Rent
Rent is an Award Winning rock musical by Jonathan Larson which opened on February 13th 1996 in New York before moving to Broadway on April 29th. It is based on the Opera ‘La Boheme’ and focuses on a group of friends coping with dying from Aids. It was one of the first Broadway musicals to dare feature this topic and to deal with gay and bisexual relationships and transgender issues.
The cult following that the Broadway show has gained for itself has come as a complete shock, it is now one of the longest running musicals and has celebrated its 10th anniversary on April 24th 2006 when the whole of the original cast reunited and took part in a special performance of the show.
The soundtrack to the show has proved to be one of the most successful soundtracks of all time boasting both a double disc and complete recording CD collection with the main title track of the show ‘Seasons of Love’ having been covered by legendary singer Stevie Wonder.
With the stage show having become such a huge success it was later made into a feature length musical movie released in 2005 and directed by Chris Columbus. The movie was eagerly anticipated by fans and was well received when it finally hit the movie theatres. Columbus had stayed close to the original storyline and kept all the crucial scenes in the film whilst managing to bring a whole new element of life, and a rocky edgy nature to it. He produced another winning formula by casting almost all of the original Broadway stars in the movie such as Anthony Rapp as Mark Cohen, Adam Pascal as Roger Davis, Jess L Martin as Tom Collins, Wilson Jermaine Heredia as Angel, Idina Menzel as Maureen and Taye Diggs as Benny.
They also brought in two new actresses to play the roles of Joanne and Mimi. Actress Rosario Dawson played the role of Mimi and Tracy Thoms took on the role of Joanne. The whole cast seemed to instantly gel and the film made for explosive and emotional viewing that really had you singing along with the many well known and loved songs like ‘La Vie Boheme’ ‘One Song Glory’ and of course, the classic ‘Seasons of Love’.
The stage show continues to run on Broadway and the film has managed to entice a whole new generation of theatre goers to watch the show that inspired it. Powerful lyrics, great acting and an emotional and thought provoking topic make Rent one of the best loved musicals and now movies of all time.