"To Being An Us For Once, Instead of a Them..."

As I stumbled around in my robe yesterday morning and proceeded to make a protein sand shake (a requirement leading up to the fast), my mom started talking to me as she usually does.  In between the morning formalities, to which I grunted responses as my eyes adjusted to the light, she said a few simple words, “Rent is closing.” 

Anyone who has followed theater over the past few years knows that Jonathan Larson’s 1996 Pulitzer Prize winning musical has long since passed its heyday.  It started a phenomenon when it opened, gracing the cover of Newsweek and performing to sell out crowds full of celebrities.  It was very much a musical of its time, with its themes of AIDS, and gentrification in the early 90’s East Village, but is arguably a musical for all time.  The urgency created by the music and the overwhelming sense of love that runs throughout, spawned legions of fans who all claimed “Rent” as THEIR musical. 

When I first saw the show, in the summer of 1997, I was only eleven years old; it will forever be one of the most memorable theater experiences of my life.  It’s difficult for me to imagine a Broadway that doesn’t have “Rent” on the boards.  It was the first show that my generation grabbed onto, and to this day I can’t hear the music without a swarm of emotions and memories going through me. 

Even though I’m wary of going back, as I haven’t seen the show in about four years, I will have to make a final trip before June 1st, when an era ends.  Below is a list of my top five “Rent” moments (other than the six times I saw the show). 

My Favorite “Rent” Moments:  Prepare for embarrassing moments...

1.    THE WAY “RENT” INFLUENCED MY VOCABULARY- “La Vie Boheme” had enough vocabulary packed within its 10 minutes to keep my ten-year old self scanning a dictionary for hours.   When I first heard the CD I remember being thrilled at the fact that they shouted "to Sondheim" at one point, because it was one of the only references I had knowledge of.  I vividly remember dancing around in the basement one day to the Act One closer, which contains the line “mucho masturbation.”  I turned to my mom, who was watching in horror amazement at my ability to be all fifteen characters, and said, “What’s masturbation?”  Her response (remember I was about 10 at the time) was something along the lines of “you’ll find out.”  No comment.   More than influencing my conversational vocabulary, it was a show that taught me as much about emotions and connections between people as any other piece of art I've experienced in my life. 

2.    THE WAY IT FILLED MY BORING MIDDLE SCHOOL DAYS- Sometimes I wonder why on earth I choose to disclose certain information on this blog…the following is one of those moments.  One of my most vivid memories of attending middle school was how excited I was at the prospect of having a binder with a clear cover for which I could make rotating collages.  Please hold your laughter.  I would spend hours on the “Rent” website printing out production photos and glue sticking them to an 8.5 x11, yet it was what was inside the binder that is truly guffaw worthy:  drawings of every character in every costume he or she wore.  I blame “Rent” for my abysmal US History education. 

3.    THE FIRST TIME AT THE STAGE DOOR- After devouring the entire show (a rarity during those days, as I was prone to fall asleep at anything…even “Blue Man Group”) my sister, friends Libby, Meriel and I stood at the stage door with a hundred other “Rentheads.”  For some reason I’d decided that a “Titanic: The Musical” beanie was appropriate theater wear to cover my ravishing bowl cut.  When Jesse L. Martin (who has since gone on to “Law and Order” fame) walked out, he headed to me, and proceeded to be the nicest human on the face of the earth.  He even commented on my hat.  I felt like the coolest 11-year old in New York. 

4.    WATCHING THE TONY’S- The year that “Rent” fever hit, I had just turned ten.  I was living in Montana at the time, and completely unaware of my sexuality.  Looking back, it makes sense to me that I found something so comforting in the outcasts who populated the cast recording, yet at the time I just knew I was infatuated with this explosive show.  The very first time I remember seeing anything associated with “Rent” was on the Tony Awards the year that it performed “La Vie Boheme.”  Following the performance, I promptly went to Future Shop, bought the CD, and learned every word.  When family friends brought home a red “Will You Light My Candle?” shirt (which quickly became discontinued) I was elated.  I still wear the shirt to this day during rehearsals at ABT. 

5.    THE MOVIE- Now, before anyone freaks out at the inclusion of the movie on this list, let me explain.  Was the movie great?  Not at all.  Moments of the show that worked perfectly on stage were gag worthy when presented literally on screen (“What You Own,” anyone?) but there was still something special about the movie coming out.  Seeing all of the actors who had held such a special place in my adolescence on giant billboards was surreal.  Sure, they looked way too old to be playing their parts, but they also looked like old friends.  The night the movie came out, I went to a midnight showing with Carson and Libby (we all saw the show together the first time).  Even though it was quickly apparent that the movie wasn’t a masterpiece, it was still exciting being in a theater packed with Rentheads of all ages, who were all watching the movie of THEIR show.

With the subsequent DVD release came the incredible documentary on the second disc, which chronicles the making of the stage show.  I sobbed my way through it.

 

Runner Up:  Since Montana is such a vast state, we often drove from city to city for dance workshops.  On on particular road trip, Carson and I were blasting the cast recording as usual.  The sun was setting in Montana, which meant the show was already on for the night in NY.  We spent the car ride trying to guess where exactly they were in the show as we sang along to the Original Cast Recording.   

There is part of me that wishes this show could run forever, but I imagine that the quality has already suffered enough.  Perhaps most heartbreaking about the closing is the fact that it says goodbye to composer Jonathan Larson (who died of an aneurism the night of the final off-Broadway dress rehearsal).  Even though his music won’t be seen on Broadway anymore, it’s quite the legacy that he left us.  Thank you Mr. Larson for writing a piece of theater that meant so much to so many. 

Comments

[Esther]

Thanks so much for writing about your favorite "Rent" moments. I'm seeing it on tour this weekend. (Until now, I've only seen the movie.) I guess it won't have the same immediacy or sense of poignancy, but I think it'll still be pretty emotional, especially knowing that the Broadway show is closing and knowing how many people it's touched.

[Ashleigh]

I'm so glad I went to see Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp (twice!) when they were back on Broadway. I love the movie because I love the original cast members...but the scenes of Roger in Santa Fe make me laugh every time. Did he really have to go stand on a rock and sing? Ha! Oh and I still love the binders with clear covers.

[Sarah]

Wow, I didn't know it was closing... I'm glad I got to see it when I did, with Adam and Anthony. Even now that musical changes peoples life. In my head I had a longer comment all planned out about this...but I'm too exhausted too think of it. Oh, I had those binders too...I made some kick ass collages on them...

[M Light]

My daughter got the soundtrack to Rent when she was 14 and her younger brother was 7. Everything went over his head, plotwise and songwise, but we did tell him not to use any words in "La Vie Boheme" that he didn't already know.

We saw the touring show the same year and loved it (interestingly, my daughter was the youngest person in that audience).

[jolene]

Your mom is very wise, I love her response to "mucho masturbation"!

It makes me supremely sad to think about its closing, although rumors abound that it'll probably extend to August (who knows).

I feel the same way about the movie. It wasn't great, and I couldn't stand the way Idina was portrayed on the screen in addition to many other things, but it was still GREAT to see the original Broadway cast (or most of them) on screen again. I will always regret though, never having seen Daphne sing "Out Tonight", live! That would be really really cool.

I hope you get to see it on Broadway with a good cast! It's filled with American Idols right now (a South African winner, as well as Anwar Robinson from one of the multiple seasons), and it's so disappointing to watch it with a mediocre cast.

[Natalie D.]

I was wondering if you were going to write about this. I had always heard rent music growing up, but never really apprecited it until I saw the movie. I even liked the movie which so many people hate, so I can image what it must be like to see the real deal on broadway. I hope I get the chance before it is too late. Maybe a weekend full of Stompadu and Rent in the near future? We shall see...

[Elle]

Oh my gosh! I didn't know RENT was closing. That totally makes me sad. It was my favorite musical for the longest time...until Wicked came along...and I think Wicked only took its place because I've watched one too many not-so-good performances of RENT these past few years. I don't think there is any musical that touched me the way RENT did. I became this crazy fan after watching it the first time, and like you, it filled my school days...except, I was in college not middle school. Hee. I've already watched it 14x over the years (I told you I was a crazy fan), but I'm very tempted to make the trip across the country to watch the last show!

[Chimene]

I have tickets to see the infamous "Rent" on Valentine's day for the first time just b/c it is going away. Yeah, I've never been a big fan of Broadway musicals, but now I can see why people [i.e., you] like/love them; some of them can be very fun without being cheesy. It helps going with a group of people, who are not big theater goers. I just saw "Wicked" tonight in Chicago with friends, and we all thought it was terrific.

[Collage_Life]

Oh THANK YOU for posting your "Rent" recall(s). In the vivid spirit of "Someone's got to take my child into the damned city to see theatre!" I purchased tickets just yesterday, told her last night, and we're going tonight. She's less than 40 days shy of turning 10... sounds young, I know. However, she is not a babied near-10, nor is she an age-compressed nine. She'll be fine. I was an actor (actress if you believe talent has gender) for many year in NYC and related regions. She knows openly gay folks, loves everyone dearly and simply accepts what is.

And I'm a single parent... maybe that's worse than anything, who knows.

But, again, thank you for posting your impressions at a young age. I found them to be so very insightful.

;^)

[Collage-Life]

(Should be my correct 'tag'.)