The musical Rent is a representation of the Bohemian lifestyle of being different and being able to explore and be unique. What makes this musical so unique is its revolutionary musical style and a plot like no other. The lyricist and composer of the musical Jonathan Larson did something no one would ever imagine and go outside of the box. Who would have thought of putting lesbians, gays, HIV and AIDS victims, and the life of a Bohemian into one rock and pop based musical? This struggle to survive and accomplish things makes Rent amazing.
When Jonathan Larson and his friend were talking, Larson was given the idea to create a musical based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. La bohéme is an opera about people in 1800s Paris struggling to find success and suffering from tuberculosis. Each character in Rent is loosely based on characters in Puccini’s La bohème. After structural editings, numerous readings, and focus group previews, the musical Rent opened on February 13, 1996 at the New York Theatre Workshop with a six-week sold out run. Rent follows a year in the lives of Mark Cohen, a struggling Jewish filmmaker, Roger Davis, the hopeful struggling musician with HIV, Mimi Márquez, the club dancer and a drug addict who has HIV, Tom Collins, a gay anarchist and college professor who suffers from AIDS, Angel, a transvestite who suffers from AIDS, Maureen Johnson, a lesbian performance artist, and Joanne Jefferson, the Ivy League lesbian lawyer who is in a relationship with Maureen, in East Village, New York City from Christmas Eve 1989 to Christmas Eve 1990. The protagonists in this musical are the six friends Mark, Roger, Tom, Angel, Maureen, and Joanne and their antagonist is the struggle to survive the hardships of AIDS, HIV, an...
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...melodies which made this musical so memorable and great. The song “Rent” at the beginning of the musical is a rock song which explains the struggle to get money to pay for rent and how the residents at the building will not pay the rent. Another choral number “Seasons of Love” is probably the most famous song from the musical and it talks about how the seasons are changing and life will still go on. Also the last choral number “Finale B” is also very renowned and it expresses the remaining friends’ joy of being together and realizing that they have this moment and that their lives will continue on. The musical also has many solo numbers including Roger’s heartfelt ballad to write that one song to be his “One Song Glory” and Maureen’s “Over the Moon” which attacked on the idea of building the Cyber Studio and expressed to her audience how corrupt those investors are.
The musical Rent by lyricist, librettist, and composer Jonathan Larson surprised Broadway in 1996. Rent stormed Broadway at the Nederlander Theatre and became a phenomenon. It won several prestigious awards, including a Pulitzer. Located on the eve of a new century, Rent depicts a year in the life of a group of friends living in the Lower East Side of New York. All in their twenties, they live a bohemian life, guided by principles that tend more towards the achievement of ideals to an agreed social mobility. This life somewhat offset from the rest of society ensures that the characters must face the inevitable gap between their dreams and reality. In their case, the reality is, among others, in the form of a concrete evil in this era: AIDS, which is the major theme of this musical. Indeed, throughout the play, everyone is affected directly or indirectly by the effects of the virus, whether interpersonal or social, and inevitably, medical. Yet despite the potentially disastrous consequences of such a syndrome, a positive momentum bonds the small community. In the end, despite some setbacks, rather than daunted, the eight friends learn to celebrate life and try to enjoy every moment with those they love. Aware of the terrible reputation of the virus, Larson tries to deconstruct the negative image of AIDS, not only insisting to live with it and
If you don't think this is romantic, consider that Jonathan Larson's sensational musical is inspired by Puccini's opera "La Boheme," in which the lovers Mimi and Rodolfo are tragically separated by her death from tuberculosis. Different age, different plague. Larson has updated Puccini's end-of-19th-century Left Bank bohemians to end-of-20th-century struggling artists in New York's East Village. His rousing, moving, scathingly funny show, performed by a cast of youthful unknowns with explosive talent and staggering energy, has brought a shocking jolt of creative juice to Broadway.
Many songs were incorporated into the story line, such as “The Sound of Music,” “My Favorite Things,” and “So Long, Farewell.”
Composer-lyricist-librettist of RENT, a rock opera inspired by "La Bohème", Jonathan Larson was born in Mt. Vernon, New York, and raised in suburban White Plains, the second child of Allan and Nanette Larson. Both Jonathan's parents loved music and theatre, and show tunes and folk music were always playing in their home. Jon and his sister Julie took piano lessons during elementary school. He could play by ear, and his teacher encouraged him to experiment with rhythm, harmony, and setting words. By high school, he was called the "Piano Man" after the enormously popular song of that title by Billy Joel; he also played tuba in the school marching band. Active in school and community theatre, Jonathan had major roles in several musicals.
Chicago is an American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Prohibition-era Chicago, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the same name by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins about actual criminals and crimes she reported on. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal." Fred Ebb explains: “So I made it [Chicago] a vaudeville based on the idea that the characters were performers. Every musical moment in the show was loosely modeled on someone else: Roxie was Helen Morgan, Velma was Texas Guinan, Billy Flynn was Ted Lewis, Mama Morton was Sophie Tucker,” (Kander, Ebb, and Lawrence 127). Velma indeed is a reincarnation of Texas Guinan who “acted as hostess…for the entertainment…she was also a born press agent, constantly inventing stories and promoting herself,” (Slide 218). Roxie’s “Funny Honey” Amos is eerily reminiscent of Helen Morgan’s “Bill” from Kern and Hammerstein’s 1927 classic Showboat. Amos, too, in his “Mr. Cellophane” number, imitates Ziegfeld Follies star Bert Williams’ iconic hit “Nobody” “right down to Williams’ famous costume of oversized clothes and white gloves,” (Miller).
RENT is only a musical. It was written by a man that was passionate for life. Jonathan Larson took his dream and made it a reality for everyone that sits in the audience. That passion is the reason it remains one of the most influential productions in Broadway history. If it weren’t for his dream and devotion, it would not be what it is today. That passion is what changed my life and the lives of thousands of others.
thesis of how the musical brought our inner child out to realize our true struggles in life.
Also the songs really present the build up of certain situations on the stage and put a lot of attitude in the specific scene. For example the “ Jet Song” is the first song in the play. This is sung by a jet and it shows how much of a family they are. Another important song that is sung by Tony is “Something is Coming”. Tony sings this song to express his true feelings about the jets and how he has moved on from them. He has a gut feeling that something wonderful is going to take place soon in his life. Tony also sings a song called “Maria” which is about the girl he fell in love with at first sight. Maria sings a song called “ I feel pretty”. She sings this and explains how she is so in love with tony and she describes how nothing will tear her love with him apart. Riff sings a song called “cool” and it express his attitude and how he carries himself in fights, he means well and wants the best for the gang. All of these songs show how music can be a very powerful tool to express feeling and help be in that character 's
The broadway hit play Hamilton, written by Lin Manuel Miranda, is viewed as an educational play about Alexander Hamilton, one of the United States’ founding fathers and the first Secretary of the Treasury. The play captures the spirit of Alexander Hamilton’s ambition, eloquence, and mistakes in a revolutionary format-as revolutionary as Hamilton himself! Combining rap, musical theater, and history, Hamilton is an enthralling and entertaining play that is mostly accurate to the real Alexander Hamilton. The details of Hamilton’s life and relationships that were misrepresented in the play to achieve the theatrical flair.
The Lion King musical is a well-known musical that has taken the stages of Broadway, West End and the rest of the world by storm (The Lion King, 1997). Regarding the process of the musical, Artistic Director Julie Taymor’s first thoughts for choosing the Lion King as the next big thing on stage, was classed as ‘impossible’ due to the film’s lack of theatrical material (The Lion King, 1997). Therefore, staging this particular work contained a great deal of uncertainty and the need for taking huge risks. Taymor (1997) suggests how ‘the Lion King was the worst idea possible to create a stage show.’ It has become evident that a number of significant barriers had to be overcome to secure the practicality of the production. In view of this controversy, this dissertation will critically analyse the success of the Lion King by exploring two significant aspects that have helped to make the musical a success. Firstly, the essential components that make up this theatrical production will be explored and secondly, the roles of each producer within the Lion King and their combined and individual influences they have had from the production will be evaluated. By analysing these two central themes, this paper will show how and why this musical has developed and achieved its phenomenal success.
Kuesel (2016) states, “Though “Hamilton’s” titular character is the focus of the show, Hamilton’s perspective is by no means the only viewpoint explored over the course of the play,” she goes on to say, “The audience sees Hamilton as a great orator in the eyes of his friends, a greedy elitist in the eyes of his enemies and a hero in the eyes of his wife”. Miranda chose these styles because he realized early on that hip-hop and show tunes, even though they have different sounds and audiences they can both be used as a methods of storytelling (Paulson, 2015). He uses Hamilton and his friends to show off the stereotypical style of rap the “8 Mile” style in which he was inspired by in the first place. The Schuyler sisters are smooth and angelic while still pulling towards the modernity of their times. The urban-contemporary style that Miranda gives them gives off a very “Destiny’s Child” inspired sound.
The 2000s/ 2010s brought in a wave of movie musicals- adapted from the stage shows. These brought new audiences into the theatre world, and for the first time in 20 years, brought a love to some of the timeless musicals. With slightly altered songs to appeal to a newer audience, these films brought in much needed money into the industry, with films including: Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Fame- and many more. Together with this, musicals began to push the concept of the songs in them, with a wave of new styles being written. Rap musicals such as ‘Hamilton’ and ‘In The Heights’, Pop musicals including ‘Waitress’ and ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and Rock musicals of ‘American Idiot’ and ‘Spring Awakening’. Together they pushed boundaries of a ‘traditional’ musical theatre sound, and brought in something never before seen. Due to the influence of ‘Rent’, controversial issues and themes began to be explored more, such as Teen suicide, Murder, Ethnic barriers and everything else, which brought with them, a world of opportunities. It was clear that musical theatre was once again showing for a promising
The musical selections and songs that were sung told a story and narrated the almost the entire film, as is expected in...
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. Written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, ‘West Side Story’ is a classic American musical based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. This essay will be exploring the music and how effective the score is in realising the world and characters of the musical. Furthermore, it will discuss how Bernstein and Sondheim relate characters’ diverse ethnicities to particular musical ideas and motifs.
Music is an important element of any theatrical work. It sets up the setting, mood, and emotions for the audience. Different songs can tell stories whether sad or happy. In “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare, there are many scenes where the traditional play music can be replaced with modern contemporary and still give the story the same meaning. There are songs that describe the blossoming romance and friendship of Rosalind and Orlando and the theme of reality. And there are others that set up the mood for the setting. The songs that can replace the traditional songs successfully are Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” and “Spring Waltz by Yiruma. Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” relates to and focuses on the scene in Act One where Rosalind and Orlando begin to fall in love for the first time. Here, we are able to utilize this song and get a different feeling for the scene with a modern perspective.