Earlier this year I mentioned a theory put forth by a popular radio commentator that the older you get, the more conservative you become. He said that when we’re young we all tend to be more liberal but that this starts to change once we hit 40. I found his argument condescending and offensive and considered myself living proof that age did not always move people towards the right. But now I’m wondering…is there any truth to this guy’s theory?
On Sunday I took Leah to see the movie “Rent.” We’ll get into how appropriate it is to take a ten-year-old to a movie about heroin addicts, hookers, and drag queens, but first I want to look at what a different take I had on the story compared to when I first saw the Broadway play nearly 10 years ago. In June of 1996 I was in New York on business and I was able to score a ticket to the hottest play running at that time. “Rent” had only been open for a month but the buzz on the play was tremendous and it was SRO every night. Somehow I got a seat at the back of the theatre and settled back to see what all the fuss was about. From the opening licks on the electric guitar I was hooked. I was completely bowled over by the energy, exuberance, and raw talent of the young cast and I was swept away by the tragic yet ultimately affirming story (based on the characters and events in Puccini’s “La Boheme”) of a bunch of struggling artists living in New York’s East Village, many of whom were HIV positive. I remember calling my then-wife Sophie during intermission. She was back in L.A. with our daughter who was a year and a half. I stood at a payphone (this was in pre-cell phone days) and went on and on about how the play was unlike anything I had ever seen on a New York stage. The second act only increased my enthusiasm for the show. I watched Roger finally come to terms with his past, Collins deal with the loss of Angel, the only person he’d ever loved, Mimi fall into the depths of her addiction and come close to death, and Mark Cohen finally step out from behind his 16mm camera and face life with all its pains and joys. I loved these characters and reserved all of my contempt for antagonist/landlord Benjamin Coffin III.
The last time I’d been that floored in a theatre was 20 years earlier when I happened to see one of the first performances of “A Chorus Line” on Broadway (note to new readers: I’m not gay but you’d never know it from my cultural references—my artistic sensibilities are queerer than those of “Rent’s" drag queen heroine, Angel Dumott Schunard). It’s hard to remember today how ground-breaking plays like “A Chorus Line” and “Rent” were when they first opened. “A Chorus Line” played at New York’s Shubert Theatre for a whopping 15 years, slowly transforming itself from a performance that took your breath away to one that was geared to busloads of Japanese tourists. The horrible 1985 movie version did further damage to the Pulitzer Prize-winning play’s mystique.
“Rent” is now entering its second decade on Broadway and also won the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Musical. But the play no longer holds the shock value it had when it opened in the mid-90s. Like “A Chorus Line,” it took ten years for the movie version to get made. But incredibly, almost the entire original Broadway cast was reassembled for the film. This is unheard of in stage-to-screen transfers, especially since the actors are all ten years older and none of them have become box office draws. Idina Menzel (Maureen) did go on to win a Tony for “Wicked,” her real-life husband Taye Diggs (Benny) has starred in several films and TV shows, and Jesse L. Martin (Tom Collins) is a regular on ‘Law and Order,” but none of them are household names. I think it’s fantastic that the producers took a chance on bringing these talented folks back together and permanently capturing their performances on film. The creator of “Rent,” Jonathan Larson, died on the night of the very first preview on Broadway and these cast members have felt bonded ever since. Only two of the original actors did not return. Tracie Thoms took over the part of Joanne from Fredi Walker who agreed with the producers that she was simply too old to play the role. And Daphne Rubin-Vega, who was an electrifying Mimi, was pregnant when filming began so Rosario Dawson was cast in the role. In some ways Dawson’s presence in the film is the most authentic of all, having spent years as a squatter in a broken-down building on Avenue A with her impoverished mother. Dawson said that when the play first came out she refused to go see it. She had lived that life and didn’t think there was anything to sing about. But she eventually changed her tune and is superb in the film. Despite the passing of ten years, the rest of the cast seemed very faithful to the characters they had created. But watching the film I realized that my own take on some of the characters had changed dramatically.
As the ex-roommate of the struggling artists, Benjamin Coffin III had married rich and with his father-in-law’s help had purchased the 100-year-old decrepit building they’d all been living in. Benny planned to restore the building to its former glory and open up a Cyber Arts studio on the ground floor where his friends could make their art and actually see some profits. The upper floors would be turned into high-end condos that would pay for the studio and allow his friends to live there for free. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. Where I had once seen Benny as a villain trying to oppress the noble artists, I now saw him as the most mature character in the story. Benny had more patience than I would have had in his position—the residents of the building he now owned hadn’t paid any rent in months. As they sing in the title song:
We’re not gonna pay
We’re not gonna pay
Last year’s rent
This year’s rent
Next year’s rent.
“Right on!” I cheered in 1996. “Why the hell not?” I spewed in 2005. The movie starts with eviction notices plastered up all over the building. The residents, including Mark, Roger, and Mimi burn these notices and make bonfires in the middle of their apartments. Oy, watch those gorgeous hardwood floors, guys! They then sing about their ex-friend:
What happened to Benny
What happened to his heart
And the ideals he once pursued?
What is wrong with his current ideals? As long as Benny allows these people to live there for free he is just enabling their irresponsible behavior. Stop complaining and get a job, people! The only characters in the play who seem to have decent-paying jobs are Maureen’s lover Joanne who is a lawyer and Tom Collins who is a college professor. When Mark Cohen gets a job in television he is seen as a sell-out and eventually quits. Mimi works as an S&M stripper at the Cat Scratch Club in order to get money for her next fix. Maybe it’s because these actors are now all in their mid to late-30s that the starving artist routine seems a little stale. Or is it just me who has changed? There’s a whole range of cinematic characters for whom my former contempt has changed into empathy with the passing of the years. Lazar Wolf from “Fiddler on the Roof,” (he only wanted to provide for Tzeitel), the Wicked Witch from “The Wizard of Oz” (hey, her sister was just murdered—how would you feel about some brat who killed someone in your family even if it was an accident!), Mrs. Robinson from “The Graduate” (why would she want her daughter to date the man she was having an affair with?), Give me a few more years and I might develop defense strategies for Lord Voldemort and Darth Vader.
I don’t understand all the contempt for parents in “Rent.” It would be one thing if these characters had been physically or mentally abused but in this case the parents' biggest sins are being annoying suburbanites. Mark’s parents call from Scarsdale on Christmas Day to leave him a sweet message after which he tells Roger that this is why he has to live in New York even if he’s starving—anything to get away from them. Huh? I guess that’s another reason my patience now runs thin with this group—except for Angel and Mimi, these are not people who, like actress Rosario Dawson, came from dire circumstances where they had to do all sorts of things to survive, these are privileged upper middle class kids who were given everything they wanted and now seem like spoiled post-adolescents playing at being grungy as if that will increase their street cred as artists.
I used to play the soundtrack to “Rent” in my car when Leah was little and it was the first of many scores she memorized. Her favorite songs at the age of three were the ones that Mimi sang. “Light My Candle” includes such Mister Rogers-friendly lines as:
They say that I have the best ass
Below 14th Street,
Is it true?
Mimi’s other song, Leah’s all-time favorite, was called “Out Tonight” and begins:
Whats the time?
Well it’s gotta be close to midnight
My body's talking to me
It say,’Time for danger’
It says ‘I wanna commit a crime
Wanna be the cause of a fight
Wanna put on a tight skirt
And flirt with a stranger!’
Please don’t call the social workers. When you think about it, are those lyrics really more offensive than Barney’s theme song? Okay, maybe they are, but Leah didn’t really know what she was singing. I never took her to the play but when she heard the movie was coming out she was dying to see it. Not having learned my lesson after my recent over-explanation of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” I again attempted to prepare Leah for the challenging content of the film. “Dad,” she sighed impatiently, “I’m not going to become a drug addict because I see one in a movie.” Indeed, I have to give director Chris Columbus credit for not glamorizing any of the characters’ vices—there’s nothing attractive about the drug use that is seen throughout the film. On the other hand, I will also say that Rosario Dawson performed “Out Tonight” so perfectly and was so unbelievably hot that I could barely bring myself to look over at my daughter. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to bring her to this film after all. But then seeing how moved she was by Angel’s death and the rest of the characters’ reactions to that made me think it was all worth it.
I realized halfway through the film that Leah was very confused about whether Angel (the very talented Wilson Jermaine Heredia) was a boy or a girl. I tried to explain it to her quietly but she just didn’t get it. Finally, I had to practically shout from our first row seats in the Cinerama Dome, “Angel is a boy who likes to dress up like a girl!” which she accepted without question. Frankly, she seemed more confused by the trailer we saw for the upcoming “Memoirs of a Geisha.” Throughout the long preview (why do they have to show the whole damn film in previews nowadays?), Leah kept whispering, “Dad, what’s a geisha?” Finally, on her third query and not wanting to get into a long discussion about it in the theatre, I whispered back, “Someone who has to entertain men but doesn’t have a choice.” Oy, how’s that for a twisted euphemism?
At the end of “Rent,” Leah said how much she loved the movie but that she’d like to see it again in a few years when she’d be able to understand more of what was going on. Ah, the innocence of youth…thank God!
So have I become “The Man” in my middle age, viewing everything through a more conservative lens? I hope not, and yet I do realize that getting older allows me to see many things differently. I would still enjoy hanging out with the likes of Mark, Roger, Maureen, Mimi, Collins, and Angel, but in addition to hearing about their new art installations or performance art pieces, I’d also like to give them a little career counseling over our chai lattes. And then, to quote the most famous song from “Rent,” they can start measuring their years in paychecks and insurance premiums instead of just sunsets, midnights, and cups of coffee.
I do recommend this film for its vitality, heart, and some great performances. Just bring a healthy dose of cynicism with you to counter-balance the idealized homage to “la vie boheme.”
To leather, to dildos
To Curry Vindaloo
To Huevos Rancheros
And Maya Angelou
To Sontag, to Sondheim
To anything taboo
To Uta, to Buddha,
Pablo Nerudo, too
Why Dorothy and Toto
Went over the rainbow
To blow off Auntie Em…
La Vie Boheme!
I have to see this movie.
Posted by: nappy40 | December 01, 2005 at 07:13 AM
I'm with you. And I was a starving actor for almost a decade. They pissed me off even then (although my acting career was twisting at the end of a rope right around then... could that have had something to do with it?).
Posted by: David | December 01, 2005 at 08:06 AM
They say if you are young and not a liberal you have no soul, if you are old and not a conservative, you have no brain.
I have yet to see the movie, but have started re-listening to the music. I too saw the orignal cast on broadway and villified Benny, where as now he seems like the only one doing something with himself. Ahh, but I still love it, or rather I love the passion it instilled in me at the time.
PS. Anthony Rapp is from the north shore and his sister went to New Trier - starving artist my butt.
Posted by: Lauren | December 01, 2005 at 10:36 AM
GREAT POST. I kiss your toe.
Posted by: Melinama | December 01, 2005 at 11:29 AM
Brilliant review Danny...I never saw the play...so seeing the movie last week was my first experience of Rent. I had all the same feelings you did, and even, surprisingly, found myself feeling a bit prudish during the La Vie Boheme scene. (Reminded me of Hair, which I idealistically saw at the age of 17).You've even got me wondering if I would still absolutely love Chorus Line, afterall I saw it almost 30 years ago when I was only about 21 (and very idealistic). I hope it would still be as wonderful. Anyway, thanks for putting MY feelings into words with your very perceptive review. Being a baby boomer, a product of late 60's, early 70's...when trusting someone over 30 was forbidden...makes it even scarier to see how our perspective changes as we get older.
Randi
Posted by: cruisin-mom | December 01, 2005 at 12:38 PM
Hi Danny..
I hope you will understand if I do not read this post YET! Waiting for them to send me the DVD..and I'm someone who doesn't want to know ANYTHING about a film before I see it...(A little hard with this particular film...lol), but I promise, I will read it as soon as I've seen the film!
Thanks for your comment today; it is shocking to me, too, that I have known soooo many people who have died of AIDS...(plus sooo many people living with HIV/AIDS, right now)....lots of people connected to STAGE, I'm sorry to say...and of course many many people who were a part of Theatre West...including dear talented Robert Elston who was in "Spoon River" from the beginning...I think this is what happens when you have lived a l-o-n-g time and been involved with so many creative projects in so many areas...plus I am a very social creature, though you would not know it from my present circumstance...
It is a sobering day today, in many ways, isn't it?
Posted by: OldOldLady Of The Hills | December 01, 2005 at 04:15 PM
Never to young to be taken to a movie like that.
But hey, I grew up in rock and roll.
Posted by: justin kreutzmann | December 04, 2005 at 08:32 PM
That was very insightful, Danny. I'm not sure you're really talking about a liberal-conservative thing, but more of -- I hate to put it this way -- naive-jaded thing. I also find it harder to get revved up by stories of youthful rebellion, mostly because I've been there, and seen how the story usually plays out. We all know that if these characters were real, by now they would all have "sold out" to be able to continue living in that neighborhood, or would have long ago moved to Long Island. Didn't the same thing happen to the young people from "Hair?" The problem isn't that you've grown more conservative, but that you know where most of these characters are now ten years later.
Posted by: Neil | December 04, 2005 at 11:30 PM
Danny -- I think what happened to you is that you got a family. When you have one of your own, it makes you draw closer to and feel more sympathy and understanding for the generations that have gone before, raising each other and you. What's weird is that in dreaded Europe, young people stay close to their parents (live with them, usually) and continue to want to stay near them after they are married. What went askew in American culture that it became de rigueur to despise your "'rents"?
We did it -- we baby boomers. It's our fault!
Posted by: amba | December 06, 2005 at 06:44 PM
I hated Rent. I lived in Manhattan during the period in which the play is set. Let me tell you, heroin addicts and people dying of AIDS don't have so much fun while they're squatting. To me it looked like a spoiled bunch of ivy-league kids trying to act "bohemian". And the "rent-heads" need to get a life.
http://www.robert.to/reviews/rent.html
Posted by: Robert | December 07, 2005 at 04:31 PM
This is a cool site! Thanks and wish you better luck! Brilliant but simple idea.
;)
Posted by: Lucja | July 20, 2007 at 07:53 AM
I want to say - thank you for this!
Posted by: Weronika | August 13, 2007 at 01:15 PM
Dont walk behind me, I may not lead. Dont walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.
Posted by: Bibiana | August 15, 2007 at 12:43 AM
For some reason I am responding to a column you wrote in 2005..about 'pay your rent'--i think the title grabbed me.
you are so right...it reminded me of something i read about a woman who'd read "Marjorie Morningstar" years ago (a great book by the way) and thought how sad it was that Marj did not end up with the bad boy Noel. Then on rereading it as an adult she thought, Noel was a JERK! Why didn't Marj grab the good guy! (I agreed). And the reaction may have nothing to do with being a parent, since I don't have kids...just a result of getting older and (?) wiser...
linda
P.S. I like your site a lot.
Posted by: Linda | October 08, 2007 at 02:21 PM
I only came here to view a picture of Jane Russell that google assured me is on this page, but stayed to read your review of rent.
I am a starving artist, who comes from a poor background, who grew up around hippies and drug addicts, used to walk down the street watching the hookers popping in and out of cars on my way down to the museum or the mall, etc.
I remember when I first heard about 'Rent' it was touted as the next 'Hair' The love tribal rock musical for the me generation. Or was it generation x. Anyway, it was some generation that didn't have a war to protest, so, no, it wasn't at all like 'Hair'.
Watching the movie, I was moved by parts of it, but mostly I was disgusted. They are spoiled brats, sell outs already, disrespectful of their parents, their anthem mentioned hating parents and insulted the son of God - neither of which did a thing to them! I was revolted by their whining demands to not be forced to take care of themselves. And, there Benny was offering them a way to still be artists but actually support themselves, too, possibly; so, they dropped him as a friend. Then, they force one of their own to go and become more like Benny so that the rest of them will never have to grow up.
I had wondered if, perhaps, the movie had managed to skip over several crucial bits that were the ones that made the point of why Benny was so wrong -like, did his father in law bribe an official and buy a public park and that's where they were kicking people out of? That would be horrible! Yet, apparently, they were just two men who wanted to build an art center and let a bunch of loafers work there and still live rent free in a place that is right down the street from their work.
Most people would be grateful! The rest is a matter of finding somewhere else for the tent city people to live. Perhaps they could live with the whiners????
It is a play for the selfish in our society, who think everything should be their own way and no one else should feel the same.
Though, I did like the song where one woman is singing that she has to be accepted for who she is and the other woman must stop trying to change her, and then the other woman sang it right back at her. More power to that hard working, loyal, respectful lady!
Posted by: Arletta | May 25, 2008 at 10:32 AM
I loved the post. Rent is probably the best movie/musical I've ever seen other than Wicked. I'm from a very open-minded, 'everyone can live as they please' family, and while other people would say Rent is bad or inappropriate (GLSTN unite!) because of the drug themes, and lesbianism are obviously not looking at the bigger picture: Life has its up's and downs, so try to get through it while you can, as best as you can.
Posted by: Sumiko | October 11, 2008 at 06:41 AM
I think the older you get the more convservative you become.
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