Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast)
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Free Music Notes for Rent (1996 Original Broadway Cast)
Free Music Review: great stories told through songs
Hit: 5 Stars
RENT is one of the all time great shows to grace the Great White Way, and the album has become a classic in its own right, the thing I love about the album is that its not just the biggies (La Vie Boheme, Seassons of Love) but virtually every sound bite from the production, and you can easily follow along with the story through the music.
The story begins on a frozen Christmas Eve in Grenich Village. Two artists, a filmmaker, Mark Cohen, and a has been rocker, Roger Davis, are preparing to enter a new year (Tune Up #1) the phone rings (Voice Mail #1) they reccieve several calls, their roommate, Tom Collins, has just returned from NYU, he gets mugged, and their landlord, Benjamin Coffin III, wants the overdue rent (Tune Up #2) the power blows, as does Roger and Mark's tempers (RENT)
Meanwhile, a drag queen with a heart of gold, Angel Dumant Schunard, helps the just-mugged Collins (You Ok Honey?) they walk off. Back at the lot, Roger dreams about writting one great song before the HIV virus takes his life (Tune Up #3, One Song Glory) There is a knock on the door, it is Mimi, a stripper from the catscratch club, who is looking for a match, or something more (Light My Candle) Meanwhile, uptown, Mark's X's lesbian lover, Johane, reccieves a voicemail from her father (Voice Mail #2) Back at the loft, Mark returns with Collins, who introduces Angel to the two (Today 4U) Benny makes the three an offer that they gladly turn down (You'll See) The three go their seperate ways, Mark to help out his X girlfriend, Maureene, with her performance thats happening tonight, Angel and Collins head to a life support meeting, and Roger, who has not left the appartment in god knows how long, stays behind. Mark goes to Maureen's performance space only to find Johanne (Tango: Maureene) He then arrives with Angel and Collins at the Life Support Meeting (Life Support) Back at the loft, Mimi seranades Roger (Out Tonight) but Roger angerly turns her away (Another Day) The fears of all the main charecters are echoed through the life support meeting (Will I?) Roger finally leaves the loft. On the street, Angel, Collins, and Mark rescue a homeless woman who is to say less then grateful (On the Street) the three dream about travelling far away from this bohemian hell (Santa Fe) Angel and Collins confess their love for each other (I'll Cover You) and Johanne juggles three phone calls (Were OK) The stories interconnect as Roger appologieses to Mimi (Christmas Bells) Maureene puts on her performance (Over the Moon) Finally, all the villagers gather at the life cafe to celebrate life (La Vie Boheme) Mimi and Roger find out the other has AIDS and share a moment of intensity and passion (I Should Tell You) Johanne announces that A) she is breaking up with Maureene, and B), Benny padlocked the loft (La Vie Boheme B) and thats only the first disc!!!!!
Act II begins with the cast stopping for a moment to ask, how do you meassure a year in the life? (Seassons of Love) It is New Years Eve in Bohemia, as the charecters make their resolutions (Happy New Year) Alexi Darling calls Mark with a job offer from a show called Buzzline (Voice Mail #3) Benny arrives to put an end to this war, but only gums things up (Happy New Year B) Maureene and Johanne have a fight and break up agian (Take me or Leave Me) Mark and Mimi after a fight, both wonder what life would be without the other (Without You) Alexi calls Mark agian (Voice Mail #4) and the AIDS virus takes Angel (Contact) At the memorial, Collins confesses his love one last time (I'll Cover You B) Mark wonders how things got to this point (Halloween) and Roger announces he's leaving for Santa Fe (Goodbye Love) Roger and Mark both struggle with life, Roger returns (What You Own) Roger, Mark, Johanne, and Mimi's parents call asking where their children are (Voice Mail #5) Its christmas Eve agian, and Roger and Mark remenisce about the past year, Collins announces he has rigged an ATM with a code, A-N-G-E-L, Maureene and Johanne show up with a dying Mimi (Finale A) Roger sings Mimi his song he's been writting all year (Your Eyes) Mimi dies, but is awoken, it turns out she had a gaurdian 'Angel' (Finale B)
So yeah, thats alot of story, kind of ranks up there with The Wall and Tommy for rock storytelling, at any rate, listen to it, its brilliantly mixed music, theres bound to be at least a few songs you'll love.
Free Music Review: Revolutionizing Broadway,
Hit: 5 Stars
Joy. Hope. Life. Love. Those are just a few of the words that come to mind when describing RENT. Others would include "brilliant", "powerful", and "amazing". Yes, the hype has been a bit much lately. The interviews, the advertisements, the talk shows. Yet RENT manages to encounter each and every one of those and still engulf the audience and all of Broadway in a sea of energy and melody, changing what was becoming a dying and stale art form. RENT has brought back the "hipness" to Broadway, but does not lose any of the theatric traditions that make up a great musical. Its complex plotline includes such Brodway taboos as AIDS, homosexuality (a part of it, but NOT it, drug use, S&M dancing, and, probably the biggest nineties Broadway no-no, substance.All that being said, the highlight of RENT, as is with any musical, is the exciting and stirring pop-rock score contained in this two hour CD. The late Jonathan Larson was able to almost flawlessly combine traditional theatre music with modern-day rock, pop, and gospel; not an easy feat. Sondheim once said that pop music and theatre can't combine because pop music does not emphasize the lyrical structure of a song. Larson has, in this writer's opinion, proved him wrong. RENT is influenced incredibly by Stephen Sondheim. The "Tune Ups", which many people hate, are genius. Larson was somehow able to do what nobody after Sondheim could do- combine modern-day vernacular with music and melody and yet still make it sound "natural". An even better examples are the songs "Light My Candle", "Happy New Year", and "Goodbye Love". Each track is a giant flowing conversation with enough melody to sing along to.
But despite the influence of Sondheim, RENT also has its number of solos and ensemble numbers which, if done correct, could be hits. "Out Tonight" and "Rent" are two energetic rockers with great guitar hooks and intelligent, slightly punk, lyrics. "Without You" is a soft and beautiful melody which is likely to tear your heart out. "What You Own" has cynical lyrics like Rage Against the Machine ("When you're living in America... you're what you own") but a tune more reminiscent of Third Eye Blind, or other catchy pop-rock bands. "One Song Glory" is an amazing solo about accomplishment before death. Other highlights include: "Take Me Or Leave Me" (a soulful duet), "I'll Cover You" (a love ballad for two men), "Will I?" (a heartwrenching ensemble number about AIDS), and "La Vie Boheme" (a toe-tapping and racy song celebrating non-conformity). Interestingly enough, "Seasons of Love", the general favorite, is probably the weakest song in the whole show. It doesn't really add much to the plot and has lyrics that are only powerful when seen on stage.
Sad to say, the energy in RENT (such a crucial part of the show) is very often lost in the recording. "Glory", probably the best number in the whole show, comes off as almost whiny in this recording. Adam Pascal's hoarse voice, though wonderful live, is not powerful when heard on this CD.
Still, quibbles aside, RENT is a powerful show and this recording is an accomplished testimony to its brilliance. Both poignant and hilarious, one finishes listening to this CD ready to go out and make something of himself- because, after all, there is "no day but today".
Free Music Review: Rent: The Life of the Bohemian
Hit: 5 Stars
Johnathan Larson's music in Rent answers the question: how do you make life meaningful when it is meaningless? His answer: through creation and creativity.
Larson's creation follows the lives of seven friends, each willing to shake off convention and worship individuality. They struggle to establish lasting relationships with those that they love and face society with HIV in their blood. Rent updates Puccini's opera La Boheme for modern audiences. It adds both dimension to the story and its own special funk to the music.
Rent has everything. If you want exciting songs that will fill you with energy, Rent has "La vie Boheme" and "Another Day." If you want soothing love songs, Rent has "Light My Candle" and "I'll Cover You." If you want songs with humor and wit, there's "The Tango Maureen" and "Happy New Year." In one sitting, you can laugh, cry, think about existence, and enjoy just purely fascinating music.
The humor in Rent is unmatched. Awkward situations, such as Mark meeting his ex-girlfriend's lesbian lover, are made doubly funny in music and rhyme. Rent is also filled with cultural references, which adds to humor as well. In "La Vie Boheme," the friends sing that "Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow to blow off Auntie Em!"
Rent makes lips smile but also eyes cry. It addresses seriously the situtation with the AIDS epidemic. When the AIDS victims sing, "Will I lose my dignity, / Will somebody care?" Larson effectively explores people's fear of death and need for community. Rent goes on to explore how living in the present can help calm this fear and fill this need. HIV-positive Mimi deals with her fear by getting rid of regret of the past and worry of the future. She sings, "There is no future, there is no past / I live this moment as my last." The emotion is overwhelming.
Rent does not only play at emotions; it also envokes philosophic thought. In "Another Day," Mimi sings, "I trust my soul," and Roger replies, "Who says that there's a soul?" Rent explores not only the question of the soul, but also the problem of fate, the mystery of love and the pain of alienation. Also, in keeping with its existential flavor, it does not give definite answers.
In addition, just the music of Rent makes it worth getting. It's extremely catchy. Just as a warning, you might be humming "La vie Boheme" for weeks after listening to the CD for the first time. Furthermore, the singers in the 1996 Original Broadway Cast Recording add power to the roles through their powerful, spirited voices. In "Seasons of Love," Fredi Walker (Joanne) has an incredible solo in which she adds intricate musical ornaments and adds spice to her role.
Rent lives up to what it preaches. Originality, creativity, and artistry make life worth living and Rent worth listening to.
Free Music Review: More Like 10 Stars
Hit: 5 Stars
I've seen "Rent" twice, once on Broadway and once with the national touring company, and I hope to see it again. The first time I went in "cold". I knew it was "kind of" based on the opera "La Boheme". I also knew that it was the only musical I had ever heard of that had won a Pulitzer Prize. After seeing it, and subsequently buying the CD, I could understand why.Attending a performance of "Rent" is like attending your favorite performer's concerts. There is literally a sense of excitement and electricity in the air. Both performances that I saw seemed to have dozens of people in the audience who obviously had seen the show again and again. So what keeps the people coming back? Certainly not Andrew Lloyd Weber type sets and special effects. "Rent" uses very basic scenery. The actors were all terrific singers, but that's true of any major Broadway or Touring Company. Clearly, it goes to basics, music and story.
"Rent" is the story of people coping with dying of AIDS, living their lives, and dealing with the overlap between the two. Filmmaker Mark is the "spectator" who guides us through the story. His roommate Roger, an ex-junkie with AIDS, is afraid to leave their loft until current drug user and AIDS victim Mimi entices him into "lighting her candle", both literally and figuratively. Cross dresser Angel and Tom Collins live and, in one of their cases, die with the "virus". Performance artist Maureen, who provides one of the greatest comic scenes I've ever seen on stage, has left Mark for Joanne. Her performance piece is both humorous and provides advice about taking chances in life. Benny has married well and now owns and wants to tear down the building where Mark and Roger live and is demanding that they pay back rent. During the course of the show, people fall in love, break up, leave, return, die, and, most of all, learn to live every minute as though it is their last.
Rock music was about 40 years old when "Rent" was written, and the lyrics and music are the beneficiaries of all of those years. Put simply, the songs that comprise this show are among the best of our lifetime, and no show I've ever seen has ever used music to tell a more poignant or memorable story. "Without You" is as compelling and beautiful a love song as I've ever heard. Sung by Mimi and Roger while one of the other main characters is dying of AIDS, it addresses love as the root of life. "I'll Cover You" may be the first love song in the history of Broadway sung to each other by two men. "One Song Glory" is Roger's prayer that he not die before leaving a song that people remember him by. The list of great music goes on and on.
Author Jonathon Larson died before the show opened on Broadway. However, he certainly has left more than one song of glory to remember him by.
Free Music Review: "No day but today" - Jonathan Larson's "Rent"
Hit: 5 Stars
"Rent" is one of those musicals where Barbra Streisand is never going to cover any of the songs on one of her Broadway albums. The pastiche of music styles reminds me of "Hair," "Godspell" and "Cats"--there are 43 tracks, including a reprise of "Seasons of Love" featuring Stevie Wonder singing with the 15-member cast--and to a large extent "Rent" also shares with those shows the ensemble nature of the cast. But just because the songs from this show are not destined to be Broadway standards does not detract from their power. These are songs driven by character and context more than melody and voice, reflecting pretty much the complete spectrum of musical styles. You have straight forward rock-and-roll in "Rent" and "Goodbye Love," but also everything from Gospel in "Seasons of Love to the Tango in "Tango: Maureen." More importantly, what stands out in the performance of these songs is how the characters are more prominant than the voices: Adam Pascal as Roger, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi, Anthony Rappas Mark, Jesse L. Martin as Tom, Taye Diggs as Ben, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia as Angel. This is a story with songs and the intergration of the two is something you would expect much more from an opera than a traditional musical. This would make sense since "Rent" was inspired by Puccini's opera "La Boheme," but knowledge of the "original" is not at all necessary, although when Collins loses his coat ("You Okay Honey") that will bring a smile of recognition to those who are in the know as will a couple of guitar riffs. The main thing is that if we are talking opera, that means at least one of the lead characters will be dead by the time the curtain rings down. Certainly in that regard "Rent" is a sobering story, with the additional pathos of the death of its creator Jonathan Larson on the day the show opened. Instead of poverty we are now dealing with the dregs of society, people afflicted by drugs and disease. Thus we have Roger, the song-writer and ex-junkie struggling with writer's block and Mimi, the beautiful junkie from downstairs, as well as Collins and Angel, both HIV-Positive. These are people who celebrate the New Year remembering those they have lost and wondering who will be next. The East Village industrial loft that is the setting for "Rent" is a place where those abandoned by the world find comfort in each other and the philosophy that there is always "No day but today." I keep coming back to the idea that "Rent" is one of those theatrical experiences we hear tell about from time to time, richly deserving of the Pulitizer Prize and well worth catching on tour.