This is another great one, with a personal dedication at the end. One Song Glory is playing on my computer right now, and I must admit, if I'm going to make it through the semester, I need this goddamn musical.

Very. Badly.


I clearly remember the hot summer afternoon my best friend Maddog came over with a CD that changed my life. It was the "Rent's Greatest Songs" CD, from the OBC track. It wasn't even the full Broadway soundtrack, but it made all the difference.

The part I remember most clearly about listening to that CD for the first time was asking Maddog "why is she howling?" when listening to "Out Tonight". (Remember, at this point, I am a naive 12-year-old.) But the CD intrigued me, and I asked Maddog if she had the movie. She didn't, but she was willing to walk two miles round-trip to the nearest video store to get it. (RENT is a powerful force indeed.)

I remember the wait. I even remember the magazine I was reading- TIME magazine, and it was an article about Opus Dei. Why did I remember all these random details, but I didn't even remember what I thought when listening to "Tango: Maureen"? I guess I'll never know.

To continue with the story, she came back, and as we were putting the DVD in, Maddog tried to explain about the OBC-cast. I was having difficulty understanding the whole everyone-is-the-original-except-Joanne-and-Mimi thing, and it was made worse by not knowing which characters were which. However, once the movie started, I forgot everything.

Literally.

The first scene (after "Seasons of Love") blew me away. It was so powerful, and the visual effects (zomg! It's fire! In a trash can!) stunned me. (Well, I am a pyro.) And La Vie Boheme just...blew my mind. After its last note, as the cast struck a pose on the tables of the Life Cafe, I sat stunned and completely still for a whole minute. Then, I asked my friend "Uh...can I watch it again?" (I did.) But the part that I remember most vividly was near the end, when Roger was starting to sing to Mimi. My mother wandered in, and asked if this was the movie based on the opera "La Boheme". We told her it was, and she told us "Oh, well, she dies in the end, you know." At this revelation, me and Maddog grabbed each other and started sobbing, all through "Your Eyes". And then, when all seemed lost, Mimi came back to life, and it was amazing.

And that is how I fell in love with RENT.

As for how it's affected me most deeply, well, all I can say is that RENT is the only movie to ever make me cry.

Ever.

RENT
1996-2008
Broadway is dark tonight.

By Vicy aka RentFreak