Why is the broadway show 'Rent' so popular?

[E equals MC2]

I think it's because I saw it too late. Wiki tells me it was ground-breaking when it came out in 1996 as it dealt with AIDS, homosexuals & heroin addicts for the first time in a relatively conservative medium.

I guess that's the time in the 90s where AIDS and gays had more of a shock value to the culture (I remember as a teen).

Singing and the band were both great but that's about it.

Today, those themes (homosexuality & AIDS) are no longer amusing in a play.

I think I captured it accurately why I think I didn't enjoy it that much?

 

[nakedfrog]

No, I don't think you did.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Yes, I think you answered your own question. As far as not being amusing though, maybe you just don't get it.

However, it's still very relevant, culturally and I'm sad to see it go. I've seen it many, many, many times and I'm going to try and catch it again before it leaves the Nederlander for good in June. I shall now pre-empt the following jokes:

1.) Yes, I know how you know that I'm gay: I've seen RENT 13 times.

2.) I think the Team America parody is hilarious. "My sister and my dog old blue, the Pope has got it and so do you..."

 

[E equals MC2]

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2
Yes, I think you answered your own question. As far as not being amusing though, maybe you just don't get it.

However, it's still very relevant, culturally and I'm sad to see it go. I've seen it many, many, many times and I'm going to try and catch it again before it leaves the Nederlander for good in June. I shall now pre-empt the following jokes:

1.) Yes, I know how you know that I'm gay: I've seen RENT 13 times.

2.) I think the Team America parody is hilarious. "My sister and my dog old blue, the Pope has got it and so do you..."

Can you or anyone summarize the plot for me? Too lazy to read through paragraphs in Wiki.

It's two kids who are poor as hell can't pay rent.... the landlord now wants to evict them so the place can be converted into a cybercafe.

Mimi wants to protest and somehow the landlord's plan falls apart and the kids 'win' at the end. Right?

 

[uclaLabrat]

Originally posted by: E equals MC2

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2
Yes, I think you answered your own question. As far as not being amusing though, maybe you just don't get it.

However, it's still very relevant, culturally and I'm sad to see it go. I've seen it many, many, many times and I'm going to try and catch it again before it leaves the Nederlander for good in June. I shall now pre-empt the following jokes:

1.) Yes, I know how you know that I'm gay: I've seen RENT 13 times.

2.) I think the Team America parody is hilarious. "My sister and my dog old blue, the Pope has got it and so do you..."

Can you or anyone summarize the plot for me? Too lazy to read through paragraphs in Wiki.

It's two kids who are poor as hell can't pay rent.... the landlord now wants to evict them so the place can be converted into a cybercafe.

Mimi wants to protest and somehow the landlord's plan falls apart and the kids 'win' at the end. Right?

From Team America:
Everybody has AIDS! AIDS! AIDS!

And they can't pay the rent.

Someone advocates the bohemian lifestyle.

Someone dies.

Life goes on.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Originally posted by: E equals MC2
I think it's because I saw it too late. Wiki tells me it was ground-breaking when it came out in 1996 as it dealt with AIDS, homosexuals & heroin addicts for the first time in a relatively conservative medium.

I guess that's the time in the 90s where AIDS and gays had more of a shock value to the culture (I remember as a teen).

Singing and the band were both great but that's about it.

Today, those themes (homosexuality & AIDS) are no longer amusing in a play.

I think I captured it accurately why I think I didn't enjoy it that much?

"Homosexuality & AIDS are no longer amusing in a play." Yeah, they were a hoot back in 1996. I saw it and I was laughing so hard I nearly died!

Not every musical is meant to be amusing. Come to think of it, musicals are one of the most depressing art forms. I suppose it makes sense, given that they grew out of opera, which is almost universally tragic. But a show like Rent is meant as more of an eye-opener than anything else.

Personally, I found Rent overbearing and preachy. I was not amused either, and given that I like to make jokes about pretty much everything, I got a lot of flack from my girlfriend for making fun of AIDS after the show. Oops.

But given that Rent won a Tony for best musical, it is illegal to dislike it, and saying anything bad about it automatically brands you a philistine.

 

[krunchykrome]

I thought it was boring.

 

[Lorax]

I think before Rent broadway was fairly stale. The music/culture of Rent revitalized theater, or at least brought it to the 90s.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy

Originally posted by: E equals MC2
I think it's because I saw it too late. Wiki tells me it was ground-breaking when it came out in 1996 as it dealt with AIDS, homosexuals & heroin addicts for the first time in a relatively conservative medium.

I guess that's the time in the 90s where AIDS and gays had more of a shock value to the culture (I remember as a teen).

Singing and the band were both great but that's about it.

Today, those themes (homosexuality & AIDS) are no longer amusing in a play.

I think I captured it accurately why I think I didn't enjoy it that much?

"Homosexuality & AIDS are no longer amusing in a play." Yeah, they were a hoot back in 1996. I saw it and I was laughing so hard I nearly died!

Not every musical is meant to be amusing. Come to think of it, musicals are one of the most depressing art forms. I suppose it makes sense, given that they grew out of opera, which is almost universally tragic. But a show like Rent is meant as more of an eye-opener than anything else.

Personally, I found Rent overbearing and preachy. I was not amused either, and given that I like to make jokes about pretty much everything, I got a lot of flack from my girlfriend for making fun of AIDS after the show. Oops.

But given that Rent won a Tony for best musical, it is illegal to dislike it, and saying anything bad about it automatically brands you a philistine.

RENT is a little preachy, I'll give you that. It is, though, based on Puccini's Opera La Boheme and when I say based on, I mean Jonathan Larson really, really liked it. A lot. So that's a big reason why it takes itself so seriously.

A lot of it had to do with breaking the string of Kander and Ebb, Rogers and Hart and Hammerstein musicals that have dominated the primarily octogenarain, stuffy Broadway crowd for years and years. Having men kiss onstage in a musical was a bigger deal in 1996 then it is now.

 

[nanette1985]

Originally posted by: E equals MC2
I think it's because I saw it too late. Wiki tells me it was ground-breaking when it came out in 1996 as it dealt with AIDS, homosexuals & heroin addicts for the first time in a relatively conservative medium.

I guess that's the time in the 90s where AIDS and gays had more of a shock value to the culture (I remember as a teen).

Singing and the band were both great but that's about it.

Today, those themes (homosexuality & AIDS) are no longer amusing in a play.

I think I captured it accurately why I think I didn't enjoy it that much?

Broadway isn't real life. This was ground-breaking in that it was a broadway play with the subject of AIDS, the characters were colorfully gay-les-bi-etc, and ethnically diverse. Actors and theatrical people, of course, have been that way forever in their real life, but it was one of the earliest big shows to have that kind of characters.

The composer worked on the thing for like 15 years. When he started AIDS really was shocking and startling. But it takes a lot to get a show on Broadway.

Also, it really helped (show-biz-wise) that the composer died when the show opened. It wasn't AIDS - but hinting that it was made for really good publicity.

I'm glad to hear that the singing and the band were both great. That often gets really tired when you get to these long, long runs.

These days you don't have the theatrical tension that the early years had. An actor playing someone gay or racially mixed on the stage isn't the event it once was.

Well, now they can start having high schools do the show. There's a lot of money in high school productions!

 

[interchange]

I don't think I would have really cared much about it were it not for my fiancee being a Rent fanatic. She taught me a lot about the background and characters and culture. Now I really think it's enjoyable, and amazing performed live.

 

[E equals MC2]

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2

Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy

Originally posted by: E equals MC2
I think it's because I saw it too late. Wiki tells me it was ground-breaking when it came out in 1996 as it dealt with AIDS, homosexuals & heroin addicts for the first time in a relatively conservative medium.

I guess that's the time in the 90s where AIDS and gays had more of a shock value to the culture (I remember as a teen).

Singing and the band were both great but that's about it.

Today, those themes (homosexuality & AIDS) are no longer amusing in a play.

I think I captured it accurately why I think I didn't enjoy it that much?

"Homosexuality & AIDS are no longer amusing in a play." Yeah, they were a hoot back in 1996. I saw it and I was laughing so hard I nearly died!

Not every musical is meant to be amusing. Come to think of it, musicals are one of the most depressing art forms. I suppose it makes sense, given that they grew out of opera, which is almost universally tragic. But a show like Rent is meant as more of an eye-opener than anything else.

Personally, I found Rent overbearing and preachy. I was not amused either, and given that I like to make jokes about pretty much everything, I got a lot of flack from my girlfriend for making fun of AIDS after the show. Oops.

But given that Rent won a Tony for best musical, it is illegal to dislike it, and saying anything bad about it automatically brands you a philistine.

RENT is a little preachy, I'll give you that. It is, though, based on Puccini's Opera La Boheme and when I say based on, I mean Jonathan Larson really, really liked it. A lot. So that's a big reason why it takes itself so seriously.

A lot of it had to do with breaking the string of Kander and Ebb, Rogers and Hart and Hammerstein musicals that have dominated the primarily octogenarain, stuffy Broadway crowd for years and years. Having men kiss onstage in a musical was a bigger deal in 1996 then it is now.

What's it preachy about and how was it preachy? About being gay?

 

[dbk]

Kinda reminds me of that South Park epi where Cartman gets HIV and no one gives a shit.

 

[daniel1113]

Personally, I think RENT is filled with great music and I love listening to the broadway recording. However, I thought the show was dull and, well, pointless.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Originally posted by: E equals MC2
What's it preachy about and how was it preachy? About being gay?

Basically, the Team America parody is right on: "Everyone has AIDS!" Rent has a valid point, which is that we need to be concerned about the spread of HIV and be aware of how it is affecting the gay community, but it lacks subtlety. It pretty much just takes that point and bludgeons you over the head with it for 2 hours. After that I needed an AZT break...

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: Jschmuck2
RENT is a little preachy, I'll give you that. It is, though, based on Puccini's Opera La Boheme and when I say based on, I mean Jonathan Larson really, really liked it. A lot. So that's a big reason why it takes itself so seriously.

I think that's a large part of its appeal. I've seen La Boheme and the idea of a modern adaptation of it is pretty interesting. Maybe it's done often, but it was the first time I'd actually seen an Opera on which a modern musical was based.

 

[Nitemare]

People dressed up as mangy cats was one of the most popular broadway shows ever...and you wonder about Rent....

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy

Originally posted by: E equals MC2
What's it preachy about and how was it preachy? About being gay?

Basically, the Team America parody is right on: "Everyone has AIDS!" Rent has a valid point, which is that we need to be concerned about the spread of HIV and be aware of how it is affecting the gay community, but it lacks subtlety. It pretty much just takes that point and bludgeons you over the head with it for 2 hours. After that I needed an AZT break...

Now you're talking about context. 1996 was completely a different time in regards to AIDS awareness, the poverty in New York, and the state of Broadway musicals. Obviously if you look at the message about AIDS now, it seems different than then.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Originally posted by: glutenberg

Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy

Originally posted by: E equals MC2
What's it preachy about and how was it preachy? About being gay?

Basically, the Team America parody is right on: "Everyone has AIDS!" Rent has a valid point, which is that we need to be concerned about the spread of HIV and be aware of how it is affecting the gay community, but it lacks subtlety. It pretty much just takes that point and bludgeons you over the head with it for 2 hours. After that I needed an AZT break...

Now you're talking about context. 1996 was completely a different time in regards to AIDS awareness, the poverty in New York, and the state of Broadway musicals. Obviously if you look at the message about AIDS now, it seems different than then.

:thumbsup:

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy

Originally posted by: E equals MC2
I think it's because I saw it too late. Wiki tells me it was ground-breaking when it came out in 1996 as it dealt with AIDS, homosexuals & heroin addicts for the first time in a relatively conservative medium.

I guess that's the time in the 90s where AIDS and gays had more of a shock value to the culture (I remember as a teen).

Singing and the band were both great but that's about it.

Today, those themes (homosexuality & AIDS) are no longer amusing in a play.

I think I captured it accurately why I think I didn't enjoy it that much?

"Homosexuality & AIDS are no longer amusing in a play." Yeah, they were a hoot back in 1996. I saw it and I was laughing so hard I nearly died!

Not every musical is meant to be amusing. Come to think of it, musicals are one of the most depressing art forms. I suppose it makes sense, given that they grew out of opera, which is almost universally tragic. But a show like Rent is meant as more of an eye-opener than anything else.

Personally, I found Rent overbearing and preachy. I was not amused either, and given that I like to make jokes about pretty much everything, I got a lot of flack from my girlfriend for making fun of AIDS after the show. Oops.

But given that Rent won a Tony for best musical, it is illegal to dislike it, and saying anything bad about it automatically brands you a philistine.

You should watch Avenue Q instead than. It's basically Rent with muppets and humor instead of seriousness. Similar topics of what to do with one's life, homosexuality, money, etc. but in a funny format. Both great musicals which is probably why both won the Tony Awards.

 

[Ruptga]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
People dressed up as mangy cats was one of the most popular broadway shows ever...and you wonder about Rent....

On the way back after spring break I saw a semi trailer that was a big ad for Cats, and I thought that show ended about a decade ago! Well, I remember first hearing about it back in about sixth grade, which would be eight years even, but still...

 

[zebano]

I must say I loved the music in Rent. The story was ... less than appealing. A spotlight on the AIDs epidemic is good, but making protagonist/heroes out of destitute out of work bohemians doesn't appeal to my conservative fiscal side.

An amusing aside is that the first time I saw it I was in high school and my mom took us to church immediately after seeing Rent. lol

 

[AreaCode7O7]

Haven't seen the Broadway performance, just the movie, but I found the overall topic to be life and choosing to take a path other than the convention, not just AIDS. I'm probably the audience type that RENT typically would offend (fairly right-wing Christian) but I enjoyed it a lot - great quality as a production, fabulous music, strong characters and good approach to their topic, even if it's not a topic you agree with.

Looking for humor in it is a bit much, I think. You've got to enjoy it for the quality and the impact, rather than for humor.

 

[eleison]

Originally posted by: glutenberg

You should watch Avenue Q instead than. It's basically Rent with muppets and humor instead of seriousness. Similar topics of what to do with one's life, homosexuality, money, etc. but in a funny format. Both great musicals which is probably why both won the Tony Awards.

I was going to see Avenue Q...... but from the reviews it looks like the movie just bashes conservatives. From what I hear, it is not aging well. A lot of people are now saying Wicked should have won the Tony.

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: eleison

Originally posted by: glutenberg

You should watch Avenue Q instead than. It's basically Rent with muppets and humor instead of seriousness. Similar topics of what to do with one's life, homosexuality, money, etc. but in a funny format. Both great musicals which is probably why both won the Tony Awards.

I was going to see Avenue Q...... but from the reviews it looks like the movie just bashes conservatives. From what I hear, it is not aging well. A lot of people are now saying Wicked should have won the Tony.

I'm confused, the movie? The musical really has nothing to do with conservatives whatsoever and is still extremely highly acclaimed. Wicked was also a spectacular production and if there was a way to split a Tony, both of those musicals would've won. Alot of people have always felt Wicked should've won the Tony but it's debatable.

All Avenue Q is about choosing a path in life from different points of views. Whoever told you that it was bashing conservatives probably did not watch it at all.