I am alive.
Woah, it has been such a long time since I’ve posted! Livejournal has taken a backseat while I’ve been changing the way I live my life. This change is due entirely to my reaction to the musical RENT. I know I’ve posted before about Rent, but for the past three months, I have been eating, sleeping, breathing, and living RENT.
A quick recap: My family has been in love with rent since it came out, but I really didn’t know much about it. A year and a half ago, I went with my parents and my little sister to see Rent at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Beforehand, I did a bit of research so I knew what I was getting into (hehe). After the show, I was happily singing the songs and I thought it was a good show, but I didn’t “get it.” (I actually remember my little sister and my dad laughing at my confusion.) When the movie came out, however, I was so very excited to see it - fantastic music! When I actually did see it on opening weekend, the whole thing made SENSE! I bought the soundtrack right away and have been listening to it nonstop for three months. The second time I saw RENT in the movie theatre, I “got it” even more, and decided to give in to the power of the songs and lyrics - I decided to let RENT change the way I chose to live my life. Woohoo! I saw the movie a total of seven times before it left the theatre.
I am now a member of the important RENT myspace groups and a “friend” of a couple of (who after researching I actually think are legit) Rent cast members! I have bookmarked every Rent site known to the internet, have read every review (good and bad) of the movie, watched every TV appearance of any Rent cast member (many of them I have later found online and bookmarked, too). I know the personal biographies of all of the cast members and could tell you about their future productions. I have memorized every single lyric (spoken and sung) and many of the dance moves from the musical, I have watched the entire OBC bootleg and the ’03 bootleg, plus a good deal of the Spanish bootleg. I have read and researched all of the obscure, strange references in Rent and actually created a spreadsheet of references in La Vie Boheme A&B. I have been ever faithful to the official Rent blog and have not only read (or watched) every entry, but have also read every reply to every entry! I visit the myspace RENT groups daily (a beautiful source of inspiration, companionship, and fun) and watch the 4 minute version of Rent on a daily basis, too. I have bought Anthony Rapp’s new book (which was supposed to come out tomorrow, but they released it a week early) called “Without You” and completely devoured it (an amazing book that had me weeping through several chapters). Oh, and I have a little countdown of the days until RENT comes out on DVD (Feb 21 for anyone waiting) and I plan on buying two copies (in case one gets wrecked).
I have NOT posted on any RENT blog (official or myspace), instead preferring to hover around and read what others are saying. I just can’t seem to express what a gift Rent has been to my soul! Plus, everyone who reads the blogs already loves the musical, I don’t need to repeat what they’re always thinking anyway.
The myspace groups have really kept me going for the past couple of months, as the interest of Rent has died down in many people I know. At least in these myspace groups I can be surrounded with people who are freakishly obsessed like I am.
Now I should mention that I have never before been this obsessed over a musical or movie or book or song or anything. If you think I know my Disney trivia, I dare you to quiz me on my new-founded Rent trivia! I was mildly obsessed with “10 Things I Hate About You” (saw it 9 times in the theatre, handwrote the entire script during times 4&5 in the theatre, know a ton of random Seattle/Tacoma trivia about the movie); and I frequently go through mini-obsessions with movies or musicals that last about a month, but never dig deeper than the script and songs.
The challenge is this: Rent’s message is essentially “no day but today” - so Johnathan Larson, creator of RENT, would have wanted all of the obsessed Rentheads to get off of the computer and go LIVE! That’s the hard part. But I’m trying! When I meet my personal challenges and goals with hesitation, that darn Rent soundtrack or lyrics or message comes belting into my head and I’m rejuvenated and filled with hope, bravery, compassion, and peace.
Oh, I also have a new theory: The character Angel in RENT is the Christ-like character from whom most lessons are learned (love, compassion, hope, community, tolerance); and of course those lessons are all biblical.
After reading Anthony’s new memoir, “Without You,” I have a new respect for Johnathan Larson, creator of RENT, as well as all of the cast members of the OBC. If you haven’t thought about reading the book, you should go pick up a copy. Anyone who likes Rent or any type of musical theatre will love the book. Anyone who has ever lost someone will love the book, too. Plus, Anthony’s just a great storyteller - I truly have been excited to see what’s going to happen next! (I’m on page 230/304 and there has only been one chapter that I didn’t like - the rest of it was INCREDIBLE).
Other than Rent, fantastic things have been happening in my world. I’ve attended a lovely smattering of concerts, plays, and art walks. I’ve seen a couple of movies other than RENT. I’ve been volunteering through my church’s young adult program. I’ve been doing all of the social events with my church’s young adult program. I’ve been teaching Sunday School (3rd grade). I’ve been fairly social (for me) with the other teachers at my work (where I teach 2nd grade). I have been planning fantastic learning experiences for my kiddies - and loving every minute of teaching! I have been baking. I have been walking on non-rainy days (few and far between). I have been keeping up with my favorite TV shows, the NYT newspaper, and a handful of environmental organizations. I have been using my Disney visa like crazy and racking up a pretty hefty debt (what else is new). I have been planning my spring break when I’ll be going to visit my sister in Europe. I have been missing my sister like nothing else I’ve ever missed.
So there’s my post. I know it’s not much after having been “away” for so long. Maybe after Feb. 21 I’ll post more often. Maybe then my life will *really* be over.
P.S. It makes me really mad when people say they didn’t like RENT. I can’t understand that. It also makes me furious when idiot Christians criticize RENT… they can’t see past the surface-level stuff and into the deeper meaning of the musical. I’m sort of worried about going to Acquire the Fire this year… if they try to slander RENT, I might try to run through the security, get up on stage, and start ranting and raving.
P.P.S. I haven’t actually changed all that much yet. My mom and I went to see brokeback mountain (or however you spell it) on capitol hill (how ironic) because we wanted to see the oscar nominees (and plus I LOVE heath ledger all because of 10 things). We opted to see that movie over Syriana because the syriana review said something like “it’s a thinking person’s movie” and my mom and I said “that’s not us!!!” Anyhoo, we both didn’t understand a lot of broakback mountain, mainly because 1) cowboys use weird words so you have to understand their dialect, and 2) heath ledger mumbled the whole time and never opened his mouth to speak properly. The movie didn’t meet either of our expectations. Oh, well.
P.P.P.S. After over three years, my mom’s side of the family finally had a family “thing” to say goodbye to my dead grandma (we had already had a memorial service after she died, duh, but I guess her ashes had been sitting around my grandpa’s house for years). I was the last person in our huge family to find out about this party thing. When I got there I found out that we were supposedly going down to the pier later in the night and throwing her ashes out into Puget sound. My mom never thought to get a permit. So imagine a huge family (many of whom drink a bit to much or whose lives are a little trailer trashy) carpooling down to the marina in the pitch dark on what may have been the coldest, definitely windiest night ever, trekking out to the end of the pier, shivering like icicles while my uncle read something that I couldn’t really even hear because of the wind, depositing ashes illegally, and then scurrying back to the cars. It could have been a movie.
A quick recap: My family has been in love with rent since it came out, but I really didn’t know much about it. A year and a half ago, I went with my parents and my little sister to see Rent at the 5th Avenue Theatre. Beforehand, I did a bit of research so I knew what I was getting into (hehe). After the show, I was happily singing the songs and I thought it was a good show, but I didn’t “get it.” (I actually remember my little sister and my dad laughing at my confusion.) When the movie came out, however, I was so very excited to see it - fantastic music! When I actually did see it on opening weekend, the whole thing made SENSE! I bought the soundtrack right away and have been listening to it nonstop for three months. The second time I saw RENT in the movie theatre, I “got it” even more, and decided to give in to the power of the songs and lyrics - I decided to let RENT change the way I chose to live my life. Woohoo! I saw the movie a total of seven times before it left the theatre.
I am now a member of the important RENT myspace groups and a “friend” of a couple of (who after researching I actually think are legit) Rent cast members! I have bookmarked every Rent site known to the internet, have read every review (good and bad) of the movie, watched every TV appearance of any Rent cast member (many of them I have later found online and bookmarked, too). I know the personal biographies of all of the cast members and could tell you about their future productions. I have memorized every single lyric (spoken and sung) and many of the dance moves from the musical, I have watched the entire OBC bootleg and the ’03 bootleg, plus a good deal of the Spanish bootleg. I have read and researched all of the obscure, strange references in Rent and actually created a spreadsheet of references in La Vie Boheme A&B. I have been ever faithful to the official Rent blog and have not only read (or watched) every entry, but have also read every reply to every entry! I visit the myspace RENT groups daily (a beautiful source of inspiration, companionship, and fun) and watch the 4 minute version of Rent on a daily basis, too. I have bought Anthony Rapp’s new book (which was supposed to come out tomorrow, but they released it a week early) called “Without You” and completely devoured it (an amazing book that had me weeping through several chapters). Oh, and I have a little countdown of the days until RENT comes out on DVD (Feb 21 for anyone waiting) and I plan on buying two copies (in case one gets wrecked).
I have NOT posted on any RENT blog (official or myspace), instead preferring to hover around and read what others are saying. I just can’t seem to express what a gift Rent has been to my soul! Plus, everyone who reads the blogs already loves the musical, I don’t need to repeat what they’re always thinking anyway.
The myspace groups have really kept me going for the past couple of months, as the interest of Rent has died down in many people I know. At least in these myspace groups I can be surrounded with people who are freakishly obsessed like I am.
Now I should mention that I have never before been this obsessed over a musical or movie or book or song or anything. If you think I know my Disney trivia, I dare you to quiz me on my new-founded Rent trivia! I was mildly obsessed with “10 Things I Hate About You” (saw it 9 times in the theatre, handwrote the entire script during times 4&5 in the theatre, know a ton of random Seattle/Tacoma trivia about the movie); and I frequently go through mini-obsessions with movies or musicals that last about a month, but never dig deeper than the script and songs.
The challenge is this: Rent’s message is essentially “no day but today” - so Johnathan Larson, creator of RENT, would have wanted all of the obsessed Rentheads to get off of the computer and go LIVE! That’s the hard part. But I’m trying! When I meet my personal challenges and goals with hesitation, that darn Rent soundtrack or lyrics or message comes belting into my head and I’m rejuvenated and filled with hope, bravery, compassion, and peace.
Oh, I also have a new theory: The character Angel in RENT is the Christ-like character from whom most lessons are learned (love, compassion, hope, community, tolerance); and of course those lessons are all biblical.
After reading Anthony’s new memoir, “Without You,” I have a new respect for Johnathan Larson, creator of RENT, as well as all of the cast members of the OBC. If you haven’t thought about reading the book, you should go pick up a copy. Anyone who likes Rent or any type of musical theatre will love the book. Anyone who has ever lost someone will love the book, too. Plus, Anthony’s just a great storyteller - I truly have been excited to see what’s going to happen next! (I’m on page 230/304 and there has only been one chapter that I didn’t like - the rest of it was INCREDIBLE).
Other than Rent, fantastic things have been happening in my world. I’ve attended a lovely smattering of concerts, plays, and art walks. I’ve seen a couple of movies other than RENT. I’ve been volunteering through my church’s young adult program. I’ve been doing all of the social events with my church’s young adult program. I’ve been teaching Sunday School (3rd grade). I’ve been fairly social (for me) with the other teachers at my work (where I teach 2nd grade). I have been planning fantastic learning experiences for my kiddies - and loving every minute of teaching! I have been baking. I have been walking on non-rainy days (few and far between). I have been keeping up with my favorite TV shows, the NYT newspaper, and a handful of environmental organizations. I have been using my Disney visa like crazy and racking up a pretty hefty debt (what else is new). I have been planning my spring break when I’ll be going to visit my sister in Europe. I have been missing my sister like nothing else I’ve ever missed.
So there’s my post. I know it’s not much after having been “away” for so long. Maybe after Feb. 21 I’ll post more often. Maybe then my life will *really* be over.
P.S. It makes me really mad when people say they didn’t like RENT. I can’t understand that. It also makes me furious when idiot Christians criticize RENT… they can’t see past the surface-level stuff and into the deeper meaning of the musical. I’m sort of worried about going to Acquire the Fire this year… if they try to slander RENT, I might try to run through the security, get up on stage, and start ranting and raving.
P.P.S. I haven’t actually changed all that much yet. My mom and I went to see brokeback mountain (or however you spell it) on capitol hill (how ironic) because we wanted to see the oscar nominees (and plus I LOVE heath ledger all because of 10 things). We opted to see that movie over Syriana because the syriana review said something like “it’s a thinking person’s movie” and my mom and I said “that’s not us!!!” Anyhoo, we both didn’t understand a lot of broakback mountain, mainly because 1) cowboys use weird words so you have to understand their dialect, and 2) heath ledger mumbled the whole time and never opened his mouth to speak properly. The movie didn’t meet either of our expectations. Oh, well.
P.P.P.S. After over three years, my mom’s side of the family finally had a family “thing” to say goodbye to my dead grandma (we had already had a memorial service after she died, duh, but I guess her ashes had been sitting around my grandpa’s house for years). I was the last person in our huge family to find out about this party thing. When I got there I found out that we were supposedly going down to the pier later in the night and throwing her ashes out into Puget sound. My mom never thought to get a permit. So imagine a huge family (many of whom drink a bit to much or whose lives are a little trailer trashy) carpooling down to the marina in the pitch dark on what may have been the coldest, definitely windiest night ever, trekking out to the end of the pier, shivering like icicles while my uncle read something that I couldn’t really even hear because of the wind, depositing ashes illegally, and then scurrying back to the cars. It could have been a movie.