Dan and I went to see RENT: The Broadway Tour at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco on Thursday. It was the first time seeing a musical live for both of us (I was born in New York City but I’ve never been to Broadway!), so I’ve been anticipating this since I bought the tickets last month. The cast features cast members from various periods while RENT was on Broadway, including original cast members Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp! I’d fallen in love with RENT when I first heard the songs growing up and saw the 2005 movie, and was really sad when I’d learned I’d missed the show when RENT came to Virginia Tech back in fall of 2003. Anthony Rapp had also graced Tech with a speaking event for VTU and LGBTA back in October of 2006. I was thrilled that I could watch the performance with two of the original members who had made the musical so legendary.
The show was nothing short of amazing. Each number was perfectly executed and the cast members had amazing voices. I was surprised at how closely their voices matched those of the original cast. We had front seats in the mezzanine so we had a great view, although I’m sure it would have been even more exciting to be in the orchestra seats. RENT is touring in cities around the country, and they’ve been here for a little under two weeks. Definitely try to catch them while the tour is still going!
Here is an interview with Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp on the local show View from the Bay.