Rent!

The Broadway musical Rent is one of the best musicals I have seen by far. Having now seen it twice I have fallen in love with it even more. The upbeat music tells a story of unfortunate city dwellers, some of which have AIDS, living their lives day to day with little money in their pockets. Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez, Mark Cohen, Maureen Johnson, Joanne Jefferson, Tom Collins and Angel Schunard are the seven main characters who have become a family through all the difficulties that life has thrown at them. Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel have all contracted AIDS so life has become even more difficult for them. Living in a world where homosexuality has not become the norm Maureen, Joann, Tom and Angel deal with the ridicule that most out upon them. Maureen, who used to date Mark, is dating Joann but hasn’t become serious enough about their relationship. Joann is looking for a commitment but isn’t sure she can find this in Maureen after speaking with Mark about Maureen’s blatant flirting with the same and opposite sex. Tom met Angel in an alley where Tom was beaten and stripped of his jacket. Angel cleaned him up and brought him to a Life Support meeting for people with AIDS. Angel is a spunky cross dresser, who has a very bad case of AIDS. Tom soon falls in love with Angel knowing all the “baggage” he’s attached to. Roger has just lost his girlfriend April who committed suicide soon after finding out they both have AIDS. Mimi works her way in to Rogers’s heart and they go through the trials of a relationship with some extra hardships along the way. Mark, a filmmaker, was the narrator of the play and a helpful friend to all. He signs a contract with a local TV station to earn money and broadcast the underprivileged and homeless in the city so maybe one day help will be provided. Another main character Benjamin Coffin, Mimi’s ex-boyfriend and ex-friend of all of the other main characters, is the landlord of their building and has demanded the rent or receive the consequence of being evicted. The movie is surrounded around the fact that these characters can’t pay the rent. Maureen hosts a protest against people like Benny who want to turn the apartments in a Cyber Arts Studio. Maureen and Joanne eventually realize they need and love each other after the death of Angel which takes its toll on Tom. Roger and Mimi also recognize that even though they both have “baggage” they can get through it if they have each other. Mark realizes he loves film but doesn’t want to “sell his soul” to a TV station and quits that job to do independent films about his friends. They all eventually find themselves back at the apartment where they were meant to be. I love everything about Rent. It shows true life in a way other producers couldn’t portray. It showed the darker side of the city where AIDS and homosexuality is what is happening. The producers didn’t hide behind the perfect life where boy meets girl and they fall in love. Rent was reality that hasn’t been seen by most. Rent is a must see!