After a day out and about with our visiting friend, Zach. We got home and decided to check out the “RENT Live!” that was being broadcast on Fox.
I first saw RENT on broadway in 1997 at the Nederlander Theatre which the show had moved shortly after the show started Off-Broadway in 1996. It was an amazing show, and the first time that I had been at a theatre production where the audience sang along with many of the songs. In the short time since it had debuted, it had become one of those shows where there was an incredible following.
I didn’t fully understand the original work that it was based on (La bohème by Puccini), but I connected with the struggles and challenges experienced by the cast, especially as it related to the impact of HIV/AIDS. This was the first show I had seen that portrayed people impacted by HIV/AIDS from all walks of life. And the music… the music was just magical and impactful. When I first started to blog, I called it “No Day But Today” as it seemed the most appropriate title for my what I wanted my blog to be about.
Anyway, back to RENT Live. I applaud anyone who can get up and play a character that evokes so much emotion as many of the characters in RENT does. I couldn’t do it, that is for sure.
And here is where my criticism begins. It seems that one of the leads broke his ankle during the rehearsal the night before the live show. Unlike a Broadway show, it seems that someone made the decision not to have an understudy for the leads. The rehearsal was recorded, and the decision was made that the “live” show was made “non-live” for most of the show (by replaying the rehearsal). The only live part was at the end of the show for the Finale B segment (featuring the original cast of RENT).
One of the purposes of a rehearsal is to iron out many of the hiccups that one may experience during the show, and while cast members are doing their best, it is a warm up to the real show. Imagine the feeling that most of the cast had when their squeaks, mis-steps and head butts (as appeared to happen) were broadcast as part of the rehearsal. Not to mention that the ability to showcase their “live” performance was just shelved, well except for the last few minutes of the show.
And my critique is just one of many (and in no way do I compare mine with any of these more established writers). Some posts online suggest that this may have been the final nail in the coffin of future live shows.
A crying shame.
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RENT (not)Live
January 28, 2019
After a day out and about with our visiting friend, Zach. We got home and decided to check out the “RENT Live!” that was being broadcast on Fox.
I first saw RENT on broadway in 1997 at the Nederlander Theatre which the show had moved shortly after the show started Off-Broadway in 1996. It was an amazing show, and the first time that I had been at a theatre production where the audience sang along with many of the songs. In the short time since it had debuted, it had become one of those shows where there was an incredible following.
I didn’t fully understand the original work that it was based on (La bohème by Puccini), but I connected with the struggles and challenges experienced by the cast, especially as it related to the impact of HIV/AIDS. This was the first show I had seen that portrayed people impacted by HIV/AIDS from all walks of life. And the music… the music was just magical and impactful. When I first started to blog, I called it “No Day But Today” as it seemed the most appropriate title for my what I wanted my blog to be about.
Anyway, back to RENT Live. I applaud anyone who can get up and play a character that evokes so much emotion as many of the characters in RENT does. I couldn’t do it, that is for sure.
And here is where my criticism begins. It seems that one of the leads broke his ankle during the rehearsal the night before the live show. Unlike a Broadway show, it seems that someone made the decision not to have an understudy for the leads. The rehearsal was recorded, and the decision was made that the “live” show was made “non-live” for most of the show (by replaying the rehearsal). The only live part was at the end of the show for the Finale B segment (featuring the original cast of RENT).
One of the purposes of a rehearsal is to iron out many of the hiccups that one may experience during the show, and while cast members are doing their best, it is a warm up to the real show. Imagine the feeling that most of the cast had when their squeaks, mis-steps and head butts (as appeared to happen) were broadcast as part of the rehearsal. Not to mention that the ability to showcase their “live” performance was just shelved, well except for the last few minutes of the show.
And my critique is just one of many (and in no way do I compare mine with any of these more established writers). Some posts online suggest that this may have been the final nail in the coffin of future live shows.
A crying shame.
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