Final Performance of Rent on Broadway Review

[_Yoda]

I realize that I am probably the only theater nerd in this group, but I thought I would post this anyway.

I purchased the Blu Ray Disc of the Final Broadway performance of Rent last night, and stayed up until 2 AM watching it, so I could watch it in peace without the rest of my family, who thinks the musical is quite stupid, wouldn't give me a hard time.

It was well-filmed. I really felt like I was a part of the audience with the best seat in the house. I think it was probably the best $30 I've spent in a long time.

12 years on Broadway. It's the end of an era.

The show is very moving. It is a "rock opera"....sung more than spoken, but with contemporary music. It is loosely based on the Puccini's La Boheme.

The show is about a group of young people in their mid 20's who live in New York City's East Village, and are trying to survive.

Roger is a recovering heroine addict who used to be a fairly successful rock star. He has contracted AIDS, but it is under control at the moment with AZT. His girlfriend, April, committed suicide after learning that she had also contracted AIDS, so Roger is torn up over the guilt and mourning her loss.

Mark is Roger's roommate. He is a wannabe film maker. He wants to make a difference with the films he produces. He was seriously dating Maureen, who decided she was a lesbian, and dumped him for her current lover, JoAnne.

Mimi is a spunky 19 year old who lives in the apartment upstairs from Roger and Mark. She works as an exotic dancer, and is a heroine addict. She falls in love with Roger, and tries to kick her habit for him, but continually falls back into the cycle of her disease. Mimi also has AIDS.

Maureen is an actress. She is very flamboyant, pretty, and can't get enough of performing. She dated Mark, but is now in love with JoAnne. She has problems with commitment, but has a good heart, and wants to dedicate her performance career to helping people stay off the street.

JoAnne is a confident, self-sufficient lawyer, who has the perfect life until Maureen turns it upside down. She is hopelessly in love with Maureen in spite of her antics, and always manages to become caught up in her causes.

Collins is a frustrated professor at NYU. None of his students really want to learn, and he is not taken that seriously in his field because he is gay. Collins is also a former roommate of Roger and Mark. After he is mugged and left for dead, Angel, a young street performer, rescues him, and nurses him back to health. They soon fall in love.

Angel is a good-natured street performer, and also a drag queen. He is gay, has AIDS, and is comfortable with his sexuality. He attends a Life Support group which helps him cope with his disease. He becomes very ill, and Collins eventually takes care of him until he dies.

Benny is a former roommate of Mark and Roger. He has married a rich socialite, and is caught between caring for his friends and impressing his in-laws. He owns the building that Mark and Roger live in. At first, he told them that they could live there rent-free. Now he is demanding back rent if they do not stop Maureen from doing a protest performance. Benny wants all of the homeless people who have basically created a "tent city" to keep warm at night to be arrested, and wants to turn the apartment area into condos for the wealthy. His plan would evict all of the current tenants.

How the characters interact, and basically build a survival family of their own is the essence of the show.

Jonathan Larson, who wrote the book and the score, died before ever seeing the first performance in the Off Broadway New York City workshop. He didn't die of AIDS, as many people thought. He was not gay, but had many friends in the gay community. He waited tables during the day, and wrote music at night, in an apartment very much like Mark and Roger's....with little heat and few amenities. He died of a rare heart condition. Jonathan's parents have been to every performance of the show. There has been a foundation established in his honor which helps people with AIDS and other diseases and addictions.

Rent is a show about acceptance, about friendship, and about living life to the fullest.

It is a very moving theatrical experience, and touches all who choose to allow themselves to be encompassed by it.

I know that my synopsis is not doing the show justice.

Rent is one of my favorite musicals of all time.

I would encourage anyone who hasn't seen it to rent a copy of the DVD. You won't be disappointed.

[Guest]

No, Liz, you aren't the only theater nerd in the bunch!

My daughter, Courtney, is very active in theater and was recently cast in a community production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. She's also spending a week in New York this summer with her theater instructor and fourteen other kids. They're seeing five Broadway shows and touring the city a bit. I don't get to go.

I saw Rent last year when it was showing in Tulsa. I liked it, but it's not one of my favorites. Still, I may check out the DVD so I can see the Broadway production. If you say it's good, it surely is.

Tonight I'm seeing Les Mis with Courtney and Madeline. They'll love it, I think. This is one of my favorite scenes from Les Mis, probably because it provides some much needed comic relief:

Master of the House

Thanks for the review and recommendation. :)

KA

[_Yoda]

That's so exciting, KA! What a great experience for your girls!

What shows do they get to see?

They are doing a revival of West Side Story that I would love to see.

Spring Awakening just left, too, which is another incredible show.

Rent is a classic for me, like A Chorus Line. I just fell in love with the music and the message.

The DVD with the broadway cast really is amazing. You should definitely check it out. I cried. I'm such a boob. LOL

Les Mis is a great show. I have a couple of students working on numbers from Les Mis at the moment. My tenor is working on "Bring Him Home", and I have two of my sopranos who just finished working "On My Own".

[_cinepro]

The DVD with the broadway cast really is amazing. You should definitely check it out. I cried. I'm such a boob. LOL

So how did you like the Rent movie? I've never seen the play, but the movie didn't do much for me :(

Our broadway folder on the family ipod is full of selections mainly from:

Jersey Boys (edited)
Wicked
Les Mis
Phantom of the Opera
Big
Mamma Mia
Joseph & TATD (Donny Osmond of course ;) )
Marry Poppins & Little Mermaid (but I'll be taking these out of the rotation soon)

So I guess these are our favorite shows.

[_Yoda]

I liked the movie, but I disagreed with the two musical selections that they cut.

Overall, the stage version was much better.

[_KimberlyAnn]

Only Courtney, my oldest, is going to New York, Liz. Madeline is just twelve, and immature for her age, so I don't think she's ready to spend a week without parental supervision. :)

I'm unsure of the shows they'll see. They're going to purchase tickets in the next few weeks and I'll let you know.

Off to the show!

KA

[_Jersey Girl]

Jersey Boys (edited)

Bless your heart, cinepro.

Jersey "move it nice and easy" Girl



Jersey Boys the Musical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6XYD8Trk0Y

Jersey Boys the Real Deal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myIG9PEwXZw&feature=related

One Season well seasoned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1xho-cuQQI&feature=related

(See what you did, cinepro?)

Tickets and Audio Samples
http://www.jerseyboysinfo.com/broadway/

(Stop me, cinepro)

[_cinepro]

(Stop me, cinepro)

This is my favorite YouTube JB medley:

Jersey Boys (London) Medley (Not a huge fan of the London Frankie Valli though ) I know it's tough to perform a role originated by someone else, but John Lloyd Young is really, really good.

Awesome show; my wife and I were really tired when we went to see it, and it was a good show to see when you're tired! It moves so dang fast, it was over before we knew it.

Even though I edited the soundtrack, our 10-year-old's favorite song was December '63, and he even had the dialog memorized. Awkward!

A while back someone posted a bunch of great bootleg clips from the Broadway show, but they were taken down before I could snag them Can't wait to see it again.

Oh, and last year, I took my daughter to see the BYU Young Ambassador's show, and they actually did a Jersey Boys medley that was really good. (They also did great versions of songs from Spamalot, Wicked, Mary Poppins, and The Drowsy Chaperone; quite a bargain.)