On the rare occasion that I’m asked what my favorite musical is (because most people ask about your favorite band, movie, or book — only fellow theater kids ask about your musical of choice), my answer usually shifts between Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. My younger brother and I grew up listening to the soundtracks as children and hearing funny anecdotes about how our grandfather sang along with Jean Valjean during a performance; those two musicals became a part of who we were.
Whenever I throw that question back, the response is almost always Rent. I wasn’t raised on Rent like I was on Les Mis and Phantom, so I never actually saw it until high school. Technically, I didn’t see it; I just sat in onstage with a friend and looked at people who were singing the parts.
I might not share the passion, but I certainly understand why Rent is so beloved by so many people. If you read through a synopsis of the award-winning play (which was adapted into a film that starred most of the musical’s original cast) you might not get why.
Rent is set in the dirtier side of New York. It’s a tale of starving artists, many of whom are struggling with AIDS. Not exactly the kind of circumstances most people I know find themselves in.
But it’s when you see the musical and listen to the music that you realize why Rent has resonated with so many people. It’s the story of a struggle to survive in the face of adversity — something all of us will deal with in one way or another at some point in our lives. It’s the story of people who struggle to live in the face of mortality, whether it’s their own or their friends’. It’s the struggle to create something beautiful and lasting to be remembered by when you die. It’s the struggle to stay true to your artistic principles. It’s the struggle to find the courage to live and love.
It is the struggle to find hope.
Maybe the reason so many people love this musical is because, on some level, the characters’ struggles are our struggles. In many different ways, their pain is our pain; their frustrations are our frustrations. Rent tells a story that is universal and familiar to anyone who has ever been human.
My favorite line (from No Day But Today) goes: “There’s only us /There’s only this /Forget regret—or life is yours to miss /No other road /No other way /No day but today.” No time like the present to live your life — and catch Rent onstage in Manila!
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Rent opens locally today at the RCBC Plaza in Makati. It runs from today, Feb. 5, until the end of the month. It is directed by Robbie Guevara, and stars Gian Magdangal, Fredison Lo, and Nicole Asensio, among many other incredible talents.
For tickets, call 9 Works Theatrical at 557-5860, or call TicketWorld at 891-9999.
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You can e-mail me at vivat.regina@yahoo.com.