Now that the anxiety of jury duty is behind me—thank gawd that’s over—I’d like to cuss and discuss the Fox production of RENT: Live from 2019.
(Note: Most of the “live” broadcast came from the previous night’s dress rehearsal. Brennin Hunt, who played Roger, broke his foot during that taping. Yikes. Honestly, given how physical the staging was, I am amazed the rest of the cast walked away unscathed.)
So why am I bringing up a six-year-old live television musical? Especially when I don’t even watch linear TV?
When in doubt, blame it on YouTube’s algorithm. Various clips and reactions keep landing in my recommended feed. Apparently “Al” thought I could use a good cry.
So I watched (and sang along) Wednesday night…in one, long take.
If you’re not a fan of RENT, I get it. The show has always had strong reactions on both ends of the spectrum. I love the original cast recording, but most of the productions I have seen left me less than impressed. And I’m still trying to forget the film adaptation.
When it premiered on Broadway in 1996, I happened to be in NYC on a business trip. Even I, a non-musical-loving gay guy, wanted to see it. For the record, it’s not that I don’t like musicals. I just didn’t grow up listening to or loving original cast recordings.
Hell, I once had dinner with Patti LuPone years ago and only really knew her as the mom from Life Goes On. Ms. LuPone was a delightful diva, but I’ll save that story for another post.
Revisiting this production of RENT felt like opening up a scrapbook I forgot I still had. Everything came rushing back at once. The characters, the era, the emotions, the memories of who I was when this show first crossed my path. There is something tender about returning to a story that holds so much meaning during those messy, hopeful years when I was still figuring out who I was and who I wanted to be when I grew up.
And the 2019 version really leaned into that spirit. The staging was dynamic. The cast was fully committed. The camera work and choreography kept everything moving with a pulse that felt true to the show’s heartbeat. Even knowing the performance wasn’t fully “live” didn’t change the emotional impact. In some ways, it gave me a unique, polished snapshot of what the show looked and felt like at full throttle.
“La Vie Boheme” had that joyful chaos I love. “Control” and “I’ll Cover You (Reprise)” delivered the heat and heart the show always needs. And, of course, “Seasons Of Love” made me stand up and sing along with the cast.
Throughout the flawed and flawless production, the cast and crew brought a sincerity to this production that felt refreshingly grounded.
The moment that really undid me in RENT: Live was the finale, when the original Broadway cast stepped onstage alongside the 2019 company for a reprise of “Seasons Of Love.”
Yes, I sang along, my eyes filled with tears of joy…and sorrow. How could I not?
For me, RENT: Live felt like a big musical hug.
Far from perfect (or pitch perfect), sure, but Fox’s “live” production still touched me in the same ways the original cast recording did all those years ago.
WHY REVISIT RENT NOW?
Maybe because the world feels heavy again. Maybe because I’ve been in my feelings a lot lately. And maybe because we all need a reminder that there is truly “no day but today.” Corny or not, that message still hits me right in the heart.
RENT also brings back the memories of all those I loved and lost in the 1990s.
Revisiting the show also reminds me how much art can stay with us. How it can help us find ourselves when we get lost. How it can tap us on the shoulder and whisper a gentle reminder: “Turn around, girlfriend, and listen to that boy’s song!”
The show helps me remember who, where, and what I’ve been.
So, yes, I rewatched a six-year-old “live” tv musical. And cried like a baby. And sang my heart out, loud and proud.
By the end of RENT: Live, I felt far more tender (and human) than I have in a long time.
Keep calm and love on!
Clint 🌈✌️
COLLIDE PRESS is a reader-supported publication.
Please consider becoming a Paid Subscriber or Patron.
FYC = FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Rewriting Traditions For A New Kind Of Family (Matt Fitzpatrick)
Creating Anna Madrigal - Part 1 ( Armistead Maupin + Christopher Turner)
Creating Anna Madrigal - Part 2 (Armistead Maupin + Christopher Turner)
ON THIS DAY = NOVEMBER 21
BIRTHDAYS
1694 = Voltaire = French writer and philosopher 🌈
1898 = René Magritte = Belgian painter
1908 = Leo Politi = Italian-American author and illustrator
1924 = Christopher Tolkien = English author and academic
1924 = Joseph Campanella = American actor
1929 = Laurier LaPierre = Canadian politician and journalist 🌈
1937 = Marlo Thomas = American actor, producer, and activist
1941 = Juliet Mills = English-American actor
1944 = Harold Ramis = American actor and filmmaker
1945 = Goldie Hawn = American actor, singer, and producer
1952 = Lorna Luft = American actor and singer
1956 = Cherry Jones = American actor 🌈
1960 = Brian McNamara = American actor, director, and producer
1963 = Nicollette Sheridan = English actor
1965 = Björk = Icelandic singer-songwriter
1967 = Amanda Lepore = American model and singer
1971 = Michael Strahan = American football player, actor, and tv host
1985 = Carly Rae Jepsen = Canadian singer-songwriter
EVENTS
1620 = The Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony, is signed by 41 of the Mayflower‘s passengers while the ship was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor.
1877 = Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound.
1900 = Claude Monet‘s paintings are shown at Gallery Durand-Ruel in Paris.
1905 = Albert Einstein‘s paper that leads to the mass–energy equivalence formula, E = mc², is published in the journal Annalen der Physik.
1999 = British writer, raconteur, model and muse Quentin Crisp dies at the age of 90 in Manchester, England.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.”
Voltaire
I saw the stage production of RENT in San Francisco at the Golden Gate Theatre in 1999. I’ve always loved musicals, but I had very little experience with Broadway productions. I was completely blown away. I’d never experienced anything like it, and just like you, I was bawling.
Thank you Clint for the mention! 💙
👍