random babble…

h/t to Brave Sir Robin for bringing this to my attention for this week’s thursday blogwhoring…

ahh…rent

where do i begin?  even as a die hard christian youth (wow how the times change us) this musical enchanted me in a way that no other production ever had, or ever will…and it even changed the way i viewed a lot of big issues at that tender stage in my life…i saw love differently, and homosexuals differently, sympathizing w/ them for the first time in my at the time sheltered life.

i knew all the words.  sang along…and fiercely defended it to my youth group friends who criticized it b/c their parents wouldn’t let them see it…

i saw rent for the first time on a band trip to toronto my senior year.  during high school i managed to see one broadway show a year, including les miserables and miss saigon, the latter being my favorite until rent made its debut.  i watched it wide eyed and completely enthralled, taking it all in…blushing fiercely watching the “contact” scene next to my senior year boyfriend (hi, eric!), and sobbing my eyes out when angel died.  i performed “over the moon” in intro to drama class at EMU for a final project, the only time i have sang in public since my church choir days *shudder*…

rent came to detroit my junior year of college…and i took this guy that i was crushing on super hard b/c he loved it too, and had an amazing singing voice…and could sing any song that mark sang…which made me swoon…*sigh* (hi yellow hat guy!  wonder where you are these days?)…so when i say i have a lot of fond memories of this hit, it is an understatement…

and like Brave Sir Robin said, if all you have as a frame of reference for rent is the movie, i weep for you…it was good on its own terms, great to see the almost original cast together (for those of you who don’t know, yes that is the law & order guy singing), and it gave taye diggs and many others their jump starts for careers…

so, i bid thee a fair ado, rent.  thanks for the memories, the entertainment, and lots of songs that will stay w/ me for as long as memory serves…

if you are lucky enough to be able to see it b/f it ends, please do yourself a favor.  you won’t be sorry.

anyone else have great rent memories.  i have more, but it would take a lot of space here…please share!