I was listeing to SoL while I read this, and it got me all darn emotional. By the way...I never really said anything about seeing Adam and Anthony. It was totally surreal, just as everyone else said. I still couldn't believe that those voices that I knew so goddamn well were actually being sung by the actual people...I had this whole joke with two of my best friends (who came with me to see Adam and Anthony the first time) about how they were robots...I practically convinced myself they really were! At stagedoor, there was such a giant crowd that I got shoved up against Anthony's "getaway car", as I christened it. There were a milliond people everywhere, and I was practically sitting on his hood. But that meant he spent about tne minutes right up close to me when he was signing for all the people who dived onto the hood. I talked with him a bit (SQUEE) and tried not to stare at the bright-white hair on his arms. Cute little albino pumpkinhead...god, they were both so wonderful.

And that last night...it was beyond belief. Adam and Anthony threw themselves into everything, and you coudl tell they knew it was really the last time they were going to play those parts on that stage. One Song Glory, La Vie Boheme, and Halloween were so heartbreaking, but What You Own beat them all. Totally. Solidly. I will never forget that song, nor will I ever forget that whole night. And they were crying, especially during Goodbye, Love (the Roger/Mark scene, which was also incredibly wonderful and painful to watch). Adam had hurt his hand when he fell during Happy New Year earlier in the day...hee. Silly Adam. And when they came out for their final bow, they had this long hug and then grinned like idiots for their bow together. I couldn't stop sobbing (through the whole show actually). I met Allan Gordon, one of the original producers, and talked with Chris and Kyle for a bit. It was amazing...so amazing...HRRM. Sorry.

ANYWAY, my ranting is over. I am sorry, I am a selfish person and I am taking up all the space for this fantastic account. I did not mean to hijack this chapter. So here you go, and enjoy!

Ahem. Right. (Ahaha, would you believe that when I wrote the capital R in Right, I acidentally, out of habit, typed 'Roger'?) So, in my profile, I sort of go into detail, but here I will elaborate as much as humanly possible.

The first time I was exposed to RENT was many a year ago, when my friend Annie asked me if I'd ever seen it. I said no, and she always told me, "You should watch it, you'd love it so much!" but I really never got to watching it. And then my friend Ali, who one-ups me in everything, had it all over her profile in AIM. I clearly remember it: "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes." And I, like every non-RENTie, said, "WOW! What a random number of minutes!"

I vaguely heard Seasons of Love on her MySpace page once or twice, but never really let the music filter into my head.

The day of the actual occurrence was 4/20 (I find that hilarious. XD). April twentieth, I've checked tons of calendars. It was a Sunday, the day before my mom and dad's anniversary/Aunt's birthday. The night before, my parents had rented "Guess Who" with Ashton Kutcher, and we watched the previews. I saw the preview for RENT, and, well, I instantly was like OMG! I'VE GOTTA SEE THAT!

I literally threw the clicker halfway across the room. My dad goes, "Wow, that woman can sing," and pointed to Tracie doing her "Measure, measure your life in loOOOOOOOVE!!!" thang. I agreed, and just simply the song itself, the deepness yet indirectness of it captured me so very strongly.

That whole night, we watched the movie, and yet I was captivated by RENT. I was thinking about the song, trying to remember it, singing it when I walked up to bed that night. Then, the next day came, and I ordered my mother to bring me to Blockbuster to get this movie.

I came home and instantly put it in, and I was practically bouncing with excitement as Seasons of Love came on. When they first started singing, I think I literally might have squeed. Seasons of Love was my favorite song.

...then came the exciting camera move, and Anthony's pale head. I loved how it right off began with "shit," I'm such a badmouth that that piqued my interest. But then the rock-and-roll music of the song Rent began, and that became my favorite song.

And then Adam was revealed.

Oh, my God, he was my favorite character. Hands down. He was just so... his voice! It's so hard to explain it even now. I loved how it was so casual, how the 'long-haired guy' and 'the guy with the camera' looked so natural and so... happy to be singing a song of this nature. I sensed the ease between them. The rock-and-roll fire out the window—jeez, that song just did it for me. I was hooked.

You'll See was a lot of confusion for me. I sort of caught that 'long-haired guy's name was Roger, but that was it. And that Maureen was having a protest.

-almost passes out- Oh, entree One Song Glory here.

This song... just... I don't know. It reached my heart, that it did. My aunt came in around the middle of this song, but it didn't distract me. I remember April, realizing that she had had HIV, and I thought that she'd died from HIV. And I actually thought that Roger was singing about April during that song as well. Like, the whole song was about her. She was his 'glory.'

I know, I'm wrong. Don't throw stuff at me.

Then Light My Candle came on.

Hoo boy. This was an aaaaaawkward scene to watch with my dear Aunt, simply because I wasn't sure if it was gonna be a total sex scene or something. I had a few qualms with this song (hides). The way that the song didn't really rhyme drove me nuts, and the way Rosario sang simply pushed me over the edge. However, I liked how it was such storytelling in a song, and, duh, 'long-haired guy' was singing.

I think Mimi's name was the only one I completely was sure about during that entire movie. (note from Panda: EXACTLY.)

The scene after that I simply loved, I loved the 'long-haired guy' and 'the guy with the camera' action. However, I still didn't catch the Maureen-Mark exness... so I was quite confused.

I loved Collins, and Today 4 U was a total WTF for me. I just... I didn't get it, at all. Angel was fantastic! But I didn't get the story.

The Tango: Maureen was my favorite song in the entire show. Hands down. When I first got the DVD, all I did was watch that scene over and over... and over. I loved the harmonies, LOVED the dancing, and I simply loved 'soloist from Seasons of Love woman's voice.

Will I? was kind of skimmed over, and Out Tonight was weird with my Aunt. However, I loved the song, loved its message. Into Another Day... that was another great song. I loved Roger's character so much, how tortured he was, and how afraid he was. But I also loved Mimi's character—so willing to... be outgoing.

I wanted them to get together, really bad.

The following scene made me feel so sad for Roger... how he wouldn't come out of the house. Oh, man, I felt for him so much. Life Support passed... and when he went, I wanted to give him a hug. Really bad. That one shot when he's walking in the cold with his hands shoved in his pockets... that almost broke my heart, it did.

Santa Fe made me love the character of Collins even more. How he could dance like that... sheesh.

I'll Cover You was adorable! And then the protest... was interesting? I was like... umm... okay...

La Vie Boheme. Oh, my GOD, I LOVED THIS SCENE. Just as much, if not more, as the Tango. I loved the music, the freeness of it, the rapid fire references... I loved Roger even more so toward the end. I didn't register the Evita/Akita thing until maybe my third time watching the movie. Then, I Should Tell You... I picked up that Mimi had AIDS. So that made Collins, Angel, and Mimi HIV positive.

I didn't know Roger had AIDS.

At that point, I thought it was over and was incredibly sad, but then the Seasons of Love reprise came on and I was happy again. I loved the New Year and didn't get the "It's not my Bar Mitzvah!" thing... and still don't. :)

Take Me or Leave Me was hot! I desperately wanted to sing Maureen's part, and do now with my cousin Sara, who takes Joanne's altered part like the Broadway way.

Without You was sad, and it didn't strike me that "Mimi" and "long-haired guy" were singing it until maybe the third time watching it.

Angel's funeral almost made me cry. I'll Cover You Reprise was so strong, Jesse was just... agh! He was amazing. Goodbye Love made me even sadder, even though I didn't get anything, and What You Own put the icing on the cake... this movie was worship-worthy.

The Finale was beautiful, and I was terrified that Mimi would die. I didn't cry, but simply angsted along with Roger, and adored Adam's amazing performance. When she lived and they sang the reprise (though I hated the traveling towards the bright, white light! thing) of Another Day and all the other songs... and the film ended, I was ready to worship the gods of whoever wrote this incredible piece.

And boy did I ever. I had promptly bought the movie soundtrack, and then Wiki'd it and found out the plot, watched it a thousand more times. I found out about the OBCR and got that, learned every single syllable. RENT had quickly consumed my life. Around this time, on this site, I discovered the return of Adam and Anth.

And I begged. I begged, I cried, and I succeeded. We booked the date and I counted down the hours. I endured the long and agonizing car ride, and the moment me, my mom, my dad, and Sara turned the corner and laid on the eyes of the Nederlander Theatre, I did the one thing I'd never done before.

I squeed.

Twice, three times, four times... the squees were flying about the air. Sara and I jumped about, and I went and took pictures of the theatre... as my father looked at a praying mantis that had perched itself on the info about The Line.

That night was the best of my life. I cried all the way throughout Tune Up #1—One Song Glory, and I laughed my butt off during Light My Candle and all of Roger's silliness. Anthony's hole spiel in Tune Up #1 got me laughing, thinking, WOW, AM I REALLY HERE?!, and then when he spun that camera to Adam... God.

Just the moment Adam walked on stage was probably the best of my life. Just... God, my breath was GONE.

During Goodbye Love I almost started crying, but Your Eyes really got me... I didn't cry, but when I went home and watched the movie for the first time since NYC, I cried during Your Eyes... even now the song makes me tear up.

This has changed my life completely and utterly. RENT has altered me in so many ways. I live for the moment, I love, I open up, and I have something that I like to call my favorite. RENT is my favorite thing, it's the best thing that's happened to me. I could rant here, but I guess we all could... it saved me from a number of things, including myself.

Well, now that I've wasted about an hour of your life telling you what you already know, I shall leave you with the brilliant words of our main man J. Larry: "TELL THE FOLKS AT HOME WHAT YOU'RE DOING, ROGER!" XD (Why did I pick that, of all quotes? Well, because it's original... not everybody goes around preaching that.)

By Stephanie aka Stephanie Pascal