Rent is the first Broadway-musical-turned-Oscar-hopeful slated for the end of the awards season to hit the theaters this year. Winner of the Pulitzer and a handful of Tonys
The cast is primarily the original Broadway ensemble (Tracie Thoms is new as Joanna and Rosario Dawson who did play Mimi on stage, but replaced Daphne Rubin-Vega who was pregnant) only problem that brings is that the actors are nine years older than when the show premiered so Rosario Dawson at 26 is playing teenaged Mimi. That and I didn’t buy Anthony Rapp or Adam Pascal as straight men. Although, as it turns out Adam Pascal is not only married to a woman but has a child as well.
The musical is a phenomenal accomplishment that will forever stand as a testament to the dedication and talent of Jonathan Larson. Most “Major” musicals that have become part of America’s cultural lexicon have been written by teams; Rogers and Hammerstine, the Gershwin Brothers, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. I think people team up because it’s such a daunting task to write a story and put it to music. It’s been my experience that you only get so much talent, and if you’re super good at one thing you tend not to be so good at another.
Larson wrote every note of Rent in a year’s time. He had already written a half dozen musicals and the closest he ever got to a hit was tick tick... BOOM. According to urban legend Larson was a gay man who died of AIDS. Actually he was a straight man who is believed to have died as result of complications of Marfam Syndrome before Rent’s opening night.
Since watching the show on Saturday night I’ve been thinking a lot about the creative process. Rent makes great business out of living the live Boheme. At one point in the title song Roger and Mark ask themselves why they choose to live this way. It raises the question, is sacrifice important to art?
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