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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2016 14:42:42 GMT
Feeling ashamed that I have never seen this show, and know very little about it. (I think I know one song from it... with a number in it.) Anyway, I've booked. I find the St James/Other Palace hit and miss, so hoping it will hit.
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Oct 3, 2016 13:38:19 GMT
I really need to book my ticket for this at St James.
Also, has anyone else seen that Anthony Rapp is doing two weeks of shows at the St James at the same time as Rent?
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Post by boybooshka on Oct 4, 2016 0:34:05 GMT
I really need to book my ticket for this at St James. Also, has anyone else seen that Anthony Rapp is doing two weeks of shows at the St James at the same time as Rent? I saw Anthony Rapp a few years ago at the Edinburgh Fringe, he did the same show as he did at the Menier the same year. It was obviously great to hear him sing songs from Rent live, and talk about Jonathan Larson. However it became very cringe worthy particularly, but not solely, when he was channelling his dead mother! He just didn't come across well at all, and i left feeling a bit nauseated and vowing never to watch him live again. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2016 7:37:03 GMT
I think this time Rapp is just doing a solo concert rather than 'Without You' (the show mentioned above based on his book) I adore Rapp, and find the book (more so than the stage version) very moving, but I completely see how it might feel awkward/cringe worthy without my rose-tinted Renthead glasses on 
(It was a bit awkward that I'd interviewed him for research and then found myself sat in the front row crying though. Smooth.)
ETA: And yes Rent:Remixed really was that bad. I'm also all for them changing/updating a bit (RWCMD did an excellent version a couple of years back that tweaked things a bit) but it was awful. I have entire thesis chapters and conference papers discussing why, but a short version, to quote my Mother 'Why is it so white?' |
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Post by HereForTheatre on Oct 14, 2016 14:11:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2016 14:56:20 GMT
Can't decide what I think |
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Post by Michael on Oct 14, 2016 15:12:19 GMT
Love it. Really looking forward to seeing it at the St James.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2016 16:23:14 GMT
I think with the choreography in there it will naturally improve. And without Lucie Jones too. I just can't take to her.
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Post by richey on Oct 22, 2016 22:54:30 GMT
Overall I enjoyed the show. Still some teething problems, mainly loads of missed lighting cues and one marvellous Acorn Antiques-esque moment where Joanne picked up the phone before it rang.
Loved Ryan o'Gorman as Collins, his reprise of "I'll cover You" was stunning. His relationship with Angel was brilliant too.
Lucie Jones was surprisingly good. I actually enjoyed "Over the Moon" for the first time ever.
There were some brilliant moments of choreography but also some questionable ones too (very ott in Rent and bizarre in "Contact")
Glad I've seen it at a cheap price now though and not paid a fortune to see it in London.
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Post by richey on Oct 27, 2016 21:29:46 GMT
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Post by carriesparkle on Oct 29, 2016 16:05:33 GMT
Saw this last night and loved it.
I am of an age that I saw the original West End production as a rebellious teen (as if there's any other kind) and adored it. It felt like a show for anyone who'd ever felt misunderstood by "The Man", or isolated, and a reassurance that you can create your own family and your own life.
Since then I've seen multiple other versions, and they've all pained me (including the film) - too slick, too glossy, too by-the-numbers, too unsympathetic. I had come to terms with the idea that, tragically, I'm just getting old. No longer did I identify with Mark and Roger, who I'd started to view as spoilt and selfish. Maybe it was time to let go of this - to keep my fond memories of being a teenager and allowing another generation its own interpretations.
But this - this was what I'd wanted all along. Honestly, the attention to Nineties detail was beautiful, from the wristbands Roger was wearing (and his Kurt Cobain hair) to the shoes (dear me, the SHOES). I can't imagine how puzzled the 20something cast must have been by some of these elements, but I noted it and I loved it.
It had the heart that RENT requires. Without a certain amount of commitment and, yes, innocence in the way it's performed, it (and its characters) can come across as superficial and shallow. But this was moving, it was real, and it took me back 20 years in all the best ways.
Recommended.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2016 7:11:51 GMT
The producers have cancelled Rent's run in Sheffield. Why would they have done this? And you can't say bad ticket sales because it wasn't due to go on sale till today.
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Post by zsazsa on Nov 20, 2016 13:07:55 GMT
Saw this in Aberdeen last night. Mixed feelings.
I loved Layton Williams as Angel. I had reservations that he might camp it up
too much but his portrayal was fierce, beautiful and moving. Ryan O'Gorman as Benjamin is also great and his vocals on I'll Cover You (Reprise) are spine tingling.
Understudy, Joshua Dever, was on for Mark. He was good and will be even better given the chance to grow into the role more.
Really liked the musical staging particularly in Tango Maureen and La Vie Boheme. Roger does not play guitar in Your Eyes, I have always thought getting Roger to play guitar at that point a bit land and contrived. Take Me As I Am left me a bit underwhelmed though.
Ross Hunter did not have enough edge or intensity as Roger. Lucie Jones' Maureen was ok but could be more of a pouty diva.
Liked the design but from where we were sitting, in the circle, some faces were obstructed. In the parents's quartet we could not see any of them.
The sound was also a bit on the quiet side. Yes this meant every voice and lyric was clearly audible but felt it lost it's rocky edge.
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Post by daniel on Nov 23, 2016 13:37:11 GMT
Anybody considering seeing this in Malvern this week, promo code RENT952 will give you a lovely special offer, available all performances.
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Post by bengal73 on Nov 23, 2016 14:40:00 GMT
Im obviously missing something. Finally got round to listening to this and thought it distinctly average. Wanted to like it, know plenty of people who rave about it.
I do have a ticket to see it in London so maybe I will feel differently after that. Listening to it has dropped my expectations drastically though
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2016 15:06:29 GMT
i feel RENT isn't something you can just listen to if you havent seen it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2016 15:15:53 GMT
I feel like RENT is almost a theatrical relative of Catcher In The Rye, in that if you discover it for yourself, and it's the right time for you, then it sings deeply to you and will always be important to you. But if you're too late in your personal development, or if you're doing it 'cos you've been pushed into it, then it's never going to mean as much to you. And that's okay, but I see how it can be frustrating if you're one of the underwhelmed people, feeling like you're surrounded by obsessive fans.
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Post by bengal73 on Nov 23, 2016 16:19:25 GMT
I do think it passed me by a little at the time it would have spoken to me more. I could clearly pick out the themes that friends have raved about but the delivery left me cold.
I wont dismiss it completely until I've seen it for myself but im not sure its for me.
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Post by danb on Nov 23, 2016 16:53:29 GMT
Couldn't agree more. It attached itself to me in Dress Circle one day and never let go; then came on holiday with us to really bed in! I hope it does ok on tour, Lucie Jones had promised a Bristol date but nothing has materialised so far. I think the WMC stage will be too big for it.
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Post by viserys on Nov 23, 2016 17:18:51 GMT
I remember when Rent came out - the buzz was similar as that of Hamilton last year (before it got utterly hysterical, but I think that's due to today's social media opportunities and all that). People talked about the first production at NYTW and the transfer to Broadway and of course Jonathan Larson's sad untimely death.
For me, when I got hold of the 2-CD-Set, it took me by storm. Mostly because it felt like SUCH a fresh breath of air at the time. These were the early 90s after all when Cam Mack's and ALWs weepies like Phantom, Les Mis and Miss Saigon clogged up the theatres and there were a hundred terrible copycat productions of every conceivable English literature classic in print (and then some). Here at last was a show that wasn't about some distant past, about the woes of phantoms, beasts or mangy cats, but about REAL people, people my age, people who lived here and now in the real world, using modern rock music to tell their tales (which, again, I guess is how many young people feel about Hamilton now and its contemporary music and touching on contemporary topics like immigration).
When I finally got a chance to see Rent live (in London, with the guys from Broadway) I was a tearful mess and wrote one of the few enthusiastic fan letters I've ever written to the cast in general. I revisited it in London, saw a few other productions and finally had a wish come true to see it in New York a year or so before it closed.
I don't really listen to it much anymore and I'm curious to see how I will feel about it when it revisit it at the St. James in January after such a long time. Like other shows about (then) contemporary pop culture it ages quickly. Hair with its flower power spirit now feels more like a museum piece, too. But I also asgree with Baemax, it needs to catch you at the right time in your life when the characters speak to you. Now that I'm older and more cynic, I'm also more of the "sheesh, just get a job you wannabe-artists!" school of thought.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2016 15:19:12 GMT
I feel like RENT is almost a theatrical relative of Catcher In The Rye, in that if you discover it for yourself, and it's the right time for you, then it sings deeply to you and will always be important to you. But if you're too late in your personal development, or if you're doing it 'cos you've been pushed into it, then it's never going to mean as much to you. And that's okay, but I see how it can be frustrating if you're one of the underwhelmed people, feeling like you're surrounded by obsessive fans. This is how I've always explained it to people. It's a thing that I think just captures you at the right moment or it doesn't. After way too many years with my head in it, I can 100% pick apart the flaws, I can tell you what should be fixed to make it a better musical, what has dated etc. But damn if it doesn't have my heart.
I think it really is about where you were when you find it- I was 19 living in a foreign country, going through all manner of family crap it's no surprise it caught my imagination. (Admittedly I held onto it a bit more to the extreme than others).
But I get how some people don't click with it. And I'd never want to be that fan.
I've gone away and come back to it time and time again, but I think it'll always be a little bit there.
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Post by haz23 on Nov 29, 2016 16:41:19 GMT
Just booked to see it in it's final week at the St James - really excited!
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Post by westendcub on Dec 1, 2016 13:34:21 GMT
I feel like RENT is almost a theatrical relative of Catcher In The Rye, in that if you discover it for yourself, and it's the right time for you, then it sings deeply to you and will always be important to you. But if you're too late in your personal development, or if you're doing it 'cos you've been pushed into it, then it's never going to mean as much to you. And that's okay, but I see how it can be frustrating if you're one of the underwhelmed people, feeling like you're surrounded by obsessive fans. This is how I've always explained it to people. It's a thing that I think just captures you at the right moment or it doesn't. After way too many years with my head in it, I can 100% pick apart the flaws, I can tell you what should be fixed to make it a better musical, what has dated etc. But damn if it doesn't have my heart.
I think it really is about where you were when you find it- I was 19 living in a foreign country, going through all manner of family crap it's no surprise it caught my imagination. (Admittedly I held onto it a bit more to the extreme than others).
But I get how some people don't click with it. And I'd never want to be that fan.
I've gone away and come back to it time and time again, but I think it'll always be a little bit there.
I feel a great sadness that Jonathan Larson passed away the night before the premier of the Off-Broadway production and never fully got to see the impact and impression of his work on the theater scene. I got introduced really by the film, I was living in New York at the time and went to see it on it's opening weekend at the cinema in Times Square. I was familiar with some songs (Seasons of Love) and whilst the film wasn't perfect (some of the direction lousy and some harsh cuts) I could see it had an interesting story and score so I seeked out the original 2-disc cast CD and it soon become a huge favorite, I then also in my time in New York (2006) went to see it on Broadway, we entered the evening lottery and my intern friend was successful in winning and the other ticket went to her cousin but I was able to get a $40 bucks ticket center of the circle and it was so wonderful the score coming to life on the Broadway stage in front of me and I felt an instant connection with the show (I also had great fun drinking with the cast in Bar 41 afterwards). I saw the Rent:Remixed version and now look forward to seeing this again a week on Saturday as this show is something I feel so connected with. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2016 13:48:42 GMT
I feel the same sadness. I also feel a greater sadness that we never got to see what he'd go on to do and who he's collaborate with.
I too have such a love for the film, although it's flawed it also always seemed very much a labour of love, and I also remember it being a time fans were all very united in waiting to finally have this new version with the old cast.
On a personal note, last week I got to be introduced to Adam Pascal (by a mutual friend, and also fellow Rent fan) and tell him I spent a stupid number of years writing a PhD partly on Rent, and that my friend and I are also friends because of Rent. That was even for a grown up and cynical Rent fan, pretty damn special. The next day I also felt compelled to go for a walk in the East Village... we grow up but it refuses to fully let go haha!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2016 14:35:14 GMT
Whenever I get sentimental about 'Rent', my thoughts always drift to 'Rent:Remixed'.
That soon sorts me out.
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