No Day But Today

Today marks the end of an era.

For me. For Broadway. And for millions of people around the world who have been touched, inspired, and moved by RENT.

At the risk of sounding like a Renthead Fan Boy, I will gladly admit that back in 1996 when the show first began, that it did have a big impact on my life.

I can still remember the very first time I heard the music. My voice teacher had purchased the cast recorded and copied it to cassettes for me to listen to. I took it home one day after my voice lesson, sat on my bedroom floor, and followed along with the lyrics on the photocopy of the CD booklet she made for me. Five hours later I was still sitting there in the corner and had listened to the entire show twice through without moving. I was captivated.

It was during the period of my life where I was beginning to discover my sexuality and was struggling to understand it. I found solace and comfort in the show. The story and the music struck a chord with me and helped me through that difficult transition period in my life.

I lived the show. I breathed the show. It was a constant part of my life. I traveled around the country and world to see the show any chance I could get. St Paul, San Francisco, Chicago, Des Moines, Iowa City, London, and finally New York City on Broadway.

Rent also turned me back on to musical theatre. I had always been a fan of the genre and as a child had wanted to be a Broadway star. But as I grew up, I started to become more and more bored with the antiquated style of musicals and was falling out of love it altogether. But this show was so new, and so fresh and unlike anything I had ever heard before. And it completely renewed my love of musical theatre and took me down the path that brought me to New York City after high school to follow those dreams and goals I held at that time.

And a funny thing happened once I moved here. Throughout high school, all I wanted to do was to see the show. As often as I could. And once I knew I was moving to NYC, I knew that I would be able to see it absolutely any time I wanted. I took comfort in that. But, bizarre as it is, once I moved here and the show was mere minutes from my doorstep, I no longer had that need or desire to see it all the time. In fact, in the nine years that I’ve lived here, I’ve probably only seen the show three or four times. I knew it was right there if and when I ever did need it, and that was enough for me.

Over time, I’ve come to realize that maybe the reason Rent entered my life was not only to help me figure out and come to terms with my sexuality, but also to act as a beacon and help guide me out of the smalltown midwest life to somewhere where I could fully realize who I was and be whomever I wanted to be.

So, even though I’m no longer the fanatic Renthead Fan Boy that I once was, I still am and will always be a fan of the show. It touched my life deeply and for that I am forever thankful to have experienced it.

The time may have come for its Broadway run to end, but that doesn’t make it any less a bittersweet day for everyone who has been touched by the music, passion, and message of the show.

Today, in honor of the final performance of Rent, I not only say goodbye to it but I also celebrate it. It reinvented Broadway and things will never be the same because of it.

The most appropriate tribute I could find was from this past Tony Awards, where the original cast reunited to pay their last respects to the show as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed the last twelve years that Rent has been a part of my life.