My RENT Story - Kelly

In choosing the second show to submit to Riverwalk Theater, I looked at the calendar and saw 2016. It immediately dawned on me that marked 20 years since RENT debuted on Broadway, changing the face of musical theater. It's a show that played a huge part in my musical theater education.

Imagine, if you will, an awkward teenager living in Holt Michigan in the late 90's. That would be me. I grew up loving the golden age musicals that my mother introduced me to - Annie Get Your Gun, South Pacific, Sound of Music, etc. But I got to high school, and my mom and I started seeing the touring shows at Wharton. We loved Ragtime and Jekyll & Hyde, and wondered what was going on when we saw Cats.  In 10th grade, I'd gotten the Phantom cast recording and memorized every word. It was around that time when I firt  heard about this show called RENT (this was pre-facebook, and pretty much pre-internet... we would use the AOL trial cd's to get dial-up internet!.... so I'm not sure how I heard about it) and I asked for the cast recording for Christmas. I can still distinctly remember putting the CD into my Discman (yes, Discman), pulling out the liner notes, and waiting to be wowed.

Then I hear the iconic guitar pings, tuning up. A voice started in part speaking, part singing. I hear "fuck." What? This is a musical? This is what everyone is losing their mind about? I don't know if I even made it through the title song before I stopped. What was this? Where was the overture, the chorus of voices, the tunes that made me want to dance?

I eventually gave it another chance. I remember reading along to all of the lyrics of "La Vie Boehme" wondering what the hell they were talking about, and feeling uncomfortable listening to "Contact." Slowly but surely, I became more and more familiar (okay, obsessed) with the album.

I went to Central Michigan University for my undergrad, and by the time I'd moved up to Mt Pleasant, I was full fledged a RENT-head. I had a whiteboard outside of my dorm room, and once a week there was a lyric from RENT written on it. I'd use lyrics as my away messages on my AIM profile, and for titles of my LiveJournal posts. The CD was a permanent staple in my car for any car ride. On my 19th birthday, I was riding with my best friend to Ann Arbor for a choir concert, and I remember screaming "I'm 19, but I'm old or my age!" at the top of my lungs. I got the RENT "bible" for Christmas and spent the day reading it from cover to cover. My roommate and I tried and tried to set our answering machine message to the perfect "beeeep."

My sophomore year of college, I took a trip to NYC for a conference, and we got student rush tickets to see RENT. I bought the t-shirt in the lobby before the show (I still own it!) and during the "I'll Cover You Reprise," when Collins sings "When your heart has expired," I think I stopped breathing.

A few weeks later, some friends and I went to Escanaba for spring break, and while we were up there we went over to Green Bay to see the national tour. During "Over The Moon," my friend got mad that the people around us weren't mooing with Maureen (it's probably because we were in the second balcony) so he verbally reprimanded them.

As I mentioned, I was an awkward teenager-- since then I've matured into an awkward adult. But back then, like many others, musical theater was my escape from the world I didn't quite fit into. I was moved by the romantic idea of leaving the safety of your home to follow your dreams in the most exciting city in the world. I identified with having a group of friends who felt more like family than your relatives did. I agreed with the idea of shirking the idea of "success" that previous generations imposed upon us, and finding happiness in more than just material things and social status.

I'd go on to see RENT twice more- once more on Broadway and another cast on the national tour. The last time I saw it was probably in 2006 or 2007, and I remember feeling that it was out of date, that it had run its course. Ten years after it's premiere, a lot had changed.

My views on what RENT stood for have changed drastically in the past 17 years or so since I first sat glued to my Discman. I'm 33, married, I own a house, I live in Lansing, and I teach. That does not follow the formula of being a starving artist, sacrificing everything for your passion. I no longer see Benny as the villain (gasp!) However, I still feel drawn to this material, to the story of these characters.

I have a lot to say on the parallels and differences between the early-mid 90's and today. I'm going to save those for a different post, as this one is getting pretty long as it is. I'm also going to share the "RENT Story" of many of the members of our production team.

But that's the gist of my relationship with this show. I cannot wait to delve into it, to explore these characters that I basically grew up with, and to share it all with a generation who doesn't know what it was like to have to check your answering machine, check your pager, or use a payphone; a generation that came of age during the great recession and the dawn of social media, and whose idea of fame, selling out, and success is different from even my own.

Keep checking back to this blog, as I'll be sharing information about auditions, about the process, and about our cast and crew.

Until then... measure in love ;)

Cheers!