RENT Revisited
My first introduction to RENT was through its original Broadway cast recording. And, like everyone else who has heard it, I fell in love with Seasons of Love. Most of the songs aren't as singable (what do you expect from rock?). They weren't even lyrical (as it was intended, I suppose). But these songs served its purpose of moving the story forward and letting us know the characters, their dreams, their heartaches and their tragedy.
I wasn't able to catch the local staging of RENT. I dunno if I would have enjoyed it. Although the staging of Atlantis Productions earned rave reviews and had a stellar cast, I wasn't in the mood then to have my senses battered by the loud music. (Rock definitely suits the material, though. The play is riddled with angst and rock and angst go together, in my opinion.)
And because I collect dvds of musicals, when RENT's double disc edition, came out, I bought it as part of my collection. I only watched it once. I wasn't wowed by the movie version. Director Chris Columbus just took the play out of the confines of the stage so that we get to see it happen in the world outside. But what improved was the music. It was updated and it's not as raw as the Broadway cast recording. Anyway, when a new dvd of RENT came out (this time, filmed live on Broadway on its last run), I readily bought it to add it to my collection. Then one sleepless night, I watched it. And I was wowed!
RENT onstage is better than the movie version! I don't know what happened but I guess I really am more of a stage buff than a movie buff. For those who're not familiar with RENT, it "tells the story of a group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent. 'Measuring their lives in love,' these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic." (That's from the dvd's notes.)
The cliched message (heck, Dead Poets Society has beaten them to that-- remember Carpe Diem?) teaches us to live a day at a time and enjoy it as if it were the last. Yes, there's no other day but today. The cast has fully grown into their roles it's like it's their second nature already. So the acting was natural. You feel them. You feel for them.
Go find the nearest video store and buy RENT: Filmed Live on Broadway. Oh, and yeah , Seasons of Love will always be a classic.
I wasn't able to catch the local staging of RENT. I dunno if I would have enjoyed it. Although the staging of Atlantis Productions earned rave reviews and had a stellar cast, I wasn't in the mood then to have my senses battered by the loud music. (Rock definitely suits the material, though. The play is riddled with angst and rock and angst go together, in my opinion.)
And because I collect dvds of musicals, when RENT's double disc edition, came out, I bought it as part of my collection. I only watched it once. I wasn't wowed by the movie version. Director Chris Columbus just took the play out of the confines of the stage so that we get to see it happen in the world outside. But what improved was the music. It was updated and it's not as raw as the Broadway cast recording. Anyway, when a new dvd of RENT came out (this time, filmed live on Broadway on its last run), I readily bought it to add it to my collection. Then one sleepless night, I watched it. And I was wowed!
RENT onstage is better than the movie version! I don't know what happened but I guess I really am more of a stage buff than a movie buff. For those who're not familiar with RENT, it "tells the story of a group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent. 'Measuring their lives in love,' these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic." (That's from the dvd's notes.)
The cliched message (heck, Dead Poets Society has beaten them to that-- remember Carpe Diem?) teaches us to live a day at a time and enjoy it as if it were the last. Yes, there's no other day but today. The cast has fully grown into their roles it's like it's their second nature already. So the acting was natural. You feel them. You feel for them.
Go find the nearest video store and buy RENT: Filmed Live on Broadway. Oh, and yeah , Seasons of Love will always be a classic.
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