I saw the show on Broadway in 1997 with the entire original cast; then I researched and wrote about the show for my 2001 book Rebels with Applause: Broadway's Groundbreaking Musicals. I saw the off Broadway revival in 2011; then I directed the show myself in 2014; and while we worked on it, I wrote even more about it here in my blog (see links below).
Saying I love this show is a severe understatement.
Saying that we need Rent right now is also an understatement. Rent is about community, about connection and empathy. Right now, it seems that so much of America has lost those things. Our country has indeed been rent, as in torn apart.
Maybe Angel can save us all.
There are so many songs in Rent I love (almost all of them) and so many lyrics that always strike me as powerfully truthful. As I look at America in 2025, one lyric that smacks me in the face is in "Halloween," when Mark asks, "How did we get here?" Yeah, no shit. We're all asking that right now, aren't we?
The other line that seems doubly potent today is in the Support Group:
There's only us.
There's only this.
It reminds me of President Obama telling audiences that there aren't any superheroes coming to save us -- we've got to be the heroes.
There are certain shows that have completely changed the way I think about theatre, Hair (which we've done three times), Rocky Horror (which we just closed for the second time), Grease (only once for New Line, three times for me personally), and Rent. In each case, I first saw the show (or movie) and thought to myself, Holy shit, musicals can be THIS?
I'll always remember being struck, from the opening moments, by how un-Broadway Rent was, the whole show, how raw and un-pretty and free of the usual show biz bullshit. It was so refreshingly, disarmingly honest about both its story and its storytelling. And it didn't sound like Broadway; it sounded like the world around us. That was new.
Jonathan Larson was a visionary. I'll always mourn for the amazing works he would have created for us if he had lived longer. But I'll also be forever grateful that he left us Rent, which has meant so much to so many. It heals us. That's why we're producing it this year. We need healing.
I know it might sound a tad crazy, but I sort of feel like Rent will "protect" me in some way while it's with us, like some kind of psychic armor against those slings and arrows of outrageous fascists who seek to disconnect us from each other.
Rent's Act II opener "Seasons of Love" has always seemed like a prayer to me. We have to remember that the lyric doesn't say, "You can measure in love;" it says, "Measure in love." It's a command. That's easier said than done, I know, but that's what Rent demands of us.
When we did the show last time in 2014, I blogged a lot about what we were discovering inside this masterpiece. Yes, it's a masterpiece. These are my Rent posts from 2014:
Rent, a post about my Renty past
No Day But Today, about the challenges of Rent
It's Creation, abou Rent as a Hero Myth
Truth Like a Blazing Fire, about the politics of Rent
Food of Love, Emotion, Mathematics, Isolation, Rhythm, Power, Feeling, Harmony, about the Rent score
La Vie Boheme, about Rent research
It's Between God and Me, about Rent, religion, and "Another Day"
Causing a Commotion, about staging "La Vie Boheme"
A Bittersweet, Evocative Song, about the character of Roger
The 3-D Imax of my Mind, about Mark and me
To Passion, When It's New, about letting go of the original Rent
It's a Comfort to Know, about Rent and community
Moo With Me, about Maureen's performance piece
Touch Taste Deep Dark Kiss, about "Contact"
Everything is Rent, about the reception to New Line's 2014 production
Connecting in an Isolated Age, about my experience with Rent
Stay tuned!
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
P.S. To buy Rent tickets, click here.
P.P.S. To check out my newest musical theatre books, click here.
P.P.P.S. To donate to New Line Theatre, click here
1 comments:
Sir this is incredible. I'm actually coming up there to see this from Austin TX I just don't know what date yet. I have friends living up there I haven't seen in awhile ill nail the dates down when I can. I've seen the show 56x. Including 6 with the orig cast in NYC. The spring of 1997 I walked out of that theater saying 2 things. This is gonna change musical theater and ya know this idina menzel could actually be somethin haha. It resonates with me everytime I see it in every diff city. Their diff visions sets costumes etc leave me in awe as to what they see in it. As I'm sure you will as well. This essay and all the links shared are gonna keep me busy for awhile with good reading. I'm so glad it means as much to you as to all us rentheads haha. While I never experienced any of the hardships this story tells directly. It's always been the message for me. One that needs to be heard and told. For me it's once a year minimum haha. People find it dated and I don't. I find it to be a time capsule. A moment in time that is essential for everyone to hear. So I will add to my hopefully signed poster collection I have throughout my house when I come up there somewhere during your run. I can't wait to see it there. Sincerely from Austin. Thx for this
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