When I found out that Rent will be staged again this month, I already made sure that I won't commit the same mistake of missing it.
Atlantis staged the fantab musical twice and twice I missed it! Bop Angelo! If I missed it again the third time, I would certainly bang my head in the wall already. Haha! So months before Rent in Manila was scheduled to open, I already told my theater/musical buddy Grace that we have to watch it. Thankfully she agreed. And thanks to the Internet, I was able to get in touch with a showbuyer and reserve good seats for me and Grace.
I was really excited to see the musical onstage. I have an original DVD of the movie. I have an original DVD of Rent on Broadway (thank you to the people who made this) and every time I watch the movie and the Broadway DVDs, I can't help but feel a tugging in my heart.
Among the many songs of the show, the two closest to my heart are I'll Cover You and Without You. Both songs were a really significant part of a previous chapter of my life, the one where I was in a (almost) four-year relationship. I'll Cover You was our song. Back then when ring tones aren't as super as they are today, X composed I'll Cover You on his Nokia 8250 (I think) and sent it to me. That was my ringtone for the longest time on my Cybersilver Nokia 6210. Hahaha! And when the good thing ended, Without You was the song that really made me realize it was over.
I don't know if I've written about this. I'm sure I have, but I'll write it again since we're talking about Rent. It was the Holy Week break. I was having my vacation in Tagaytay at the home of Sean and Romil (a couple). I was with Richie and Suki (a couple) and Jayce and I forget his name (also a couple). I don't remember how I agreed to be surrounded by couples when I just got dumped a month earlier. The thing was I didn't believe that I was dumped. I was still hopeful.
We decided to watch Rent after lunch. Everything was okay. I got through I'll Cover You. But when Rosario Dawson started with Without You, that was when I really started to crumble. All the emotions - the denial, the anger, the hurt, the love - were unleashed and I started crying. And we're not talking simple crying, I bawled. The movie ended and I was still crying so hard. It took awhile before I was able to compose myself again and explain myself to my companions (although they knew everything that happened). That was the only time I wept after the split.
And that's the reason why those two songs mean a lot to me, or I should now say "meant a lot to me."
Going back to the Rent performance yesterday, it was good. There were a few glitches (with the microphone, as usual) but any Renthead would forgive such small mistakes. Haha!
I love the guy who played Mark. He's good. He's really good. Acting, singing. He was perfect for the role. I would ask him out if he played for the team. Hahaha! I also liked the girls who played Maureen and Joanne's mother. They both were very powerful singers. Galing! Gian Magdangal was good in the singing parts of Roger. For the acting, he could still portray Roger much better. I dunno if this is his first time to do a musical, but the guy has potential. Joanne and Mimi played their parts well. Angel was good with the dancing. I thought he had a difficult time with Today 4 You. It was a hard number to do though, I can only imagine.
Overall, it is a production worth watching. Would I watch the show again? I would definitely. Except that I think there are no more tickets available. Last week I helped my friend Faith look for tickets and we had difficulty finding playdates that still had tickets. And if there were tickets, they're the chaka seats in the house. Haha!
Big congratulations to 9 Works Theatrical for the success of Rent! Jonathan Larson wouldn't be turning over in his grave, that's for sure. And we’ve all been reminded once more of one very important thing…
No day but today.
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