Rent is different than the other musicals out in the world (ehm Hamilton) because there are other elements that aren’t in other shows. The songs are unique throughout the show, they show togetherness, and they represent more of what society is going through right now with poverty and gay rights. This show’s storyline is like no other, which sets it apart from the others we talked about in class.
Cabaret touches on sexuality a little bit in Willkommen but the song La Vie Boheme dives deeper into the subject matter and talks about it more where they let everyone in the scene around them know who they truly are. They are not afraid to be themselves throughout this scene and talking about bisexuals and trisexuals as they are expressing how they feel about society. They understand that society is different and that’s ok.
They also understand that some are living in poverty. Poverty is shown throughout the musical through the video clips that are visible and on the streets. The scene with the older lady put the characters into perspective a little bit because it showed them that poverty really does exist. This musical touches on poverty more than any other show we have talked about.
There were more togetherness and more characters singing with each other throughout this show than in any other show. Some of the shows had some solo performances including Fiddler on the Roof with “If I Were a Rich Man”.
Although, there was a part in “I Should Tell You” where Roger sings by himself towards the end, the beginning still has her (Rosario Dawson) singing and the rest of the cast is still present even though they aren’t singing in the song. You could really tell they all were a family throughout despite their struggles and what they did not like each other sometimes.
More songs are present in this show. A musical is supposed to have singing in it, which is totally understandable. But the shows such as The Whiz and Sweeney Todd still had the acting in them, but the singing did not have as much as a presence as it did in Rent.
The songs also told more of a story within the story, which we kind of saw a little bit in Oklahoma, but we really did not get to see all the songs in the story or even in conversation format. The songs had conversation mixed in with it, including the song that was sung on the subway, Santa Fe.
Seasons of love is constantly in different forms throughout the show, once at the very beginning, in the middle where the film is rolling, and at Angel's funeral. Of course, there have been musicals where there are reprises, Annie has a reprise for Tomorrow.
But in Rent they performed it in its original form and then the two other forms they changed up the wording to fit the situations that they were in. So it gave the musical some variety by having some of the words different than the very first version.
Rent’s storyline hooks you in from the beginning, which makes you continue to watch it as an audience member. Of Thee, I Sing is a great show, but it does not fully immerse you into the story and make you want to find out what is going to happen next, at least for me that is what I have learned. As an audience member I enjoyed watching Rent and loved all the songs. I hope future audiences enjoy Rent as well!
