renting
Broadway musical written by the late, great
Jonathan Larson — who, for the record, was neither HIV-positive nor gay. Debuted in 1996 and still going strong. Essentially a modern re-write of Giacomo
Puccini's beloved opera La
Boheme, but with a happier ending and a score influenced heavily by pop, rock, and techno.The main differences between La Boheme and Rent:Setting:Paris in the early 19th century becomes New York in the early 90sCharacters:Rodolfo the playwright becomes
Roger Davis the HIV-positive musician, former heroin junkie, looking to write one hit song before succumbing to the virus he contracted from his dead girlfriend (first played by Adam Pascal)Marcello the painter becomes Mark Cohen the filmmaker, trying to make it big (first played by
Anthony Rapp, once played by Joey Fatone of N'Sync)Benoit the landlord becomes real estate mogul
Benjamin Coffin III, former roomate to Mark and Roger and a symbol of the coming gentrification of the neighborhood and the eventual death or commercialization of Bohemia (first played by Taye Diggs)
Colline the philosopher becomes Tom Collins the HIV-positive anarchist, a computer geek who sabotaged MIT's virtual reality software and teaches part-time at NYU (first played by Jesse L. Martin of Law & Order fame)Shaunard the violinist becomes Angel Dumot Schunard the street musician, an HIV-positive sometimes-transvestite and lover to Collins (first played by Wilson Jermaine Heredia, and more famously by
Jai Rodriguez from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy)Mimi, the rhematosis-infected, dying courtesan, becomes Mimi Marquez the Latina bondage performer, HIV-positive, nineteen years old and a junkie, Roger's love interest and former girlfriend of Benjamin (first played by
Daphne Rubin-Vega)Musetta becomes hipster homeless advocate and performance artist
Maureen Johnson, a lesbian, Mark's former girlfriend who left him for her stage manager (first played by Idina Menzel, who later played the Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked)Alcindoro, Musetta's wealthy benefactor, becomes Joanne Jefferson, Maureen's new girlfriend and stage manager, whose role is significantly expanded compared to in Boheme to suit her relationship with Maureen and love-triangle with Mark (first played by Fredi Walker, at one point played by Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls)Tuberculosis and rheumatism, the diseases which plagued crowded urban centers in the 19th century, are replaced by AIDS, the scourge of the artistic community in the 80s and early 90s
RENT
by DelilahPIE on Jan 30, 2008 18:09:10
An absolutely cracking musical beased in 80's/90's New York, influenced by
the opera La
Boheme. Defined as a "
Rock Opera", the guitar riffs are addictively catchy and the lyrics are inspiring. From tearjearking scenes to laughter, passion and inspiration, RENT is a rollercoaster ride of emotions and you will, guaranteed, want to watch it again. It takes you through stuggles of life without money, AIDS and the fear of tomorrow; hope, life, living for the moment and acting without regret.
There are currently 3 versions of it - Film, USA Broadway and UK
West End. If you have any sense, you will only go to see
the Broadway version, as the West End producers have totally destroyed the music in some of the songs, especially "Out Tonight", which changes from a driving, fastpop/rock song to a badly composed, sleazy jazz rendition at about half the original speed.
Whilst the film version is good, it misses out some of the songs to shorten it, plays with the order of things, and is obviously not sung throughout as it would scare
newbies to musicals.
Overall; bollocks to the West End, jump on a plane and go see it on Broadway. Oh, and buy the DVD to give you a general
gist if you've never seen it, before you jump on that plane. You wont regret it.
Example:
"To days of inspiration,
playing hooky, making something out of nothing; the need to express, to communicate.
To
going against the grain, going insane, going mad.
To loving tension, no pension, to more than one dimension;
To starving for attention, hating convention, hating pretention.
Not to mention, of course, hating dear old mom and dad!" -
La Vie Boheme
"Will i lose my dignity, will someone care?
Will i wake tomorrow from this nightmare?" - Will I?
"WE're not gonna pay last year's rent! next year's rent! rent rent rent re-ent RENT!"