than the Broadway version.

[luceecool]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 9:15am

although the orchestrations were dire, there were a few changes that I thought were nice.
They extended the tango maureen dance break (Well, I think they did, as I didn't see the original production) and made it into almost a bull fight sort of thing, which worked quite well.
And they turned What you Own into a ballad (which was strange as most of the other songs were upped in tempo and back beats added)which was really sweet.

They also did the voice mails as dialogue, not song, even though Kylie Minogue was doing them, and they were all prerecorded.

The reason for moving the intermission is so that the act one finale was Denise Van Outen making her big entrance and the act two opening was Denise Van Outen doing her big song , hmm, notice a theme there?

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 10:01am

I did a review of this show in October and its awful,

Will there be a cast recording....not a chance

are they certain other recordings around....yep

[CHGriffiths]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 10:13am

The show is amazing, but only if you accept it as a seperate production and do not relate it to the origonal rent! There were plans for a cast recording, BUT due to it posting early closing notices, this is not going to happen now! Storyline wise, Ive heard, its not clear that Mimi has aids, and the ending, well I took my firned, he knew NOTHING about Rent before hand except he liked the songs seasons of love and Take me or leave me, and also he aint very bright, we walked out, both impressed and he understood every little thing, it does work and it works well

[Craww]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 10:14am

Too bad there won't be a recording, so I can't perfect my impression of London Mark's over the top dramatic delivery of What You Own. As it is, my impression keeps morphing into my Michael Cerveris as Sweeney impression, and that creates a very strange and off-putting crossover.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 2:22pm

This god awful production does not deserve to be preserved.

[winston89]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 2:39pm

I have said it before and I will say it again. They could have opened up Rent with its original staging et al and The Duke Of York's if they wanted to. The stage is still bigger then the one at NYTW therefor it could have played there if it wanted to.


It would also would have been more successful then the SH*T they produced.

[sondhead]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 3:32pm

"The copyright is protected. Your allowed to reinvision the peace as much as you want so long as you follow the basics of what was on the paper. That is the beauty of revivals. Is that it lets you take the work and creat yoour own spin to it."

No.

If you produce Jonathan Larson's RENT and you get the score/script/orchestrations of the original, you had better do the original score/scipr/orchestrations unless you have permission of the copyright holder or his/her estate. Clearly they did in this case.

And Chason, MTI is readying its Rent School Edition, so I'd bet that High Schoolers will be doing Rent pretty soon.

[kyle.]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 4:49pm

Does anyone know why they will be letting HIGH SCHOOLS do it before regional theatres, etc.?

I realize that it is still running on Broadway and on tour, but it seems odd to release the rights to high schools before legit theatres.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 4:58pm

And Chason, MTI is readying its Rent School Edition, so I'd bet that High Schoolers will be doing Rent pretty soon.

They already have been.

http://www.compulsivebowlers.org/boards/viewtopic.php?t=7434

[timrobb]

Posted: 1/1/08 at 5:53pm

oh lizzie, and you didn't think this thread would last
400+ views and still going strong

:)