It's a sad day to be a theater queen. After twelve years on the great gay way, Rent producers announced the musical will close up shop on June 1st. The adaptation of La Boheme not only inspired a generation of young dramatists, but raked in serious dough: "Rent which cost $240,000 to put up downtown, has gone on to gross more than $280 million on Broadway and another $330 million on the road. Productions have been mounted on six continents."
What Queerty Is Thankful For This Year (7)
· queer atheist says: Thanks Giving Day is Lame. Thankful for: 1) War 2) Crime 3) Government and... »
· Darlene says: I am thankful for Charles Darwin, who eviscerated the last ion of plausibility for the... »
· gayfamilyvalues says: Thank you Queerty for the very nice comment about our family. I am thank full... »
Smiling Bigot Mike Huckabee Worries Gay Marriage Will Destroy Kids’ Minds (24)
· Darvey says: Katie Couric is paid $15 million a year to do what again, exactly? To give Mike... »
· terrwill says: WillBFair: You are preaching to the choir with me Brother! I have posted the same... »
The Most Touching Video About Marriage Equality Love We’ve Seen (19)
· Michael vdB says: Thanks to those who shared their stories. It is those stories that need to be... »
ABC’s Ridiculous Policy to Ban ‘Controversial’ Adam Lambert From Daytime Airwaves (104)
· Josh says: If people want to support Adam– then buy his album. If you get it on Itunes you get... »
Adam Lambert’s Homogayness Not Too Homogay for CBS (Homogay.) (27)
· Josh says: If people want to support Adam– then buy his album. If you get it on Itunes you get... »
“his year has just proven to me that not so different are the Republicans and the Democrats really” (21)
· gayfamilyvalues says: I agree 100% this country is in so much trouble the only thing republicans and... »
Mika Finally Caves to the Pressure and Comes Out. As Bisexual (200)
· Geri says: As far as I’m concerned Tom Robinson (Glad To Be Gay) already proved that being bi... »
That is sad, but every good play's gotta come to an end. The saddest part about the RENT saga is its writer, Jonathan Larson. He died of an aortic dissection that could have easily been caught by doctors but was not. He was sent home from the hospital and died that night, the night before RENT opened. The saddest part about RENT is while it has won many, many, MANY awards and accolades and made a lot of money, Jonathan Larson didn't get to experience any of that. He was a struggling writer for a long time and died before he became one of the most successful writers of his generation. So sad.
no, ash, the SADDEST thing about the RENT saga is that awful movie… and whatever the hell that production of RENT REMIXED was….
BUTCHERS!
Aww, this is some sad news. RENT got me through high school, along with any other misfit gays and drama kids. What a wonderful show. The movie was pretty harsh, but hey, it was nice to see what I was picturing in my head when I listened to the soundtrack all those years before I saw it.
Well, this is one theater queen who won't be crying. I (and almost everyone I know) thought it SUCKED. The only reason why it got legs was because of the real-life drama surrounding it; that, and a talented young cast.
I first really accepted that I was gay the first time I saw RENT on Broadway.
http://www.BitchRepublic.net
I never saw the pay but if it was anything like that movie then Thank God it's closing. It was one of the most pretentious pieces of crap I've ever seen, especially the lead lesbian who looked like she got whacked in the face with a shovel.
While Rent was memorable because it spoke
to the issue of AIDS and was popular, it overdosed the audience with so many varying images of distressed people that it almost seemed to present a generic picture of gays.
I'm not sure that the art itself deserved as much aclaim as it recieved. One thing for sure is that it ought to give gay people a notion of how much of an opening their is for really great gay themed productions. Gay people and sexuality are about a lot, not necessarily tragic. Gay people have been real suckers for buying into the american dream, and leaving their imaginations behind.
There were plenty of "great gay themed productions" long before Rent: Boys in the Band. As Is. The Normal Heart. Torchsong Trilogy. March of the Falsettos. We hardly needed "Rent" to inspire us.
I was definitely inspired by RENT and have to credit it for helping me recognize that I'm gay AND that gays are just as human as anyone else (I had been taught the opposite). Rent also reached a wider audience than previous gay-themed shows and probably did a lot to combat homophobia. The movie was not so good, but the Broadway show was amazing.