I was given a pair of tickets to RENT to facilitate this post. However, my opinions are my own
RENT has always been one of my favorite musicals. It’s one of the musicals I listened to the Original Broadway Cast Soundtrack at least a thousand times in my car and one that I traveled to New York to see three times. Yes, I love RENT.
RENT was a groundbreaking rock musical that is now on its 20th-anniversary tour. First debuting on Broadway in 1996 to rave reviews, garnering 10 Tony nominations and winning 4, including best musical, best book, and best score, it went on to be one of the most successful musicals of all time. RENT worked hard to shed light on the plight of those affected by the newly recognized HIV/AIDS epidemic that swept the country in the late 80’s and early 90’s, in particular among the country’s LGBT communities and drug users.
RENT takes place in Manhattan’s Alphabet City and follows a small group of struggling artists and other Bohemians trying to make a life in New York, many while dealing with HIV/AIDS, or the threat of disease and abject poverty. The show opens on Mark and Roger in their New York flat, a former music publishing house, in which they use an illegal wood-burning stove and have one overloaded extension cord running out a window connecting to the street. Their former roommate and friend Benny, having recently married into money has purchased the building in which they were squatting all year and now wants to charge them a whole year of rent. Mark, Roger, and the cast sing “Rent,” a rocking number in which Mark and Roger agree they won’t be paying back last year’s rent.
The basic opening of the show sets the stage for numerous new relationships and changes to existing ones. We meet Tom Collins and Angel Dumott Schunard, who quickly fall in love and sing the powerful duet “I’ll Cover You,” it’s a simple, yet heartfelt song and is performed very well by the actors, Bryson Bruce (Tom Collins) and Tim Ehrlich (Angel).
Another standout actress is Skyler Volpe, who plays Mimi, the young Latina woman who Roger eventually falls for after she sings the overtly sexual, “Out Tonight,” in which she pleads with Roger to take her out on the town to forget about her problems. The song is a huge crowd-pleaser in every production I’ve seen, and this is no exception. Volpe is very athletic, and her voice was ideal for this number.
Another fantastic song, and certainly the most famous from the show is “Seasons of Love,” which is a beautiful ballad performed by the whole cast, simply standing across the front of the stage. It asks how we should measure a person’s life, and it posits an answer: how do you measure your life in love? It’s a message that I think everyone can take to heart.
RENT does have some adult language, as well as dealing with disease, gender fluidity, drug use, and death. This show is a at a minimum a PG-13 show, so be careful with younger kids!
RENT is playing at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre February 21-25th and includes two weekend matinee shows. Tickets are available starting as low as $30! Check outwww.stgpresents.org for tickets and showtimes.
RUSH TICKETS
FIRST TWO ROWS OF ORCHESTRA SEATS FOR THE “RENT 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ARE AVAILABLE FOR $25 Cash the DAY OF PERFORMANCE ONLY
Purchase seats in the first two rows of the orchestra section will be available for $25 for every performance of RENT. Tickets must be purchased with cash and in-person at The Paramount Theatre Box Office, located at 911 Pine St. on two hours before the show the day of each performance only. Tickets are first come, first served and limited to two tickets per person.
RENT – Seattle’s Paramount Theatre Schedule:
Thursday, February 23 7:30 pm
Friday, February 24 8:00pm
Saturday, February 25 2:00pm and 8:00pm
Sunday, February 26 1:00 pm An ASL / AVIA Interpreted performance
6:30 pm – An Open Caption performance For tickets to these performances, call the TTY line at 888-331-6774.
For general ticket information, visit STGPresents.org, Ticketmaster.com, or call 1-800-745-3000 or visit The Paramount Theatre Box Office (Monday through Friday, 10 am to 6 pm).
Please go check out this show while it’s in Seattle, especially if you haven’t seen it before. And for those of you who have seen it; it’s just as good as you remember! As the show says, there’s “No day but today“, so please check out RENT while it’s still here.
About Broadway at the Paramount
RENT is part of the 2016/2017 KeyBank Broadway at The Paramount series, presented by Seattle Theatre Group, with support for the seventh year from KeyBank as the series title sponsor. Brotherton Cadillac is the official auto sponsor, The Roosevelt Hotel is the official sponsor hotel, and Delta Airlines is the official airline sponsor of KeyBank Broadway at The Paramount.
Visit www.rentontour.net for more information.
Can’t make it to the theatre or they’re not coming to your town? RENT is available on Blu-ray & DVD
The movie version with many of the original performers.
Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway [Blu-ray]
I recommend this version if you only buy one.
Delve Deeper into RENT with one of these great books
Rent by Jonathan Larson
Rent: The Complete Book and Lyrics of the Broadway Musical by Jonathan Larson
Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent by Anthony Rapp
On Broadway: From Rent to Revolution by Drew Hodges
Rent Songbook: Movie Vocal Selections – Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook
You know I never seen RENT…I heard the song but never saw the whole thing. I would love to see it live and in action.
Now this is a great one to have in any movie collection! Thanks for letting me know about it – I’m going to get my copy!
I’ve still never seen Rent! I know, I know. It’s going to be spectacular when I finally do. Wish I lived closer to Seattle.
I have not had the pleasure of seeing Rent yet, but I hear it is pretty amazing. If I ever get out to Seattle, I should just check it out.
I have heard a lot about this one. I am not too huge into musicals, but I would watch this if I ever had the chance.
Oh goodness. Rent is my all-time favorite musical – I’ve seen it at least 10 times and it changed the direction of my life when I was in college! This review made me so happy!
This is one of the best musicas, it touches on such a serious level. Love the movie too.
I would love to see it live! I never had a chance to see it live so I’m definite getting it on DVD!
I loved RENT. I saw it back in the 90’s when I was in London. Now with kids who are teenagers it would be great to see it with them.
I have always wanted to see this show! It sounds amazing! I need to get tickets.
It has been years since I saw Rent. I would love a copy of the DVD. It would be a great gift for my Sister.
I really enjoy musicals but RENT is one I have yet to see. Guess I’ll have to settle for a DVD copy until it makes a stop here in Las Vegas.
I am very happy that Rent is available in Blu Ray and DVD. It is great that they have provided options to reach wider audiences.
Rent is so good. It’s always such an emotional show. I have seen the movie but I would love to see it on stage.P
I know I am dating myself but “Rent” was playing wen I met my husband and he took me to see it. I loved the show and “seasons of Love” will always be a special song for us
I have seen Rent a few times in Boston. Great show with great music
Rent is one of my favorite musicals. There’s something about it that touches me in a deeper place than some of the other musicals. I think it’s the struggle to make it.