Rent: The Musical Essay

First of all, I decided to watch the movie Rent, which was based on Jonathan Larson’s Pulizer and his Tony award-winning musical, which has also appeared on Broadway many times. The film and musical are about a group of artists, eight friends, who are living in New York City during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. They each are dealing with different problems in their lives, such as HIV/AIDS, drug addiction, rejection, and poverty. This movie had a very tremendous impact on me, and I was very impressed with how they tied each theme into it. I was moved in a way that it has even effected the way I look at others, and overall at life.

One of the main magic’s of the theatre is for the audience to go into it unaware of what they will see, and exit with a whole new view in mind. This is still possible in jukebox musicals even if the audience member is familiar with some of the songs. Songs, text, and all literature can be interpreted in different ways based on the individual. Theatre is meant for all different people to enjoy. Some may like going to a show featuring songs that their favorite artists wrote or that speak to a memorable time of their life. It becomes a discussion about how the audience can relate to the characters.

The 1996 hit musical RENT stars an amazing cast, each with his/her own powerful voice. This musical, Jonathan Larson’s first produced show, has become one of the biggest things ever on Broadway. The concept of the show is nothing immaculate. RENT is a musical updating La Boheme and setting it in NYC’s East Village on Christmas Eve. In the opera, the Parisians are afflicted with tuberculosis. This plague was modified to today’s equivalent of the AIDS virus.

The musical Rent is a representation of the Bohemian lifestyle of being different and being able to explore and be unique. What makes this musical so unique is its revolutionary musical style and a plot like no other. The lyricist and composer of the musical Jonathan Larson did something no one would ever imagine and go outside of the box. Who would have thought of putting lesbians, gays, HIV and AIDS victims, and the life of a Bohemian into one rock and pop based musical? This struggle to survive and accomplish things makes Rent amazing.

Most viewers would often find themselves uncomfortable watching a film of characters diagnosed with AIDS. Rent [Musical Live on Broadway, 2008], by Jonathan Larson, is a musical about a group of young adults struggling to pay rent in the, impoverished, East Manhattan, NY. These events Jonathan Larson’s musical is similarly based on the La Bohéme opera composed by Giacomo Puccini. East Manhattan is impoverished with a plethora of homosexual, transvestite, and homeless residents. In the beginning of Act One, the main actors, Roger and Mark, express their irritation after their landlord demands them for rent money. Collin, Roger and Mark’s mutual friend, dates a transvestite named Angel. Mark’s ex-girlfriend, Maureen, is dating another woman, Joanne. Roger dates a dancer named Mimi. These characters, excluding Mark, are diagnosed with the HIV virus and develop a sincere relationship. A traumatic event resonates within the group, realizing that their days are limited because of the HIV virus and Mark will watch the process. This leads them disregard past instances and appreciate the days they have left with each other. Rent’s target audience was aimed at young adults, 18-25, with diverse situations. Rent’s dialogue, music/sound, and events are used to evoke the audience’s emotion evokes joyfulness and remorse for the cast’s by their experiences and diversity. Rent’s dialogue, music/sound, and events evoke the audience to feel cheerful and sympathetic through the diverse groups

“There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last.” Rent first a revolutionary Broadway musical turned into a movie, broke down the barriers by being one of the first musical productions to reveal the truths of the “real” American lifestyle. Visionaries like musical director Jonathan Larson and film director Chris Columbus, helped use the movie and musical platform to share the stories of hundreds of people facing adversity in the early 90’s. The movie follows six Bohemians (Mark a hopeful movie producer, Roger a musician, Mimi a night club dancer, Collins a teacher, Maureen an activist, Joann a lawyer, and Angel a trans street drummer) and their journeys with drug abuse, AIDS and HIV, homosexuality, and the struggle to

The high-quality of Matthew Zajacn actually performing his own work and story makes it personal. It was true, it happened and the illustrated storytelling made me embrace theatre for what it can do. The show was a universal idea of how your past can be miscommunicated or untold.

Generation X has finally taken out a lease on the future of theatre, and it looks like it is more than able to pay the "Rent" (Coulbourn 43). "Rent" is a musical for our time, for our generation and for generations to come. It has won numerous Tony Awards including best musical, book, score, lyrics, and ensemble performance. This musical is an excellent representation of cultural religion and it has had a profound impact on society both in the 90's and today. "Rent" is not only a representation of the culture of the new millennium but is an excellent representation of the faith of a new generation.

For my paper I chose to watch “Once” at the Washington Pavillon. In this essay I will talk about the quality of the show and how much musical/instrumental talent was put in to make that show.

Although big-hit Broadway musicals have always been popular with the masses and generated tons of money, the changing political weather on the United States has slowly affected the population’s view of their purpose in society. Stacey Wolfe addresses the changing political climate in the musical theatre form in her article, The 2003-2004 Season and Broadway Musical Theatre as a Political Controversy, as a subtle but impactful way to convey public issues after the events on September 11th, 2001. Musicals have a reputation of being over the top and cheesy with the old classics like Oklahoma! and The Music Man. Although the old musicals address issues like marriage and telling the truth, they lack the intellectual depth of the new millennium. However, singing and dancing are still effective ways of conveying the problems to a society where interest is easily lost. Wolfe adamantly points out that producing a musical takes years of work and funding, thus affecting the response time to modern events. The musicals Avenue Q, Wicked, and Caroline, Or Change, all discussed in her article, did not make their debut until years after 9/11. Nonetheless, the lag time allows for critical adjustments and full understanding of the events to be evaluated before they premiere on the big stage. Wolfe argues that despite the slow response time, modern musicals are still an effective way to show important issues to the public and especially inspire reflective change in the target audiences of the

Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, struggles to find his place in the world; his roommate Roger, an HIV-positive musician, wonders how he will leave his mark before he dies. Mimi and Angel

Hamilton: An American Musical retells the story of Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. With the aid of hip-hop and rap, Lin-Manuel Miranda dramatises Hamilton’s struggles and contributions during the American Revolution and the formative years of the United States. It is praised for its breaking of Broadway conventions, compelling characters and their interactions, beautiful musicality, and the progression of its plot. There are many that see this musical masterpiece as Hamilton’s true autobiography. However, it is not an accurate telling of historical events. Hamilton: An American Musical intentionally alters the truth of Hamilton’s tale as it misrepresents the historical figures of America’s birth, falsifies a romantic interest between Angelica Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton, alters details of certain distressing events, and paints the main antagonist, Aaron Burr, as a villain.

When thinking of a play that best embodied the dramatic devices the first thing that came to mind was the Broadway play RENT. This play outlined the life obstacles of a group of New Yorkers living in Alphabet City during the early 1990’s. The obstacles they face throughout the play bring the audience on an emotional rollercoaster of exhilarating love, loss, and enlightenment. The crises of that time period gave the play director great writing material for situation, setting, theme, tone, and characters to play out these empowering rolls. Watching the life stories of eight individuals play out guided the audience into the importance of understanding the underlining, sometime hidden, dramatic devices.

To begin, when I first walked in the theater I was surprised to see an orchresta, band, and choir set on the stage. I was expecting a musical, not a concert, even though the title did say “in concert.” I am not sure but when I think of plays, I usually only except actors on the stage, not musicians with them. I am glad to know now that it does not always have to be that way.

Rent  is a 2005 American film adaptation of the Broadway musical, which was based on Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning musical. The movie depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drugs, life under the shadow of AIDS, and paying their rent. It takes place in the East Village of New York City in the late 1980s.