Just got back from seeing this musical for the first time. Man, was it spectacular. Everything about it was great: the songs, the performances, the emotions, etc. It nearly caused me to cry at the theater for the first time ever (I held the tears back so as not to have my mascara run).
Have other dopers seen it? What did you think?
This is one of my favorite shows, and seeing it live makes all the difference. I introduced my best friend to it in theatres for my birthday two year ago. I’m glad you got to see it before it closed.
It’s also one of my favorite musicals. But, unusually, I love the soundtrack and the movie, but was a bit meh about the various live performances I’ve seen (at least 3 different touring companies).
I love Rent. Wasn’t terribly impressed when I saw the movie the first time, but I’ve learned to love it now that my girl and I have seen it live three times, twice with the same touring company in Florida (about six months apart), and then at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway last summer, with Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal reprising the roles they created of Mark and Roger. THAT was awe-inspiring.
I usually do pretty well most of the way through, but I always tear up a little for the grand finale, with the happy reunion and all the songs layered over each other and the flashing lights and Mark’s film projected throughout the theater. Kills me every time, even when I rewatch the movie now!
As for the soundtracks, I’m pretty familiar with both the movie and original cast recording, and while I prefer the OCR for all the songs left out of the movie, I can’t stand Daphne Rubin-Vega’s voice as Mimi, and greatly prefer Rosario Dawson singing her parts on the movie soundtrack. But I love the songs, and at this point, I know them so well that I could probably play Mark… if I had a better voice and was in better shape.