I love Rent.

I have to say, this is one of my favorite modern musicals. I'm not like a crazy Renthead, but I find the entire piece both progressive and moving. Anybody else like Rent?

 

I have it in my DVD player right now. I love the musical to pieces. The movie has some flaws, but I loved seeing it on the screen. The Tango Maureen is one of my favorite parts.

 

I hate Rent. Sorry, but I'm more of a Hedwig and the Angry Inch fan.
Several years ago during college, I shared a tiny apartment in the East Village in Manhattan. When I say tiny, I mean it. The apartment was 6 1/2 feet by 11. There was a loft where my roommate slept, with just enough headroom to sit up on a mattress. I slept on a mattress on the floor below. There was a mini-fridge, an airline sized sink, and a shared bathroom for the floor (in which I once discovered a naked woman. Anyway, my roommate was an obese vegan Rent fanatic (Seriously, she weighed about 350-400 lbs -- on a vegan diet! How does that even happen?). She was so crazy about Rent that she'd seen the show over 20 times. She even volunteered as an usher so she could see it for free. She had the Rent book, the book about the author, playbills, posters (fortunately, there wasn't enough room on the walls to hang them!), and a Rent diary.

This roommate was also an obnoxious nitwit, so maybe she's part of the reason for my unfriendly attitude towards the show.

 

I understand. An obsessive ex-boyfriend with delusions of starting a tribute band starring him (of course) has led to my current hatred of Queen.

 

I like Rent. I like the modern take on La Boheme. I think the themes of it are more affecting on older folk, especially ones who had to deal directly with AIDS. I have not seen the movie, just the Broadway show.

 

^ I couldn't agree more. For those of us who witnesses first hand what AIDS was doing to people in the late 80's early 90's, this musical tends speak very loudly. By the time I was twenty I had buried so many friends. And normally I hate musicals but this one has always swept me up and taken me in. It speaks to me and reminds me of those I once knew and helps to celebrate them. I feel much the same way about "Angels in America".

And I will be the first to admit the movie was rather flat compared to the stage show. But it has most of the original cast (and Idina Menzel and Jesse Martin rock my little world) and the music still shines so I will watch it every once in a while to get my fix.

Oh and I am another "Hedwig" fan! But I love that one for completely different reasons. Big hair? Over done make-up? Absurd characters? Flashy punk songs? You betcha!

 

I'm a Broadway fan, and I compose scores for the musical stage.

I can't stand Rent.

Like Phantom, I find it mostly style and little substance. It's production over story, and the songs are quite repetitive. Very recitative (more like sentences set to patter music than actual "lyrics".)

The subject matter of a musical alone doesn't automatically make it relative and important. If the execution of the message is muddy and not especially entertaining, then the message is meaningless. (And being in theater for over 30 years I've lost a large number of friends to HIV).

I like Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Chess, and a number of rock musicals ... but I seriously wonder if Rent would have been half the success it became without the untimely and tragic death of its composer, Jonathan Larson, just prior to its opening.

--Ted

 

I have an odd relationship with "Rent".

The movie version was, I believe, a new release my freshman year of college, and a number of my friends were in love with both it and the soundtrack. I have no idea what relation that movie has to the musical. All I know is that the songs were fine, though not something that I could really love, the first few times I heard them. But by the end of the year just hearing the words "no day but today" or "five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes" would send me up a wall. My friends knew this and exploited it wherever possible.

One of my most vivid memories of that year is of a two-way physical struggle that broke out over whether the Rent CD would be allowed to replay from the beginning once it reached its end. I recall that my side lost and we suffered through it a second time, with the winning side singing each one of the songs as loud as possible. Fun times.

 

I have never seen Rent in any form. You mention Jesse Martin to me and I think Law & Order.

I'm not a huge fan of Broadway musicals, although there are exceptions. I've seen Urinetown three times - it is, without a doubt, THE most hilarious thing I have ever seen on a stage - and in a few weeks I will see South Pacific for the first time.

 

I have a very strong theatre background, yet I've never seen Rent in any form. I suppose I should try to some day, if it's ever playing somewhere. And I'm pretty sure my sister has a copy of the movie -- maybe I could watch that.

 

You let a 400 vegan sleep on a loft above your head? Are you crazy?

A 400 meat eater, maybe....

 

I prefer the sequel.

 

"Mortgage"?

 

Mr. Stingely: Where is the rent? I must have the rent! Dollars, dimes, and nickels -- I need them all right now!

 

Rent II - Bail Out

 

I saw the movie with my parents. They weren't impressed at all, I found myself ambivalent about it. I'd watch it again, but I don't know whether that would increase or decrease my appreciation for it. I know "Seasons of Love" (did I get that right?) just annoys me as a song.

 

"I literally chewed the scenery."

 

Rent, like Phantom, illicits strong opinions. You like it or you hate it. There is generally no in-between. I saw Rent for the first time in New York when one of my best friends was dying (literally on his death bed) and the bank that held his mortgage was having sherrifs go to his door to evict him. Some of this story resonates more for me than perhaps others.

 

The story leaves a lot to be desired (Even though it was quite sad when Angel died) but I really love the music.