Archive for Musicals.Net Musicals.Net |
| Alonza0 |
ConfusedOk, so as you can tell by my banner and signature, I'm a Cats person. So what am I doing on the Rent board? Well, I recently got the Rent CD and then watched the movie, and I've fallen in love with the music. However, the storyline is awfully confusing to me.Would someone be so kind as to direct me to some site that explains the characters? I've read synopsises and they don't help. Or could someone tell me more about the characters? Particularly Angel, I'm very confused about him (her?). Basically, what I want to know is which characters are gay, which have AIDS (and do they have AIDS or is it HIV?), which take drugs, and what part Mark plays in all of this. Oh yes, and what's the general opinion of how the movie compares to the Broadway/West End? I'm sure I'll have more questions, but I'm starting small. Thanks in advance! I really appreciate it. |
||||||
| The Very Angry Woman |
Re: Confused
Mimi, Angel, Collins, and Roger have AIDS. I'm not sure why you'd be confused as to which characters are gay, since the ones who are, are in same-sex relationships, and very blatantly so. Also: http://www.compulsivebowlers.org/boards/viewtopic.php?t=123 |
||||||
| DramaRobin2002 |
Okay, here we go. Like TVAW said Roger, Mimi, Angel and Collins all have AIDS. Angel, Collins, Maureen and Joanne are all gay. According to the movie and a drug reference in La Vie Boheme, the majority of them smoke marijuana but Mimi is the only active user of heroin. Roger is an ex-junkie.
Mark's role in everything is as the observer. He is Roger's best friend and Maureen's ex-boyfriend. Maureen dumped him for Joanne but he's still head over heels in love with her. Mark lives his entire life behind the lens of his camera, hiding from actually living and instead observing the rest of his friends' lives. This is something that Roger eventually calls him out on. Mark counters that maybe its because he's the one who's going to survive the rest of them (scene was cut from the movie). What exactly did you want to know about Angel? Angel is a drag queen- they refer to him as either him or her, depending on the scene, and his lover is Tom Collins. They are the functional couple of the show. He's the one of the cast that most lives the "No Day But Today" message and the glue that holds the group together. His funeral is where things really begin to spin out of control. I hope that helped some. If there is anything else, don't be afraid to ask! |
||||||
| Pounce |
I took this synopsis of the movie from this site
http://www.filminfo.net/films/rent.fhtml
Like CATS, RENT is mostly character driven. RENT as a stage show is mostly a sing-through so it differs from the film and as pointed out, some stuff in the stage show was missing from the film. Leaving out Mark's and Roger's argument in the film was a mistake by Columbus. Personally, I think the parts of the film are good but for some reason, the whole doesn't hold together well. RENT is supposed to be based on Puccini’s opera “La Boheme,” If you liked RENT then you should also see Larson's "tick,tick...BOOM!". Its score is not a good as RENT's but still I liked it. "tick,tick...BOOM!" however is more like your classic muscial with dialogue interspersed by moments of song. It's very good and to me seems more honest than RENT because it was written at a time of frustration in Larson's life when he was trying to make it as a musical theater writer. It shows a slice of his life as he is about to turn 30 and still hasn't become a success. It's pretty straight forward so it is easy to follow. You'll see some parallels between RENT and TTB but they are different stories. Like me, it sounds as if Alonza0 was confused by RENT. I've seen the stage show once and it completely baffled me as to what it was about. I had to see the film twice to get a good idea and reading the comments on this forum helped to fill in some of the gaps. |
||||||
| Ulla Dance Again! |
I also suggest reading the Rent bible (it's a big black book... filled with tons of info about the show and Jonathan Larson, its creator). The book makes it much easier to understand the plot and backstory to Rent. I was baffled when I saw it onstage too - but only for a few scenes... mostly I was so excited by it that I had to let everything sink in. | ||||||
| Nicely-Nicely |
Well at least I wasn't the only person in the world that was confused when watching Rent. Damn... I used to think that it was sooooo confusing. | ||||||
| qpidsangel |
personally after watching the movie I don't understand how one can be confused, but yes i was confused after watching the stage show, And i learn something new everytime I listen to the OBC. | ||||||
| Nicely-Nicely |
If you don't have any background on rent what so ever... it is pretty confusing. | ||||||
| Pounce |
Yeah, I'm pretty much advising everyone to see the movie a few times before seeing the stage show. But don't worry about Larson's "tick,tick...BOOM!", you should get it the first time. |
||||||
| Alonza0 |
Yes, you guys are helping tremendously. I got that Maureen and Jo Ann were gay, and, once I had figured out that Angel was the guy from the beginning, that Angel was, but Collins seems so masculine that I was having trouble believing that he was gay. Not saying that gay guys aren't masculine, but all the ones I know are definatly feminine. And I wasn't sure if Mark was gay or not.
And they have AIDS, not HIV? Obviously Angel has, had, AIDS, but I thought the other ones had HIV. As I understand it, AIDS doesn't last all that long, but you guys no best, you're the experts. And as for Angel, I guess the thing I wanted to know about him most is whether to refer to him as him or her. Where can I get the Rent Bible? And is there a tick, tick...BOOM! movie or soundtrack or what? It sounds interesting. And yes, the movie is definatly confusing. It took me a little bit to figure out that Angel in the Santa dress was the same Angel that had helped Collins in the beginning, because you must admit, Angel does a very good job in dressing up. And also, since it's all in song, I missed a few important phrases that I had to go back and listen to. Those were the main two reasons I was confused, and still am a little. Okay, so two more questions: Is Collins an anarchist? My friend's cousin is a Rent junkie and while she was visiting the other day she mentioned something about that, but she had to leave before I could actually understand what she was trying to tell me. (I can be a bit... ok, a lot slow when I'm tired.) Second, I'm guessing everyone in Rent is trying to make it famous? Mark obviously by some film piece or another and Roger obviously by writing a great song. But what about the others? I got a little confused with their aspirations. Angel at first seems like he wants to be a drummer or something but then someone (Maureen?) mentions her/his sense of fashion, so I got confused again. Could someone clear this matter up and tell me what Collins, Joanne and the rest are trying to become? |
||||||
| The Very Angry Woman |
Joanne.
Any major bookstore.
There is a cast recording. http://raulesparza.com/recordings/ By the way, the word is spelled "definitely." There is no "a." |
||||||
| Ulla Dance Again! |
I've seen the Rent bible at Amazon.com too... usually they have used copies which are cheap. My teacher loaned me his copy, which I think he got from one of his friends.
I'm not sure if they're all trying to make it. In a way, they are, I guess. Roger just wants to write a good song before he dies, I'm not sure if he's looking for fame or just the satisfaction of having one credible song to his name - I guess it's how you look at it. Joanne is a lawyer, so obviously that's her aspiration in life. Maureen's such a loose cannon, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what she wants to be or is trying to be. I'd just say she's a performer.... that's all I got for now. |
||||||
| DramaRobin2002 |
The aren't really trying to be famous. They are just trying to live off of what they love to do. Like the verse in La Vie Boheme- "To no shame, never playing the fame game." Collins is a philosopher/anarchist (who once ran naked through the Parthanon), Roger the songwriter, Mark the filmmaker. I always assumed Maureen was an actress and Mimi was a dancer. | ||||||
| Pounce |
Unfortunately, "tick,tick...BOOM!" is not a sing through so you won't get a lot out of the cast recording. You'd have to see the show because there is no movie or filmed stage version that I know of. It is a good show so consider it if you get a chance to see it. |
||||||
| Ulla Dance Again! |
I agree - it is a really good show to see live. I saw it a few years ago in Maine. I remember parts of it, mainly scenes with Jonathan and his friend Mike (I think that was the guy's name in the play, not sure). Overall, I remember loving it. (We (the theatre group consisting of 5 people) were lucky enough to get front row seats.) | ||||||
| The Very Angry Woman |
Yep, his friend's name is Michael, based on Jonathan Larson's real friend, Matt O'Grady, who often pops up in Rent documentaries and news items. |
||||||
| ashelie |
k you guys haven't been talking about this since like the first couple posts and you might think im a retard for saying it, and it might make it just a little more confusing for people who are confused, but there actually have been saome stage versions where everyone but Mark has aids including. saw it both ways doesn't really make a difference just makes Mark seem lonlier at times. | ||||||
| ashelie |
k you guys haven't been talking about this since like the first couple posts and you might think im a retard for saying it, and it might make it just a little more confusing for people who are confused, but there actually have been saome stage versions where everyone but Mark has aids including. saw it both ways doesn't really make a difference just makes Mark seem lonlier at times. | ||||||
| The Very Angry Woman |
Pre-emptive self-insult. I like it.
Nice, you know your audience.
OK, having read over your drivel about five times, could you tell us where you heard about other productions where "everyone but Mark" has AIDS? Because clearly that's illegal... And I assume you meant to say "Maureen and Joanne" after "including," but please, do fill us in, and if you could use real sentences, that'd be swell. By the way, you do know how to spell your own hometown, right? Guess not. |
||||||
| thebeautyisClara |
Ok, I know I've heard this somewhere in the lyrics, script...but I cannot for the life of me remember where! |
||||||
| DramaRobin2002 |
It's what Mark says, introducing Collins when he brings their groceries before Today 4 U. |
||||||
| norayouadora |
I agree with this, except that Mimi works at the "Cat Scratch Club," so she's probably not a very legitimate dancer... I always just sort of imagine that Mimi is a lower-to-middle class high school dropout, and she went to NYC to try to make it big as a dancer or something. However, something in the "business" took away her small-town naiveté... Too many doors slammed in her face, too many fruitless auditions, etc. So she started getting into drugs and the party scene, eventually having to take a job as a stripper/erotic dancer to pay for her habit, and getting AIDS from a contaminated needle. Her life went a bit downhill from there, but naturally everything improves once she meets Mark--she quits drugs (well, she tries), starts eating and such more, and mentions going "back to school," etc... So I think that perhaps at that point she's just trying to get her life back to normal; she's not trying to be famous, but she doesn't want to be average either. Naturally, this is just my thoughts on it, and I'm not saying they're any better or more accurate that anyone else's--it's just what makes sense to me. Yes, I realize how pathetic it is that I channel so much brainpower into analyzing this... But I do love RENT and the character/acting aspect is so important, so it's interesting to try to imagine this sort of thing. For me, anyways. 
|
||||||
| The Very Angry Woman |
"Enter Tom Collins, computer genius, teacher, vagabond anarchist, who ran naked through the Parthenon." http://www.theatre-musical.com/rent/libretto2.html |
||||||
| broadway_baby |
the four definitely have AIDS not HIV
"His girlfriend April, left a note, saying we got AIDS, before slitting her wrists in the bathroom" (Roger) "Yes this body provides a comfortable home, for the Acquired Immune Defficiency Syndrome...." (Angel) "As does mine" (Collins) Mimi, obviously as she is about to die from it at the end, and also because of the "AZT break" where herself and Roger do the whole "You? Me. You? Mimi..." |
||||||
| norayouadora |
Side note: I was the only one in my 8th-grade health class that knew that AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Defficiency Syndrome... Purely because of this show. Lol.
|
||||||
| allygator |
In the original NYTW production in 1994, it's true, everyone but Mark did have AIDS, including Joanne and Maureen. Which is what I'm assuming you meant when that sentence suddenly ended. But if not, sorry for misunderstanding. |