When
I watch anything I usually review or consider it on three different levels:
Plot, Technical, and How
it Affects me a a person. If your looking for a full plot summary
of Rent you won't find that here. I recommend looking at
The Three Guys Rent Page. It provides the summary that comes
with the CD, it gives the newcomer to Rent a nice road map to quickly understanding
the basic relationships of Rent. If your looking to buy Rent Stuff,
I have a list of my preferred online retailers.
The Technical
Side of Rent
Seeing Rent on-stage was awesome. I
was continually amazed at the technical efforts displayed. The lighting
team shyed away from using any fancy lighting for a majority of the show.
I was amazed at how the lighting of the show was miraculously simple, but
very effective. Angel's death scene utilized one light pointed toward
the audience, not the usual direction of a light, but it was a beautiful
effect on the stage, even if the light was aimed right at the seat that
I was sitting in. I was especially amazed at the illusion of a motorcycle
in the dark, created with just a moving light and a sound effect, it made
me wonder how often I've been fooled by just the appearance of something,
when it doesn't really exist, especially in relationships with others.
How Rent Affects
Me
When people ask me what Rent is I usually just say it is a new Rock Musical.
But I've been listening to it continually since I got the CD and I think
it is more than that. Rent has been an experience for me. As
a gay teenager I think its cool that both the gay and straight couples
experience similar problems. I've found that in most television and
movies gay couples are shown as non-functioning and dysfunctional. 
Rent doesn't show Maureen and Joanne as always
having the perfect relationship and they fight and work at communicating
with each other just like any normal people. Roger and Mimi on the
other hand are shown as searching for love like anyone else in "Light my
Candle", but they are each scared of miscommunicating with each other,
and their relationship takes a long time to develop. There songs
always make me feel empty and needing someone to be close to.
I'm also extremely affected by the fact that
this is Jonathan Larson's first and last successful musical. He died
right before the premier of his musical that he worked on for six years.
That is a bit humbling to me. It makes me feel that I'm watching
a somehow incomplete, but excellent work. As a amateur playwright
I somehow feel a connection to Jonathan.
My Opinion
of Rent's Plot
I thought that the semi-vignette method used
in Rent was highly effective, compressing what could have been a two day
musical into two hours, by just providing enough enough information to
follow the plot. If you looking for a summary look at The
Three Guys Rent Page. It is a good summary that is included in
the CD case.
Online
Retailers for Rent Stuff
The first thing anyone who is obsessed with
Rent as I am needs, is the core of the show, the
soundtrack. Of course, you should also go to see the show.
There are several companies, and it keeps changing all the time, so I suggest you take a look at the Rent Site's Rent Worldwide page, to find the closest production to you. If you want you can buy tickets to the Broadway
Show in New York City, which will probably run forever. (Just a serious guess)
Plus if you looking for
Rent Clothing and other stuff, I recommend BuyBroadway.Com.
That should get you most of the Rent Stuff in existence.
Return to my homepage
This page was last updated on Monday, May 31, 2004 at 3:39 PM EDT.
This page was created by Nicholas Barnard. Please feel free to email me with any comments.