Viva la vie boheme: 'Rent' plays its final performance June 1
(Credit: Richard Kornberg )
And when it comes to shutting down a socially aware musical that literally sparked a generation, expect waves of shock and sadness among fans (this writer included). Indeed, type "Rent closing” into Google and you'll be greeted by deafening online howls of “WTF?!” and “OMG!”
But the fact remains that every generation has its musical, the shimmering portrayal of how things are now—the one that resonates with young audiences and lets them know they’re not alone while simultaneously altering the way musical theater is percieved.
The '60s had "Hair," a product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the era, whose themes included anti-war messages, patriotism, racial tolerance, drugs and sex among young Americans.
The millennium, it seems, has “Spring Awakening.” And although it occurs in Germany circa 1890, it explores universal themes (sex, grades, pregnancy, suicide) that speak to teen angst of any generation. It also features a cute, hipster-y cast belting out modern indie tunes by Duncan Sheik.
And while the three are often grouped together by critics for embracing the "rock musical with a message" genre, the difference with “Rent” is that while a few of its main themes transcend time (AIDS awareness, art versus money, friendship), most of them are just so...'90s.
Take the setting, for example—a dingy East Village of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s brimming with struggling artists and squatters who sing about not having enough cash to cover the rent and about never selling out. While resounding at the time, much of today’s young audiences can’t envision the East Village as anything but a place for partying and shopping. And they’re not wrong.
Not to mention the fact that, today, many of the scenarios in the musical feel like a stretch. Take Benny, the wealthy sell-out of a landlord who offers the two main characters the option to live rent-free in their apartment while they build a cyber "digital virtual interactive studio" where they can work (can’t get more '90s than that). The catch? Convince a friend to cancel a protest. They decline the offer, of course, with admirable idealism. These days, folks would probably kill the friend for a chance to live rent-free in the East Village.
Also, those that choose to move to Manhattan aren’t doing it to seek refuge among struggling artists anymore, so it’s not that hard to understand why “Rent” has lost steam with young theatergoers who never knew the city as it was then.
Still, it’s sad to think that a show which resonated so powerfully with audiences a little over a decade ago is now a representation of “Old New York.”
Based on Puccini's 'La Boheme,' written by Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif, “Rent” opened at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996, following a sold-out, extended limited run at Off-Broadway's New York Theatre Workshop. Lyricist-librettist-composer Larson died of an undiagnosed heart ailment on the eve of the first Off-Broadway performance, never seeing his musical go on to win every major best-musical award, including the Tony Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for drama. The production launched the careers of Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp and Daphne Rubin-Vega. It is presently the seventh-longest-running Broadway show in history.
