Rent - St James / UK Tour

Apr 26, 2017 9:12:32 GMT thebearofwestend said:

I mean the original run. I keep hearing the guardian say its not well written.

"Storytelling and characterisation were not Larson’s strongest skills."
Not surprisingly, myths have arisen around Rent, which ran for 12 years on Broadway and won a Pulitzer – although a theatre Pulitzer is as reliable an indicator of achievement as an Evening Standard award".
www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/dec/15/rent-review-st-james-london-jonathan-larson-musical

In it's defence it was always essentially 'unfinished' with Larson dying after the last dress rehearsal Rent didn't have the same preview process that other new musicals get with re-writes from the composer with the director etc. But due to the circumstances things kind of became 'enshrined' as they were.

One review, against the public reception and generally positive response doesn't a failure make, in my opinion.

It's a side note, but with the success of Lin Manuel Miranda now it always makes me sad in the sense of what could have been- Rent was Larson's 'In the Heights' essentially, so with backing, support and further mentorship what would his 'Hamilton' have been? what would we see if the two of them had been around together? (a hell of a lot of what ifs, but with Lin citing Larson/Rent as a key influence it's something I ponder on)

Apr 26, 2017 11:28:38 GMT @theatremonkey said:

We've had this discussion on the board before - can't remember if it was on the old board or not though.

West End productions never matched the Broadway one in terms of sales. Probably because the audiences were at the time mainly older coach parties who couldn't relate.

Personally, I hate the show too. The opening thing with these layabouts moaning about how they will pay the rent just repels me, the whole "I'll do my own thing and then moan I don't have any money." Newsflash: GET A JOB. OK, the AIDS thing is sad, but I just can't get into the characters at all, and it does nothing for me. Personal opinion, if it helps explain?

if it helps there were a number of Buzzfeed articles around last year saying exactly that (you wrote them didn't you...). Lazy bastards, I don't care if you have AIDS get a job.

Seriously though I think it's one you either fall for or you don't, and there seems to be some cosmic alignment of when you see it in your life, if it's the right time people tend to click and fall really hard for it, if not they never quite get it.

I mean despite my (understandable, albeit sarcastic) defences above, in NY it had the home turf advantage of doing exactly what Larson was aiming to and writing a musical to a generation/demographic that was well physically there. It hit on a moment, and a demographic that nothing could match elsewhere.

Apr 26, 2017 11:53:13 GMT @theatremonkey said:

Apr 26, 2017 11:44:55 GMT @emicardiff said:

if it helps there were a number of Buzzfeed articles around last year saying exactly that (you wrote them didn't you...). Lazy bastards, I don't care if you have AIDS get a job.

LOL, and no. And in "Rent" I was referring to the healthy ones, of course. Though, as Frankie Boyle once pointed out, it never stopped Freddie Mercury. Or Kenny Everett or many others. But that's a digression from a shock comic.

Totally agree it is a zeitgeist show. I was past that period in my life when I saw it, and maybe didn't want the reminder? May try another look at it, now it is far distant. See if my attitude changes.

haha in fairness Boyle has a point

I think it's sometimes one worth re-visiting, even just to see that with time things have changed (or just to prove a point to yourself that you'll never like it haha)