Go for the music
Straying further from live concert reviews I thought I’d talk about a movie I saw recently. I know you’re thinking “why write about a box office movie on a music blog?” The reason: great music at a cheap price. The movie is the on-screen adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s Tony-winning Broadway show Rent. The movie itself is not spectacular and hasn’t been getting great reviews. Most fingers have been pointed at producer Chris Columbus (Fantastic Four, first three Harry Potters) for bringing the play to the screen but doing little to add to it or re-invent the material.
The play is significant to me for many reasons and I’ve been able to see it a couple times. While seeing the movie can’t compare to the Broadway production I personally enjoyed the movie a lot. No matter who the producer or director, there was no way anyone could ruin Larson’s overpowering musical score. Most of the actors and actresses in the movie were in the original Broadway show and re-recorded all the songs for the movie. Where the re-invention of material was lacking was made up for in the new recordings of the music.
This play has significance in my life because my father, brother, and I have a genetic disorder called Marfan syndrome. A deficient connective tissue protein that is found in many stabilizing structures of the body characterizes the disorder. The area of highest concern is the aorta, the body’s largest artery, which carries blood away from the heart. Weak connective tissues in the aorta lead to a progressive destabilization and eventual rupture if untreated. Many people don’t know about the disorder and doctors often fail to make a diagnosis. My father and I are lucky that an early diagnosis was made and we were able to undergo preventative surgeries, which should allow us to live long, fulfilling lives. Not everyone is so lucky.
On January 25, 1996, a month or so after my father’s heart surgery, the playwright Jonathan Larson died of an aortic aneurysm in New York City. Larson’s Broadway musical, Rent, which premiered a week after his death and went on to dominate the Tony Awards that year. It was found out posthumously that Jonathan had Marfan syndrome and was misdiagnosed twice when he went to two different New York City hospitals complaining of chest pains. He died a few days after the failed diagnosis, alone in his apartment.
Whether you’re into Broadway plays or not I strongly suggest you go see Rent in the theaters, if nothing else, go for the great music.
posted by TallH @ 11:16 AM
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