No Day But Today
[Spoilers for RENT]
My morning started with a Sunday brunch among friends before we portal-ed from a lovely, Spring day in Baltimore into December 24th, 9 PM EST, New York City, at the end of the millennium. I laughed, I cried, I was amused by the fact they had a candle for purchase at the merch table.
Considering that I've seen RENT a multitude of times, I'm surprised I never wrote about it before. If I ever had to design a timeline of my life and determined the moments that defined my life's course, I would save a special place for the time I was flipping through TV channels and landed on Mimi dancing at the Cat Scratch Club (this was obviously not on cable).
It was alarming for an underage girl who grew up in the conservative Maryland suburbs. But, I loved musicals and was intrigued enough by this odd story to keep watching.
So my version of Friends was Roger and Mark and Collins and Maureen and Joanne and Mimi and Angel, and, fine, Benny too. With their friendship, I learned so much about the world (just from "La Vie Boheme" alone!). I learned about acceptance and people different from me. I learned about love and loss and living for each day and not taking any time for granted.
I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for RENT.
So I have the movie and the recorded show on DVD at home, and whenever the show comes into town and the stars align, I get a ticket. It never gets old. The beautiful thing about live theater is that every show is different.
Many things influence how a show resonates with its audience. RENT is a special beast because of its rich characterization and the complexities of their connections and narratives. I've identified with different characters at different times based on where I was in my life. When I was in High School, awkward and just wanting to write creatively, I identified with Mark. But now that I am grown and in love, it's Collins' story that hits home.
I've also cycled through my favorite song of the show more times than I can count. My favorite from today's (4/2/17 matinee) performance was "I'll Cover You (Reprise)." The 20th anniversary touring cast is amazing, and I loved their Collins. His delivery of the eulogy was so emotional that I can't imagine there was a dry eye in the theater. It hits so hard when the cast joins him at the front of the stage, singing threads of the other themes, and Angel's space in line is empty.
I get goosebumps just thinking of it.
I call those live performance chills, a product of the enhanced experience of the theater. It's one of my favorite things in the world, and they were lacking lately since I'd been too busy to see any shows or concerts in a long time.
Well, you know what they say: No day but today.
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