Rent Live on Broadway – The Film
You should know now, I am a HUGE Rent fan. I saw the show back in college when it was first opening and I fell in love with it. Since then I have seen it too many times to count with numerous different casts. Some things I have done for my love of Rent is wait outside in the rain all day to get rush seats before the lottery was instated. Also, I went to the movie version of the musical at midnight the day before Thanksgiving with some of the original cast members. I feel like I grew up with the show and it has touched me in a way that no other show has.
Sadly, Rent closed on Broadway a few weeks ago. I didn’t buy tickets, I actually thought that they would extend it again. I knew I wouldn’t get called for the rush lottery, so I didn’t get to see the final Broadway performance. Lucky for me, they filmed the final performance on Broadway and released it in select cities. New York was, of course, one of the select cities.
I didn’t know what to expect from this film (which is very different from the movie production that came out a few years ago). The camera angles were great. The cameras put the audience really close to the faces of the actors during crucial scenes. I occasionally missed being able to see what the other cast members were doing, but otherwise it was great. It allowed me to share in the experience of closing night. I know that being there would have been different. Live shows always have a different vibe from a film. Regardless, I still appreciated that the audience in the movie clapped after songs just as the audience in the theater did. After the actors bowed some of the original cast members came out on stage and sang 525,600 Minutes again. It was touching. A film will never be as good as the live version, but if you can’t make the live version, the film is a great way to stay included.
