Aside from Avenue Q, the other musical that I've been dying to watch is Rent. It is a musical created by Jonathan Larson based from the opera La Boheme. This musical is a phenomenon in Broadway and won the 1996 Tony Awards for Best Musical. It is sad that Jonathan Larson was not able to witness how his masterpiece became a phenomenon in Broadway because he died a few days before it was officially premiered. I watched this movie on film and almost caught it in Broadway. The big screen version featured most of the Broadway's original cast.
Rent tells the story of one year in the life of friends living the Bohemian life in modern day East Village, New York City, 1989-1990. Among the group are our narrator, nerdy love-struck filmmaker Mark Cohen; the object of Mark's affection, his former girlfriend, Maureen Johnson; Maureen's Harvard-educated public interest lawyer and lesbian lover Joanne Jefferson; Mark's roommate, HIV-positive musician and former junkie, Roger Davis; Roger's new girlfriend, the HIV-positive drug addicted S&M dancer, Mimi Marquez; their former roommate, HIV-positive computer genius Tom Collins; Collins' HIV-positive drag queen street musician/lover Angel; and Benjamin Coffin III, a former member of the group who married for money and has since become their landlord and the opposite of everything they stand for. (Summary taken from IMDB.com)
When I saw the movie, I fell in love with it and I can't help but sing to the lyrics of its songs. It is my biggest regret that I passed 2 opportunities to watch this musical - one when it was shown in Manila and the second one was in Broadway. I bought a soundtrack of this movie and even though I play it all over again, I don't get tired listening to it. Here are some famous lines of the songs from this musical that are meaningful to me:
Measure your life in love (actually the whole song - Seasons of Love deserves to be here)
There's only now, there's only here. Give in to love or live in fear. No other path, no other way, no day but today.
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
There are a lot of songs that are worth mentioning here not only because of the lyrics but for the musical arrangement as well. Seasons of Love is one of my all-time favorite songs. In fact, it is my dream to sing this song (kahit choowariwap lang) and good thing that we did during our company's Valentines celebration.
I would definitely recommend this musical/movie to anyone who believes in love and living life to the fullest. I assure you that it will definitely touch your heart. |
