Rent The Movie

here's the trailer for the movie Rent. Looks like it's set for release in November of this year.

I know they've been doing a lot of filming for it here in San Francisco. Omar and Aditya both saw the filming in their neighborhoods.

At the risk of sounding too mainstream, I have to admit that Rent and Les Miserables are probably my two favorite Broadway Musicals.

Les Mis just started a run at the Curran Theater in San Francisco again. My sister said that this is a really strong production. (she has a lot of friends on the crew/cast). If you haven't seen it before (like Dick) you really should. It's probably one of the longest shows out there (which isn't good for those of us with increasingly short attention spans) but really, as Broadway Musicals go, this one is Epic. I've seen it more times than I can count since 1989, and it still gets me.

I first saw Rent in 1997 while it was touring in Washington D.C. My sister was touring with The Phantom of the Opera at the time, and I used to plan mini vacations around visiting her in different cities.

I have to admit that I really loved Rent when I first saw it. (Even though my Dad thought the music was "too loud" and told that to my sister's friend who was the Stage Manager of the show) It probably has something to do with the era in my life in which I saw it. I was just out of art school (and 12 years of color guard) and could honestly relate to the characters in the play. Dick always teases me about my "Bohemian Friends" - which I take as a compliment! :) It was also the time that I was dealing with the early stages of my neurological condition, and sadly, I had just begun to lose friends to AIDS. I think that's another reason why this play was so timely for me personally.

From what I can tell so far, the movie looks like it'll be great. I'm thrilled that the cast features many of the original Broadway Cast members who originated the roles in 1996. That's key. (Hello Jesse Martin!)

And really, who doesn't get a little choked up when they hear Seasons of Love?