Here's my final feature story that I wrote for my feature writing class this year. I'm told I should publish it so if anyone can think of an appropriate place to pitch it, send your suggestions my way.
No Day But Today: The Phenomenon of the Musical RENT
Broadway has played host to many unexpected successes over the years. Against all odds, Cats and Phantom of the Opera gained “longest running musical” status, and many other musicals have triumphed on the Broadway stage. Jonathan Larson’s RENT, is one of the rare long-shots that made it, and is still going strong with no signs of stopping. You never know when something is going to be a smash hit, and RENT was no exception. Now, a decade after its Broadway debut, after winning the Pulitzer Prize, the 1996 Tony, and becoming a major motion picture, casts are still touring the world with the show and the New York production is still performing to a sold out audience at the Nederlander Theatre every night. RENT has been called the work that has changed the face of the American musical, it has received copious accolades and critical acclaim, acquiring a cult-like following of fans known as Rentheads—whose numbers have multiplied with the new exposure from the 2005 film-version, which was released on DVD in February.
Based on Puccini’s La Boheme, RENT is the story of eight friends living in New York’s Alphabet City in the late eighties, struggling to find themselves while dealing with serious issues like friendship, life, death, love, loss, sexuality and most notably AIDS. It is both a contemporary adaptation of a classic Italian Opera and an autobiographical tribute to the friends that Larson lost to AIDS. It began as a small production that was never meant to last longer than a few weeks at the New York Theatre Workshop in New York’s East Village. But it wasn’t long before it was selling out every night. RENT soon moved to Broadway where it took over the slightly run-down Nederlander Theatre at 41st and Broadway. The curtain was set to go up on the beginning of the Broadway run but that night Jonathan Larson died of an aortic aneurism. After finally gaining the success that he worked all his life to achieve, Larson was never able to experience the full extent of what he’d created; leaving the show with a tragic overhang.
Some believe RENT would have never reached the heights that it has, had it not been for the tragedy of the death of its playwright. However, those who have been directly associated with the production, or devoted fans who return to see RENT over and over again, have a different view. “I would beg to differ that RENT ’s success is related to Larson’s death. In fact I think it couldn’t be further from the truth,” Says Dean Armstrong, who played two of Rent’s main characters, Roger Davis and Mark Cohen on Broadway for two years. “If you go to the Nederlander Theatre there’s not a plaque, there’s not a picture, there’s not a summary, there’s not a life story of Jonathan at all,” he says. Those who have paid attention to RENT’s evolution know that the show’s achievement happened before Larson’s death, and has lasted long after. Toronto Star theatre critic Richard Ouzounian agrees with Armstrong but says that RENT’s triumph is not completely unrelated to Larson’s end, “Larson's death made the show's theme ("No Day but Today") seem almost eerily pertinent. His demise gave the show added publicity which made it the media event that it proved to be, but it still would have succeeded even if he had lived, only not as quickly, and perhaps not as massively,” He says.
“The show's strength is the way the elements weave together. The music and lyrics serve philosophy which is illuminated through the story. That complex synergy is what attracts Rent fans,” Says Ouzounian.
Rent’s story fuels a strong word-of-mouth reaction that keeps people coming and coming back. Perhaps it is the theme, hardship and triumph that allow viewers to connect, to see a piece of themselves in the show. Perhaps it is being personally inspired by the “No Day but Today” philosophy . “For many young audience members RENT spoke to concerns that touched them deeply and did so through the accessible format of musical theatre. That struck profound chords in many people,” Ouzounian says.
“If you’re feeling bad you can just put on ‘What you Own’ or Light My Candle’ and you just feel better,” says 20-year-old Renthead Samantha Buck. “Everybody can relate to loss, everybody can relate to friendship...and that’s what RENT is. Everyone has their own stories,” she says. “It has been described to me like this: if you have 20 different people on Broadway you have 20 different stories. I think that applies to Rentheads because there are a million different fans with a million different stories. They’re all going to come away with something different.”
18 year-old Renthead, Evan Feist also sees RENT’s appeal as universal. “It has a spark of realism in it so that no matter who you are, no matter where you are, no matter what part of society you’re from, no matter how old you are, you can relate to the story and the eight characters in some way. What I draw from it can be completely different from the person beside me,” he says. “It’s timeless. It’s a story about life, love and friendship, and everyone can relate to that.
RENT’s fan phenomenon is not unique because it has attracted countless amounts of people and involved a devoted following. These are aspects that fall in line with theatre fan-culture in general. Richard Ouzounian points out, “There is always a desire to belong to a group and participate in some sort of secular ceremony. There were also "Hair" groupies, "Rocky Horror Show" fans, and other show groupies. Rentheads were just one more manifestation of this phenomenon,” he says. What really makes RENT different from its cultural predecessors though is that for the first time serious issues such as AIDS, death, homosexuality and race were being brought into the mainstream musical theatre context. Though theatre audiences were not unfamiliar with these issues on the stage, musical theatre was characteristically a light-hearted forum and by changing these “guidelines, RENT was breaking new ground. During RENT’s time (the 80’s) these subjects were extremely socially important (and translate now because they still are.) However, these subjects were taboo, and considered inappropriate for something as mainstream as Broadway. Though, despite negativity RENT has received from such outlets as fundamentalist Christian groups, this “controversial” subject-matter is what made the Renthead phenomenon different. Despite the obvious social need to “belong”, by making weighty subject-matter such as death and disease accessible through a mainstream format, it allowed minorities and those personally dealing with such issues, to relate and feel they were part of a bigger social picture. As someone with a disability who has faced death, there is a reason I have seen RENT 12 times. Granted, some of it lies in the music and the theatrical entertainment, but every time I see RENT I am inspired by the “No Day but Today” philosophy and I’m reminded that when I get frustrated by my limitations, I have to keep going because I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. It is this type of reality that sets Rentheads apart from the more superficial fandom that comes with other fantastical shows. You don’t usually go to the theatre to gain any sort of spiritual enlightenment, but it can be said that this is what Rentheads are getting with their personal connection to the show, and though it might not be the case for all, this form of spirituality is what sets RENT fans apart.
Along side the show’s exceptional social themes is RENT’s unique structural style.
With RENT Larson brought together many different aspects and took a chance on bringing in a whole new style, which was destined to transform musicals forever. “RENT is based on a very historically interesting piece. Taking La Boheme and making it relevant to contemporary issues and taking a very similar story and telling it in a contemporary sense reinvents the idea of musical theatre, which I think is very revolutionary,” says Armstrong. In a musical theatre world dominated by spectacle and corporate commercialism, Jonathan Larson’s piece stood out from the ubiquitous Andrew Lloyd-Webber-style creations. Compared to the sumptuous spectacles that made up the theatre arena, RENT took a fresh, down-to-earth approach, which included simple, stripped-down sets, scenes that didn’t include large, over-the-top dance numbers and the thing that possibly made the show’s structure most unique, a five-piece rock band in place of a large-scale orchestra. Led by director Michael Grief, playwright Jonathan Larson and the rest of the original Broadway cast took a huge risk, but in the end succeeded in breathing new life into American theatre. “RENT really reinvented what we as an audience would generally associate with musical theatre,” says Armstrong. “It provided something that was new, something that was cutting edge. I think structurally, the show implicating rock music in the context of the musical theatre world was revolutionary. Very specific choices were made about the actual staging of the show as well, which created more of a concert feel,” He says. RENT used a very minimalist approach that focused on presenting itself as a raw, gritty piece that showcased the characters’ stories, and brought forth the music, compared to typical musicals, which sensationalized their content to draw in audiences. RENT is first and foremost a rock opera. It’s score, rather than music made up of a show-tune majority brought the music into the forefront, and made it more accessible to those who wouldn’t normally appreciate musical theatre format.
My parents took me to see Rent in Toronto in 1997 and since then I have seen the show 11 more times in Toronto, Hamilton and New York, and I have tickets to see it again in May in Toronto.
Based on Puccini’s La Boheme, RENT is the story of eight friends living in New York’s Alphabet City in the late eighties, struggling to find themselves while dealing with serious issues like friendship, life, death, love, loss, sexuality and most notably AIDS. It is both a contemporary adaptation of a classic Italian Opera and an autobiographical tribute to the friends that Larson lost to AIDS. It began as a small production that was never meant to last longer than a few weeks at the New York Theatre Workshop in New York’s East Village. But it wasn’t long before it was selling out every night. RENT soon moved to Broadway where it took over the slightly run-down Nederlander Theatre at 41st and Broadway. The curtain was set to go up on the beginning of the Broadway run but that night Jonathan Larson died of an aortic aneurism. After finally gaining the success that he worked all his life to achieve, Larson was never able to experience the full extent of what he’d created; leaving the show with a tragic overhang.
Some believe RENT would have never reached the heights that it has, had it not been for the tragedy of the death of its playwright. However, those who have been directly associated with the production, or devoted fans who return to see RENT over and over again, have a different view. “I would beg to differ that RENT ’s success is related to Larson’s death. In fact I think it couldn’t be further from the truth,” Says Dean Armstrong, who played two of Rent’s main characters, Roger Davis and Mark Cohen on Broadway for two years. “If you go to the Nederlander Theatre there’s not a plaque, there’s not a picture, there’s not a summary, there’s not a life story of Jonathan at all,” he says. Those who have paid attention to RENT’s evolution know that the show’s achievement happened before Larson’s death, and has lasted long after. Toronto Star theatre critic Richard Ouzounian agrees with Armstrong but says that RENT’s triumph is not completely unrelated to Larson’s end, “Larson's death made the show's theme ("No Day but Today") seem almost eerily pertinent. His demise gave the show added publicity which made it the media event that it proved to be, but it still would have succeeded even if he had lived, only not as quickly, and perhaps not as massively,” He says.
“The show's strength is the way the elements weave together. The music and lyrics serve philosophy which is illuminated through the story. That complex synergy is what attracts Rent fans,” Says Ouzounian.
Rent’s story fuels a strong word-of-mouth reaction that keeps people coming and coming back. Perhaps it is the theme, hardship and triumph that allow viewers to connect, to see a piece of themselves in the show. Perhaps it is being personally inspired by the “No Day but Today” philosophy . “For many young audience members RENT spoke to concerns that touched them deeply and did so through the accessible format of musical theatre. That struck profound chords in many people,” Ouzounian says.
“If you’re feeling bad you can just put on ‘What you Own’ or Light My Candle’ and you just feel better,” says 20-year-old Renthead Samantha Buck. “Everybody can relate to loss, everybody can relate to friendship...and that’s what RENT is. Everyone has their own stories,” she says. “It has been described to me like this: if you have 20 different people on Broadway you have 20 different stories. I think that applies to Rentheads because there are a million different fans with a million different stories. They’re all going to come away with something different.”
18 year-old Renthead, Evan Feist also sees RENT’s appeal as universal. “It has a spark of realism in it so that no matter who you are, no matter where you are, no matter what part of society you’re from, no matter how old you are, you can relate to the story and the eight characters in some way. What I draw from it can be completely different from the person beside me,” he says. “It’s timeless. It’s a story about life, love and friendship, and everyone can relate to that.
RENT’s fan phenomenon is not unique because it has attracted countless amounts of people and involved a devoted following. These are aspects that fall in line with theatre fan-culture in general. Richard Ouzounian points out, “There is always a desire to belong to a group and participate in some sort of secular ceremony. There were also "Hair" groupies, "Rocky Horror Show" fans, and other show groupies. Rentheads were just one more manifestation of this phenomenon,” he says. What really makes RENT different from its cultural predecessors though is that for the first time serious issues such as AIDS, death, homosexuality and race were being brought into the mainstream musical theatre context. Though theatre audiences were not unfamiliar with these issues on the stage, musical theatre was characteristically a light-hearted forum and by changing these “guidelines, RENT was breaking new ground. During RENT’s time (the 80’s) these subjects were extremely socially important (and translate now because they still are.) However, these subjects were taboo, and considered inappropriate for something as mainstream as Broadway. Though, despite negativity RENT has received from such outlets as fundamentalist Christian groups, this “controversial” subject-matter is what made the Renthead phenomenon different. Despite the obvious social need to “belong”, by making weighty subject-matter such as death and disease accessible through a mainstream format, it allowed minorities and those personally dealing with such issues, to relate and feel they were part of a bigger social picture. As someone with a disability who has faced death, there is a reason I have seen RENT 12 times. Granted, some of it lies in the music and the theatrical entertainment, but every time I see RENT I am inspired by the “No Day but Today” philosophy and I’m reminded that when I get frustrated by my limitations, I have to keep going because I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. It is this type of reality that sets Rentheads apart from the more superficial fandom that comes with other fantastical shows. You don’t usually go to the theatre to gain any sort of spiritual enlightenment, but it can be said that this is what Rentheads are getting with their personal connection to the show, and though it might not be the case for all, this form of spirituality is what sets RENT fans apart.
Along side the show’s exceptional social themes is RENT’s unique structural style.
With RENT Larson brought together many different aspects and took a chance on bringing in a whole new style, which was destined to transform musicals forever. “RENT is based on a very historically interesting piece. Taking La Boheme and making it relevant to contemporary issues and taking a very similar story and telling it in a contemporary sense reinvents the idea of musical theatre, which I think is very revolutionary,” says Armstrong. In a musical theatre world dominated by spectacle and corporate commercialism, Jonathan Larson’s piece stood out from the ubiquitous Andrew Lloyd-Webber-style creations. Compared to the sumptuous spectacles that made up the theatre arena, RENT took a fresh, down-to-earth approach, which included simple, stripped-down sets, scenes that didn’t include large, over-the-top dance numbers and the thing that possibly made the show’s structure most unique, a five-piece rock band in place of a large-scale orchestra. Led by director Michael Grief, playwright Jonathan Larson and the rest of the original Broadway cast took a huge risk, but in the end succeeded in breathing new life into American theatre. “RENT really reinvented what we as an audience would generally associate with musical theatre,” says Armstrong. “It provided something that was new, something that was cutting edge. I think structurally, the show implicating rock music in the context of the musical theatre world was revolutionary. Very specific choices were made about the actual staging of the show as well, which created more of a concert feel,” He says. RENT used a very minimalist approach that focused on presenting itself as a raw, gritty piece that showcased the characters’ stories, and brought forth the music, compared to typical musicals, which sensationalized their content to draw in audiences. RENT is first and foremost a rock opera. It’s score, rather than music made up of a show-tune majority brought the music into the forefront, and made it more accessible to those who wouldn’t normally appreciate musical theatre format.
My parents took me to see Rent in Toronto in 1997 and since then I have seen the show 11 more times in Toronto, Hamilton and New York, and I have tickets to see it again in May in Toronto.
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