Friday, October 4, 2024
When we saw the musical Rent for the first time in the late 1990s, I didn’t like it. There weren’t any characters that I liked or that I could root for. I think. That is what I remember thinking, but my memory is completely unreliable, so really, who knows? We went tonight to the Artistry theater in Bloomington. We go with my friends, EB and Kathy. EB is a huge fan of Rent. Her enthusiasm (not the world in general’s enthusiasm for the show) put me in the mood to really try to like it this time. Also, I am a much different person than I was 25 years ago.
I liked it. I didn’t love it. I wonder why I was so negative about the characters. They aren’t very likable, but they aren’t really dislikable. They sing the best song a bunch of times, so that is nice. The creator, Jonanthan Larson, died the morning of the Broadway premier, and I kept wondering during the show if it would have evolved more if he had lived. I know it was off Broadway and went through a lot of iterations before it got to Broadway, but it still feels like a work in progress to me. It could be better. It’s muddy and randomly overdramatic and tries to be too grand sometimes.
I know, I know. I should go write my own groundbreaking musical before I get so judgy. I’ll let you know when I get it done.