Question Home

Position:Home>Theater & Acting> Should I try out for Rent?? i've never seen the play ....help pls!?


Question: Should I try out for Rent!?!? i've never seen the play !.!.!.!.help pls!!?
So my school is doing the play Rent for our fall play/musical!.!.!.!.I was wondering what the plot of this play was and what character would be best to try out for!. I want a part that has lines but I don't want a lead! please someone tell me in detail what the play is about and what part i should try out for!.!.!.pls no "smart remarks" about it being a dumb play or anything!.!.!.!.i'm sick of that stuff!Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Rent or buy the DVD!. Everything is fairly close to the play but there is some music from the play that is not in the movie though a lot of that is lines and song transitions for guys!.

Here are the female characters who are named:

Mimi -- a young stripper with HIV
Maureen -- a lesbian performing artist
Joanne -- Maureen`s lover -- a lawyer

The guy parts -- so you know

Collins -- a gay physicist with AIDS
Angel -- a transvestite with AIDS
Roger -- a straight musician with HIV
Mark -- a straight Jewish filmmaker
Benny -- a straight real estate developer

So that is eight!.!.!.and there were 15 in the original cast!. The other seven were basically chorus members filling out the vocals and some of the ensemble scenes!.

There is one scene in a restaurant (the Life Cafe) where they put the tables together and sing La Vie Boheme!. That would be cool for an ensemble cast member!.

Joanne is the least lead-like main character but she has a huge singing part in A Year in the Life and Take Me or Leave Me!. Plus she dances and sings in The Tango Maureen!.

Maureen carries a whole song with her performance art/protest and has an equal part to Joanne in Take Me or Leave Me!.

Mimi can be considered THE female lead and she is the tragic heroine though she lives in the end!. She has a big singing number in Out Tonight and with Roger in I Should Tell You!.

So your best bet if you do not want a big solo and dance part is to be part of the ensemble!. On the site for the broadway show everyone who is not one of the eight above is listed as ensemble but those parts can be fun!.

http://siteforrent!.com/ is the site for the Broadway play!. They have song clips and video clips to give you an idea of what the performance is like!.

How exciting that your high school got the rights to do a play still in production (though I guess it will be out on Sept 7)!.

As part of the ensemble you could be Joanne`s mom or the voice of Mark`s mom or Alexi Darling -- a TV producer -- or they could possibly make the waiter or manager at Life Cafe or the facilitator at the AIDS support group a female part!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

RENT is a great show!.!.!.your high school rocks for doing it!
Since you said you want a small part, here's a breakdown of the female ensemble members (I'm assuming you're a girl)!. They all have at least a few lines!.

Bag Lady/Seasons of Love Soloist: This is a good part - small but important!. You would have basically the most important solo in the show, so it's good to have a powerful voice!.
Mark's Mom: This is a fun role!. If you're good at being funny/annoying, you'll do really well in this part!. You would also get a small solo in La Vie Boheme!.
Alexi Darling: See above, but without the La Vie Boheme solo!.
That's it!. Here's the male ensemble characters, just so you know and in case your school switches genders for such small parts (which they might):
Squeegee Man/Waiter/Steve: This guy is awesome!. It's a small part, but you'd get 3 solos - two very short but comedic, and one longer sad one!. He's my favorite :)
Gordon/The Man/Mr!. Grey: This is a good part if you want to be serious - you get to play an AIDS patient and a drug dealer, with a couple of solos!. It's a good role!.
Paul: This is a fairly small part, nothing really special, but a couple of lines!.
Christmas Caroler/Seasons of Love Soloist: You'd get 2 solos - not large ones, but they're memorable!.

All the small parts in RENT are really great, so I think you'll be happy with whatever you get!. Hope I helped!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Rent is about a group of friends in New York who are struggling with gay/lesbian/straight/drugs/aids issues, and the spirit of the community to live free, away from corporate america, and what happens to them over the course of a year!. It's really good, you can rent the movie, it has most of the same cast members as the original musical!. I'm surprised your high school is doing it, but more power to them!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

It's a really good play!. I've seen it on tour and if your school does anything like that it should be amazing!.

I would say though, just be open, because it could get awkward for a high school production!.!.!.

And!.!.!. there really isn't anything that has lines that isn't a lead besides chorus!. And the stage version has almost NO talking, it's all singing :)Www@QuestionHome@Com

http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Rent_%28mus!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Rent is a remarkable show and movie here's a link to watch the movie online and see what secondary characters come up that you might like

http://www!.tv-links!.cc/movie/rent!.htmWww@QuestionHome@Com