25 Years of Rent: Measured in Love

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 3/2/21 at 8:37pm

I know we get a lot of "Seasons of Love" in every Broadway special, but this New York Theater Workshop special celebrating Rent's 25th is pretty beautiful and emotional. Watching now.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/3/21 at 10:33am

I thought it tread some of the same territory a lot of other Rent documentaries did, but maybe that means it just wasn't entirely for me, which makes total sense! I loved seeing the old footage and hearing the old demos, though.

Is there a comprehensive list anywhere of all the performers in the montage at the end? I recognized a lot of them, but not enough to know everyone's names.

[The8re phan]

Posted: 3/3/21 at 12:32pm

 Just seemed like a major missed opportunity to have Idina Menzel & Freddie Walker talk about how special it was to have Jonathan write a song specifically to them, just to have other people perform it.  

As much as I enjoy Ali Stoker, Ben Platt, and Eva Nobelzada, I wanted to see the original cast perform their signature songs.  As they reminded us throughout the night, this original cast has such a deep connection to the material, and still carries that in their performances.  Would've packed a more emotional punch to let them sing more it......

I noticed Taye Diggs sneaking in for "No Day But Today",  but where was Jesse L Martin?

Updated On: 3/3/21 at 12:32 PM

[Becky]

Posted: 3/3/21 at 1:06pm

A NYTW moderator said in the chat Jesse was there in their "green room" watching with everyone, and entering rooms to visit with donors. Not sure why he isn't more visible in these things.

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 3/3/21 at 1:31pm

It felt (though I am not sure how much if this, if any is true) that some of it was pre recorded, if that was the case, I am not sure why Jessie couldn’t have done both

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 3/3/21 at 1:31pm

It felt (though I am not sure how much if this, if any is true) that some of it was pre recorded, if that was the case, I am not sure why Jessie couldn’t have done both

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/3/21 at 2:23pm

Maybe he didn't want to and it's not our business, but his absence was glaring.

I liked seeing/hearing other Broadway performers in this, but I wish there had been more of them!

[Hannah282]

Posted: 3/3/21 at 3:00pm

I do really miss that we didn't get Idina singing with Tracie or Fredi. I wish she could have at least done part of "over the moon" but overall I liked it. I did expect it to include more livestream with cast members but maybe they knew it would be too glitchy(seems like it already was for some people) or difficult to try and get everyone on at the same time. I thought it was really cool how they had the various productions sing seasons of love but again I wished they finished the song with the OBC. I loved Billy Porter and Chris Jackson's performances!

[ShowBro]

Posted: 3/3/21 at 5:00pm

I actually really enjoyed this presentation!! I thought that it was smart to have the guest performers on the younger side like the original cast was 25 years ago and/or POC. My standouts of the night were Eva Noblezada’s rendition of “Out Tonight” (she destroyed on her pole!!), Ali Stroker, and Ben Platt. I also thought Billy Porter did a wonderful job. And you did get most of the OBC singing at the end, so I was happy with that. My only issue was with Olivia Lux - not hating but she would not have been my first choice to host although I did like her story about playing Angel several times and how it contributed to discovering her drag persona. If you are an old school Rent Head I think this is worth checking out to support NYTW in these trying times.

Updated On: 3/3/21 at 05:00 PM