Fox's Live Version of RENT

[LoveNDino]

This is making me nervous in the same way I was nervous when they announced Christopher Columbus is directing the movie version of Rent.

 

Jonathan Larson’s Tony-winning musical about life and love in 1990s New York will debut on January 27, 2019.

 

A contemporary retelling of La Boheme, Rent chronicles the struggles of seven East Village artists facing adulthood and gentrification. The musical is a daring choice, given that it addresses trans identity, HIV/AIDS, gay and lesbian relationships, and substance abuse.

 

But its popularity can’t be denied: Twenty years after it debuted on Broadway, the show has been produced all over the world and still attracts hordes of “Rentheads.”

 

“The title is so iconic, the music is so beloved, and the themes are as meaningful today as they were when the show first premiered on Broadway,” said Fox’s Dana Walden and Gary Newman in a statement. “We are sure it will have a profound impact on the legions of fans who know and love this musical.”

 

But will the show be true to the original or watered down for TV?

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

... Will this show never die?

[LoveNDino]

... Will this show never die?

I sincerely hope it doesn't. I came of age at the height of this musical and it helped me figure out - being gay - what I want from my life. It holds a special place in my heart.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I sincerely hope it doesn't. I came of age at the height of this musical and it helped me figure out - being gay - what I want from my life. It holds a special place in my heart.

 

I get having that personal connection, but strictly as a musical piece of work, it's pedestrian and simple. Cliche after cliche. Nothing fleshed out. Noise.

 

As a teenager, I listened to it and really enjoyed it: Now, I listen to it and the characters annoy the hell out of me.

[bostonman]

Rent is an unfinished musical. I absolutely think that had Larson lived, he would have used that original off-Broadway production to keep improving the piece, and that there would certainly have been major changes before a move to Broadway.

 

It's not a hugely favorite musical of mine, but I do like much of it. But I do think its music and characters spoke truthfully and meaningfully to its zeitgeist, much like Spring Awakening and American Idiot would do in the years to come, and much like Hair did for its generation. And really, though Hair did give us some pop hits, much as I love the show, the score is rather uneven if you really listen to all of it. But it works for what it says, and in a way, that's more important. I feel the same with Rent.

 

Larson's "other" show (Tick Tick Boom) was originally a solo cabaret act that was rethought and made into a true theatre piece after his death. Like Rent, it feels a bit raw - as if Larson would certainly have worked more on those songs had he been given the chance. (And the theme has a similar feel - the impetus of the plot is based on Larson's own neurosis about turning 30 and trying to find professional success.) But both scores do show that he could write exciting material. I would disagree with Mr. Nicholas - I don't think Rent is "noise." Not every tune shines, but I do hear a lot of good writing.

 

He was really just starting out. I think we need to remember that we only got to see the beginnings of a work in progress - meaning both the composer and the shows.

 

As for Fox's version - I'll at least watch this one (I loathe Grease, so there was no way I was going to watch their version of that, lol). But I'm not going in with high expectations. Most of this new crop of TV musicals have not been all that good. (For me, only NBC's Hairspray has come close to being satisfying.)

[LaffingBear]

Makes me cringe a bit..

 

Each successive iteration of this show is worse than its predecessor.

 

I first saw a traveling version of the Broadway show in SF. I liked it. I liked the Bway cast album.

 

The movie was ok but disappointing.

 

Rent in concert on TV was tolerable

 

Rent filmed live was difficult to watch.

 

So Rent Live on Fox should be wretched. Then again, if Hannity is cast as Benny, and Coulter plays Angel, I may tune in just for the morbid scenes.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Makes me cringe a bit..

 

Each successive iteration of this show is worse than its predecessor.

 

I first saw a traveling version of the Broadway show in SF. I liked it. I liked the Bway cast album.

 

The movie was ok but disappointing.

 

Rent in concert on TV was tolerable

 

Rent filmed live was difficult to watch.

 

So Rent Live on Fox should be wretched. Then again, if Hannity is cast as Benny, and Coulter plays Angel, I may tune in just for the morbid scenes.

 

I believe you hit the nail on the head. Rent keeps devolving as younger casts take roles they haven't properly prepared for.

 

Case-in-point: The current national tour of the show is decently-sung, but absolutely void of understanding or connection. Watching the cast grin like madmen as they sang about HIV, AZT and the homeless was odd and ugly to me. Not one of those 18-25 somethings had any idea about the very real things they were singing. They memorized the lines, but they lacked the performing maturity to create characters.

 

It felt like a theme park version of the show and made me really, really dislike it.

[+ WilliamM]

I saw "Rent" in Australia in 1998 at the same time the Australian "The Boy from Oz" was playing down under. When "The Boy from Oz" played on Broadway with Hugh Jackman, it lost most of the reason the musical was once interesting and somewhat important.

[jjkrkwood]

Rent is actually the ONLY play I ever walked out on when it ran on Bway.....

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

When "The Boy from Oz" played on Broadway with Hugh Jackman, it lost most of the reason the musical was once interesting and somewhat important.

 

Well, it turned into the Hugh Jackman show. It became more about the nightly celeb guests than the life of Peter Allen.

 

EDIT: Thinking a bit about my post, I will say that what Jackman did that season for BC/EFA was outstanding. Truly incredible how much money he alone was able to raise ($1.2 million from the Oz company alone). For that, I'll give him a huge pass and a gigantic pat on the butt

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

I saw Rent in Chicago with Anthony Rapp, (I think) . At intermission I was ready to leave; however, the friends I went with were enjoying the show. I am glad I stayed, as I enjoyed the second act. Still, I don't know that I would choose to sit through it again.