Customer Reviews

Rent

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Let me preface this by saying I am probably biased, as I have seen RENT 10 times (a small number when compared to some fans.)

I found this book to be extremely entertaining and enlightening. You never realize just how much work goes into creating something that you aren't really involved in. This book takes you backstage and behind the scenes for an expansive history of how RENT was conceived, designed, and brought to life on stage.

It also contains the full RENT script and song lyrics. Throughout the book are high-quality, color photographs of just about everything, including shots from the original broadway cast performing the show.

I would definitely reccomend this book - it is definitely worth the rather cheap price - for anyone. Whether you've seen the show once or thirty times, this book is perfect.

Jonathon Larson's musical creation RENT is awesome. It is truly a tragedy that he passed away before the play had it's big opening on Broadway. This book takes you through Jonathon Larson's hard life while he was writing RENT. It follows through the procedures of casting, rehearsing, and the actual productions. It comes with a complete Libretto with on-stage pictures that are truly wonderfully photographed and put together on the page. There are also many cast and crew comments about the show: rehearsals, casting, the production; about the tragic death of Jonathan Larson; and about the man himself.

I have been a (I guess you'd call it a RENThead for a while now and I'm proud of it. I love the beauty of the music, the acting, the very UNshallow storyline, and ultimately, the experience. I absolutely love Jonathan Larson's exquisite creation and I KNOW you will too! Enjoy!

This is a wonderful book. If you are a fan of books or a fan of RENT, this is a great buy. Glancing through the pages you will remember your experience of seeing the musical. It is easily relived by leafing through this book. A definite must have for the RENT fan. This is a book well worth the money.

This book is the perfect book for fans of the show and the perfect coffee table book... I simply love reading it and looking at the pictures. The book features information on how the show came about, it's sucess, and the life of Jonathon Larson(it's creator) struggle to have his show made on Broadway. Larson tragically died before opening night due to an undiagnosed heart condition. Truly it's a shame he did not live to see the dream of his creation realized.

In the book the orginal cast members talk a little bit about Larson and the musical's affect on them. The most interesting part of the story is reading about the orginal cast's sucess... all of the orginal cast sucess has become EXTREMELY sucessful. The musical being their break to stardom. The actors & actresses talk about the affect the musical has on their everyday lives.

The musical features little known facts about the show, the cast, and insight onto what made the musical one of the longest running musicals in history.

The book is truly the RentHead bible and perfect for the fan of musicals...

RENT is said to have changed Broadway, and RENT has changed my life. This book captures the essence of the show, with poignant details about its creator (the now-deceased Jonathan Larson), the full liberetto, some of Jonathan's working notes from the play, and comments from Original Broadway Cast mambers and others close to the creation of RENT. The book RENT is absolutely necessary for anyone who saw and loved the show, anyone who wants to more about RENT than is written in the CD booklet. If you haven't seen RENT yet, buy the CD, buy the book and buy tickets to the show! And if you've seen RENT already, go see it again!

It is the stuff theatre legends are made of: a struggling composer writes and rewrites a show for years, living on a shoestring in New York City, waiting for the break that will mean his music will be heard around the world. Then, tragically, as his show is about to open off-Broadway, he is struck by an aneuryism and dies. His show goes on to huge acclaim, winning Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and making stars of its actors. A fictional tale? No. This is the story of the musical "RENT" and its composer Jonathan Larson, who died before he could see the awards his show won or enjoy the fame it brought him. The authors of this book have tried, and succeeded, to make the celebratory book of "RENT" different from any other theatre book. Framing the full libretto (complete with an incredible series of pictures taken during the run of an evening's performance) is the life history of Jonathan Larson and his music, told in the words of his family, friends, and colleagues, ranging from his parents to the cast members to Stephen Sondheim. At the end of the book are pages of bios and pictures of the actors from the original Broadway cast, with comments in their own words about what the show and Jonathan have meant to them. This is at the very least an interesting pictorial and written history of the show that critics have said revitalized Broadway. But for a true fan of the show or of musical theatre, this book is a joyous celebration of a dream that became reality too late for its dreamer but just in time for those who had given up on the great American musical. It is funny, entertaining, sobering, and touching at times, and will not fail to affect any reader with the honest picture it paints

If you are a fan of this musical, then this book is a DEFINITE must have. It contains the full libretto with vibrant color pictures and behind the scenes photos as well. If you haven't seen this amazing musical, then 1)See It and 2) Buy This Book. Rent is more than a play about dying in today's society. It's about fear, loss, love, life, passion, friendship, success, humanity, compassion, generosity, optimism, hope, courage, and loyalty. It's about being who you are, not being afraid of love, making each day count, and living life to the fullest. Rent is about forging ahead, and not dwelling on the past. It's about being able to come to terms with your own emotions and not just "renting" them to "ape content." I can't urge you enough to buy this book. It's heartbreaking to know that Jonathan Larson never lived to see how his work touched so many lives. His short life only reiterates the fact that there really is "no day but today." Reach out to others. Love yourself. Be thankful for everything you have. See this musical, listen to Jonathan Larson's music, and buy this book. It's more than a souvenir, it's a memoir of THE BEST show on Broadway.

Unlike most theatre books, this one has so much to delve into. It has class, art, style, and originality- much like the musical it was based on. Just looking at the cover, with its taped spine and seemingly spraypainted title, one can see the defiance and creativity of the musical.

By the way, an AIDS "epidemic" may or may not exist, the fact that I know at least three people with the disease is supporting the idea, but RENT does not claim that there is one or not. It simply tries to show people who may have AIDS to live life to the fullest. And Jonathan Larson stealing the idea of RENT is laughable. It is, of course, an updated version of La Boheme, changing TB to AIDS. But lots plays and musicals are based on older stories. Larson obviously did not take the story from that woman's book, it's documented how how got it quite well.

I am a 16-year-old who fell in love with RENT when my parents bought the amazing CD. Last September I actually got to see the Broadway show. But I am a person who, once I become obsessed about something, I want to know everything about it. The book RENT was insightful, interesting, and incredible. It made me feel like I knew Jonathan Larson and his dream of RENT. The interviews with his family, friends and the cast and staff of RENT were great. The pictures of Jonathan and the journey to make RENT a reality, as well as the huge color photos of the show and cast, were absolutely awesome. If you are someone who is captivated by RENT, and want to learn more, the book RENT is definitely for you. I've had my copy for about 4 days and I've read it about 6 times.

I just received this book as a Christmas gift. And I can already tell you that it is the definitive resource for all RENT fans and even for those who have yet to see yet or are unfamiliar with it. Complete with the full libretto, cast pictures and bios, and insight into the world of the magic that Jonathan Larson created, this is a must for anyone who lives by the motto "No Day But Today"!