The Revival of Rent Musical With a New Cast

Filed under: Uncategorized - 06 Jun 2012  | Spread the word !

[Facebook] [Twitter]

The names Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L.Martin, Adam Pascal and Daphne Rubin Vega did not mean much until the release of, perhaps one of the best known musicals, Rent Musical, in 1996. The musical was a Pulitzer Prize winning hit Off Broadway that quickly transferred to Broadway and won the Tony Award for the Best Musical. Jonathan Larson was the genius behind the whole idea of Rent. He was noted for the serious social issues of multiculturalism, addiction and homophobia explored in his work. Unfortunately for him, he did not manage to see his now world famous musical Rent on stage, since he had passed away one evening before. Nevertheless, the cast decided to go on with the release and somehow turned the show into a service in his memory. They say down on chairs and sang in front of Jonathan’s parents and friends. This is just one of the reasons that makes Rent so special and so loved worldwide.

The musical is a gritty love story about friends and couples in the early 90s East Village, written by Jonathan Larson and inspired by Puccini’s La Boheme. Rent closed in 2008, after a run of 12 years on Broadway. In relatively quick fashion, the producers of the original have decided to bring back the show and mount what they hope will be a more intimate version, with the same Tony Award nominated director, Michael Griefd, in the less costly confines of Off Broadway. While many in the new cast have credits in national tours and ensembles of Broadway shows, none of them have the career profile of, say, Ms. Menzel, who went on to win a Tony Award as Elphaba in Wicked and become an inspiration for many younger theatre actresses.  

Among the new Rent Musical leads are Annaleigh Ashford in the role of Maureen Johnson, and Adam Chanler Berat as Mark Cohen, previously played by Anthony Rapp. Matt Shingledecker will play the moody guitarist Roger Davis, previously played by Adam Pascal. Arianda Fernandez will reprise the role of the drug addicted stripper Mimi Marquez. Corbin Reid, who has had small parts in Sister Act and American Idiot on Broadway, will play Joanne Jefferson. The cast is almost ready and the show will be good to go. Rentheads all over the world are looking for the opening night of this new production.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes)

After 12 Years, RENT is to Close

Filed under: Uncategorized - 08 May 2012  | Spread the word !

[Facebook] [Twitter]

Rent musical is the seventh longest running Broadway show in history. It has made an impact on people around the world. But the length of its run is not nearly as significant as the kind of show it was. An East Village rock version of Puccini’s opera La Boheme, Rent musical brought a youthful energy and young theatre goers to Broadway. Rent musical also brought with it a real life story that is so affecting that is would have overwhelmed the musical itself had the substance of the musical had it not been so intertwined with the story of its creation.

Rent musical opened in February 1996, two and half weeks after Jonathan Larson’s death. Critics were ecstatic, Broadway landlords were battling to play host to an uptown transfer and everyone in town, including celebrities like Steven Spielberg and Anna Wintour was scrambling to get tickets to a 150 seat off Broadway theatre in East Village. Already a theatre phenomenon, Rent Musical exploded onto Broadway two months later, under the direction of Michael Greif. Rent musical was so successful that it won four Tony Awards, including the best musical and the Pulitzer Prize.

The young cast of Rent Musical, which included the now familiar names such as Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, and Jesse L Martin suddenly appeared on the cover of many magazines. Productions of Rent Musical have been mounted on six continents. In 2005, Rent musical hit the movie theatres under the form of a movie, which starred almost all the members of the original cast. Although the musical was very successful, Rent musical the movie was considered a failure.

Recently, the show’s take at the box office was consistently less than it costs. A closing date for the Rent musical is on the horizon, and after some not amicable back and forth discussions of the Broadway Producers, agreed to keep the show running until June 1. Rent Musical is one of the most inspiring musicals in Broadway history and will certainly remain in the memory of Rent-heads everywhere around the world.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)

Rent Musical and Its Social Impact

Filed under: Uncategorized - 06 Apr 2012  | Spread the word !

[Facebook] [Twitter]

If there is ever a sure fire bet in pretty much every year’s Broadway in Chicago series, it is the contemporary Rent musical. Despite the fact that it is one of longest running musicals in history, Rent musical still continues to sell out night after, if only because the once underground phenomenon has swelled to major mainstream proportions. But even with its popularity, the cast of Rent musical has never watered down the message, which remains unconditional acceptance, regardless of personal, artistic and sexual differences, alongside sticking up for one’s ideals, no matter how intense the prejudgements, scrutiny or pressure from outside influences.

The cast of Rent musical has not changed almost at all since its first release in 1996. This is why fans all over the States keep coming and sing along in the show room. Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal reprised their roles as Mark and Roger. Though the names of these Rent musical artists are still marquee attractions, it is still amazing how adults in their thirties still manage to pull off characters who are supposed to be in their twenties.

Although the plot of Rent musical takes place in the 1996 Big Apple, a lot has changed. Most notably, the care for AIDS patients and the diminishing of prejudice over sexual orientation. However, it is impossible to ignore the heart wrenching message and the tale of Rent musical. It is a touching tale of love, loss, friendship, betrayal and temptation. All the characters in Rent musical have their own baggage and drama. Add a great score to all these ingredients and you will have songs such as Without You, Light My Candle, La Vie Boheme, and the signature song, Season of Love. Aside from the message and the tale, Rent Musical has many pop culture references, such as flannel shirts, answering machines and pay phones. Rent musical is a wonderful musically moving and socially sensitive show that sends out a message or tolerance, acceptance and love towards people that are different from others.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes)

Rent Musical in Pop Culture

Filed under: Uncategorized - 08 Mar 2012  | Spread the word !

[Facebook] [Twitter]

One of the most successful live rock musicals of all time is Jonathan Larson’ Rent musical. The story develops around a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive disease and life in New York Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/Aids. Jonathan Larson found inspiration for Rent Musical in Puccini’s La Boheme. After the official launch of the modern opera, Rent Musical had a cultural impact unequalled by other musicals

The opening song of Rent Musical, Seasons of Love became a successful pop song and at public events it is performed on its own. Because of its connection with New Years and looking back at times past, Season of Love is sometimes performed at graduations or school holiday programs. Over the years, this wonderful Broadway musical has gathered many fans, who called themselves Rent-heads. The name derives from people gathering and camping outside the Nederlander Theatre, who wanted to benefit from the rush tickets. However, the term refers to anyone who is obsessed with Rent Musical.

Rent Musical has won many acclaimed awards and ran for more than ten years. In 2005, director Chris Columbus decided to transpose the musical into a movie. With the exception of Daphne Rubin Vega and Fredi Walker, who played Mimi and Joanne, the rest of the Rent Musical Broadway original cast reprised the original roles. Mimi was played by Rosario Dawson and Joanne by Traci Thorns. Rent Musical the movie was a box office hit and remained in top ten for three weeks. Chris Columbus changed a few elements in order to make Rent Musical, the movie, more appealing. He introduced several lines of dialogue and transformed some of the songs in spoken lines. Due to its high acclaims and success, Rent Musical has become the seventh longest running Broadway musical ever. If you have the chance to see it, it will be a unique experience you will never forget. Rent Musical teaches a lesson in love, fight and overcoming all obstacles.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (1 votes)

Rent Musical Trivia

Filed under: Uncategorized - 07 Feb 2012  | Spread the word !

[Facebook] [Twitter]

Rent musical is one my absolute all time favorite musicals. It is a story about friendship, love, betrayal and, more importantly, hope. Jonathan Larson’s Rent musical was initially inspired from Puccini’s La Boheme, but also from his life. As depicted in the first scenes of the musical, two of the main characters, Roger and Mark, are living in scarce conditions. Not many people know this, but this is also the way that Jonathan Larson lived in New York.

The Rent Musical film describes the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drug abuse, paying the rent and life under the shadow of AIDS. Rent musical is heart wrenching, if you follow the drama in every character’s life, but at the same time, it is a story that brings about hope in a judgmental world. The action of Rent musical movie spans on a period of one year, from 1989 to 1990. The film also features six of the original Broadway cast members reprising their roles: Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Jesse Martin.

There are of course differences between the movie and the stage version. As in the original Rent musical, the story of the film spans the course of one year. Rent musical only stated that the action begins and on a December 24 and was meant to the present. However, the film established the setting as 1989-1990. This has created some lyrical inconsistencies. For example, Angel’s song Today 4U contains a reference to the film Thelma and Louise, which was not released until 1991, and Maureen’s song Over the Moon makes references to the Oklahoma City bombing. Many of the Rent musical Broadway songs were cut in order to make room for the dialogue and to make the plot flow more naturally. Rent Musical is an awe-inspiring story about friendship and love going beyond death. It shows that even though some persons leave our lives, that does not mean they are gone forever, but on the contrary, that they are forever within our hearts.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (3 votes)

Rent Musical Success And Impact

Filed under: Uncategorized - 13 Jan 2012  | Spread the word !

[Facebook] [Twitter]

Rent musical is based on Puccini’s work La Boheme, while music and lyrics are conceived by Jonathan Larson. Rent musical was first released in 1994 at New York Theater Workshop. The show is great and received many awards. Unfortunately, its producer, Larson, died with a night before Rent musical premiere. The musical was acclaimed on Broadway and this success brought Rent musical to many tours. In 2005, Rent musical was adapted to a motion picture that includes the same actors that acted in the musical.

Rent musical is about the life of young, but poor artists that struggle to survive and to keep their creative talents alive. Although it was inspired by Puccini’s opera, Rent musical was adapted to modern times: Paris was replaced with New York and tuberculosis with AIDS.The characters are indirect adaptations of the original opera. There are songs though taken from the original work of Puccini without any changes, so Rent musical entwines characters, settings and music trying to be something different, adapted to our days.

This great opera has two acts and includes many major and minor characters. After its release, several productions emerged and lots of tours took place all over the world. In 2010, it was directed at Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles and in 2011, the show emerged again, trying to revive. This time, it was performed off-Broadway and its opening was scheduled on 11 August 2011, being directed by Michael Grief, its original director. This new version is very different from the previous ones, so the critics were not pleased with these radical changes. Rent musical older versions had a major impact on public: the song Season of Love became so successful that is performed on its own at different programs and graduations. Rent won many awards such as Tony Award For Best Musical, 1996 Pulitzer Prize For Drama, Drama Desk For Outstanding Book, Tony Award For Best Original Score: Jonathan Larson and received many important nominations.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes)

About Rent Musical

Filed under: Uncategorized - 04 Nov 2011  | Spread the word !

[Facebook] [Twitter]

Although since the moment when Rent Musical was first released until now there have passed quite a few years, the famous rock musical still remains one of the the most popular ones to ever been created. Rent Musical was actually written in 1994 and the author of this masterpiece is Jonathan Larson. Rent Musical is based on the opera La boheme, by Giacomo Puccini.

Not only the way Rent Musical has been written has made it one of the most appreciated rock musicals in the world, but also it amazing story and lyrics. So, Rent Musical tells the story of some young artists and musicians who are struggling to survive and develop a career in the hard to conquer world of New York City. The story is really amazing and the first production of Rent Musical was viewed at the New York Theater Workshop, back in 1994. Anyway, to the premiere of Rent Musical there was a very tragic event linked. The very night before the moment when Rent Musical debuted on the stage, its creator, Jonathan Larson, suddenly died. However, despite the tragic event, the show was a big hit and it quickly won a Pulitzer Prize. Rent Musical was played on Broadway and the growing fame of the amazing show has also helped it won the Tony Award for Best Musical. More than 5100 Rent Musical performances on Broadway were set until 2008, when the production closed. 

The earnings of Rent Musical also are very impressive, as the Broadway production grossed more than $280 million. Although the success of Rent Musical was huge, there is no shock in the fact that the rock musical was so much appreciated, as the story is a moralizing one, which talks  about the struggle of developing a successful career in the hash New York industry. Of course, there are both good and dark sides of such an attempt and the actors of the amazing show have managed to deeply share all that with the viewers. The original cast of the show included names such as Jesse L. Marin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes)

Rent Musical – Movie Facts

Filed under: Uncategorized - 13 Sep 2011  | Spread the word !

[Facebook] [Twitter]

Rent Musical is one the most famous rock musicals in the world, written in 1994 by Jonathan Larson, who was inspired by La boheme, one of Giacomo Puccini’s operas. The musical was seen for the first time at the New York Theatre, for only three weeks. The New York Theatre was also the place where the grand opening of Rent Musical was supposed to be held, but unfortunately, the creator of the show, Jonathan Larson, died the night before the premiere. 

Besides being highly awarded, as Rent Musical won a Pulitzer Prize, it is also very popular among citizens of all ages and it has toured all over the world. Astonished by its success, Hollywood producers decided to adapt Rent Musical into a movie, in 2005. The movie follows the life of a bunch of Bohemian artists, who struggle through life, love and AIDS in the East Village of New York. I am sure that the fans of Rent Musical know all about it, and the movie too, but here are some unknown facts, especially for them, so they will find out even more things about their favorite rock opera, Rent Musical.

Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp were all originally casted in the Broadway production of Rent Musical from 1996 and in the movie they are playing their original roles. The New Year’s Eve sequence was actually turned into a party, as the actor’s celebration of the new year became so real that they did not even have to play it. During rehearsals, the actors from Rent Musical were constantly having so much fun that the director became very fond of it so he kept some of their jokes in the movie, like the eyebrow lift and the jacket toss in ‘The Tango Maureen’ scene.

Rent Musical is thus a moralizing story, which reflects the life of the struggling young artists exactly as it is, with the good sides and the bad sides. It has gained many awards and it is even now very beloved by people, who are thrilled with the unique combination between rock music and opera.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (11 votes)

Rent Musical Fans

Filed under: Uncategorized - 17 Nov 2010  | Spread the word !

[Facebook] [Twitter]

Broadway is one huge affair in America since the early 1900s when musicals first came on the scene. Since these times there has been literally hundreds and thousands of musicals made however only a small minority have been successful to the point of making money for the producers. Cats wan one of these musicals that could be summed up on two words – ‘still famous’. Rent musical is another recent Broadway musical that did very well in the time that it was on stage. The musical earned a Tony Award plus many others, which really helped to get people interested in seeing the musical.

Often timing is everything when it comes to a good musical since going head to head with another good musical may end up as a political or moral decision as to which one is best. Rent Musical was one that was quite controversial since it was dealing with the HIV virus that two of the characters had contracted. Even though the musical came out at a time of tolerance, many people thought twice about how this musical affected their own lives and are why the show was so controversial. This did not lower the ratings or viewings however since the Rent Musical did so well over a 12 year time frame.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (13 votes)

Rent Musical Summary

Filed under: Uncategorized - 21 Sep 2010  | Spread the word !

[Facebook] [Twitter]

The Broadway Musical Rent is well known and has won many awards. As one of the most moving social commentaries on the difficult situation of the poor and ill living in large cities like New York, Rent has been heralded as a moving musical.

Centering on the lives of a group of 8 friends, Rent tells many different stories at once. The musical focuses on the troubles of gay people in New York. Some of the other major focuses of the musical include drug addiction and the fight against AIDS.

Two of the major characters both suffer from AIDS and struggle to find a normal life while dealing with this disease. Mimi and Roger both have either been or are addicted to drugs and have trouble moving on with a normal life.

Tom and Angel are another couple in the musical, both gay men, Angel being a drag queen. Angel dies of AIDS near the climax of the film. This death acts as a catalyst in the lives of the other characters.

Maureen and Joanne are the other gay couple in the musical. Maureen is a performance artist while Joanne is a successful lawyer. They struggle with having a healthy and monogamous relationship despite their severe class difference.

Mark is the “normal” character in the musical, a struggling filmmaker who narrates the struggles of his closest friends. He is Maureen’s ex-boyfriend and lives with Roger.

The musical is full of memorable and provocative songs. These paint a picture of the underground and tumultuous culture of the inner and dirty city of New York. All of these characters speak to specific social issues.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (19 votes)
« Older Entries