As you walk into the theater, you’d hardly know you’re going to see a fully prepared Broadway show. The sign outside the theater looks old and broken. The halls have been covered in messy paint, with some obscure, bohemian artwork along the way. The ceiling inside the theater has random strips of white paint covering the intricate ceiling design that you’d expect to see in a Broadway theater. The outline of the stage is made of broken glass and ceramic pressed into cement. The stage itself looks like the perfect place for a workshop or rehearsal – a brick wall visible at the back, a simple metal balcony, three tables and a metal trash barrel set in the middle, posters stuck on the table and the back wall. The band is onstage – a rock band, basically: guitar, keyboard, bass, drums, synthesizer. If you didn’t know what the play was about, you’d think, “Am I in the right theater? Are they really performing a show in this?”
But the run-down look of the theater is all part of the bohemian atmosphere. Rent is a true story of how people in Alphabet City live. Their apartments are not much more than a brick wall and some tables. This is their style. This is their world.
In this particular show, Anthony Rapp, the original Mark Cohen, is performing. The show starts, he walks out onstage, and the crowd erupts in cheers. I wonder, since he was in the movie version of the show, how many of the people are cheering because they really appreciate him as a performer and how many are just excited to see someone famous. For me it was a little bit of both. I was in awe when I actually saw him onstage right in front of me. But that’s because I know that no one can play Mark better than Anthony Rapp.
As the show went on, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one singing along to all of the songs. Yes, this show definitely has a strong following. I also realize how hard it will be for me to be unbiased in this ethnography. I just absolutely love this show! I don’t see how anyone can not be inspired by it.
I’ll dig into the songs and the ideas the show presents later, but just a few notes of what I thought would be important as I was watching it:
- “Will I?” and it’s relation to everyone, because of AIDS, poverty, homosexuality… I bet even everyone in the audience has felt the feelings expressed in this song at least once
- Style of costumes – whatever they could dig out of the bottom of their closets, or buy at a cheap second-hand store, regardless of matching. Ripped jeans and shirts, chunky black boots, lots of layers, arm bands, leopard print, plaid… each main character had his/her own signifying clothes, too
- The audience themselves didn’t have a distinctive style, but I wonder if that’s because it was a Broadway show, where a certain level of dress is expected – what would they wear on a daily basis?
- The fan culture isn’t highlighted at the actual show, but the bohemian style and the ideas represented by the show are all over the place
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