Jake, The Fanatic of Rent | ||||||||||||||||||||
| This is a list of the characters in the show and their roles throughout the show | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Roger Davis, a struggling musician who's HIV+. Roger hopes to write one last meaningful song before he dies. Mark Cohen, a filmmaker and video artist, and Roger's roommate. Tom Collins, an HIV+ computer genius who's back in New York after being away. Benjamin Coffin III, landlord of Mark and Roger's building. Benny wants to start a multimedia studio. Joanne Jefferson, a public interest lawyer, and Maureen's lover. Angel Shunard, a transvestite street drummer also infected with HIV. Mimi Marquez, a dancer with AIDS and a drug problem. Maureen Johnson, a performance artist and Mark's ex-girlfriend. MISCELLANEOUS CHARACTERS: Mark's mom, Roger's mom, Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson, Mr. Grey, Alexi Darling, Steve, Paul, a Christmas caroler, a woman with bags, a pastor, man with squeegee, a cop, a waiter, and others. | |||||||||||||||||||
| The Logo | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The logo seen to the left is taken from the actual Rent website. Visit it at HTTP://www.siteforrent.com Rent is such an awesome show, don't pass up any opportunities to seeing this 'rock opera'. Though the original cast is no longer there, you will still feel the emotion Jonathon Larson (writer of the show who passed away the night before it opened) wanted all of us to feel. | |||||||||||||||||||
| La Vie Boheme, Are You Confused? | ||||||||||||||||||||
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In the song "La Vie Boheme," the characters in RENT give a joyous inventory if their lives and inspirations. Here's a who's who and what's what of the people, places and things in "La Vie Boheme," but keep in mind that this is only an overview. As always, further research yields interesting treasures. Keep these questions in mind: why do the characters in RENT celebrate these people? Why did Jonathan Larson? To dance! No way to make a living, masochism, pain, perfection, muscle spasm, chiropracters, short careers, eating disorders ? Merce Cunningham: (1919 - ) Modern choreographer. He rejected the notion that dance had to be "about" anything, treating movement as a subject matter in itself. He created a "choreography of chance," in which motions would be put into sequence at random. His "Suite By Chance" in 1952 featured the first electronic score for modern dance. Film! Adventure, tedium, no family, boring locations, dark rooms, perfect faces egos, money, Hollywood and sleaze! Akira Kurosawa: (1910 - ) Japanese movie director, an innovator in the filming of action and drama, especially in such films as "Rashoman" (1950), "The Seven Samurai" (1954) and "Yojimbo" (1961). In film circles, he is known as "The Emperor." "art goes into the depths of the human heart, as if with a surgeon's scalpel, laying bare it's dark complexities and bizarre twists." Pee Wee Herman: (1952 - ) In 1978, a young comedian named Paul Reubens created a new character: a gawky creature in a grey suit and a red bow tie who lived in a happy limbo between childhood and adolescence. Pee Wee Herman became a playful American icon of the 1980's, with two hit films and a TV show, "Pee Wee's Playhouse," popular with children and adults. "I know you are but what am I?" Michelangelo Antonioni: (1912 - ) Italian film director and screen writer, best known for his films which explore the alienation of the modern world, such as "L' Avventura" (The Adventure), and "Blow-Up." He is known for placing his characters in front of barren landscapes, emphasizing their alienation and loneliness. Bernardo Bertolucci: Italian film director, best known for his "Eastern trilogy" of films ? "The Last Emperor" (best picture, 1985), "The Sheltering Sky," (1990) and "Little Buddha" (1993). His films are characterized by an operatic style, a combination of stylized movement and editing. Music! Food of love, emotion, mathematics, isolation, rhythm, feeling, power, harmony and heavy competition Bob Dylan: (1941 - ) "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." Born Robert Allen Zimmerman, he renamed himself after the poet Dylan Thomas and became the premiere poet/musician of his generation. Merging country, folk and rock, Dylan has continued to defy categories with such classics as "Just Like A Woman," "Like A Rolling Stone," and "The Times They Are A Changin'." Carmina Burana: A "scenic cantata" for the stage written by Carl Orff (1895-1982) in 1937, the Carmina Burana was a series of German 13th century poems set to music. Orff envisioned a "total" theatre that mixed drama, poetry and music, but it is the pulsating power of the work's chorus that has sustained its popularity. John Cage: (1912 ? 1992) Electronic music pioneer, avantgarde composer and poet. In his most famous work, 4'33", he presents a score in which the musician does not play for a set period of time which totals 4 minutes and 33 seconds; he turns the idea of creating music on its head by asking the musician to create silence. John Cage was a frequent collaborator with Merce Cunningham. Stephen Sondheim: "No one is alone." Anarchy! Revolution, justice, screaming for solutions, forcing change, risk and danger, making noise and making pleas Buddha: (563 B.C. ? 487 B.C.) Born to a royal family in India, a young man grew up surrounded by wealth and comfort. When confronted with the suffering of the poor and sick just outside his door, he began a quest to find the secret to happiness. After 6 years of study and meditation, he arrived at a philosophy of moderation and detachment ? the Middle Way ? he was called Buddha, or the Awakened One ("budhi" means to "wake up"). For the last 45 years of his life, he traveled through India teaching what he had discovered. His teachings eventually became the modern religion of Buddhism. Gertrude Stein: (1874 ? 1946) "Everybody is contemporary." Avantgarde American writer and poet, she opened her Paris home to the artists and writers of the period between World War I and World War II, such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and Pablo Picasso. She told them "You are all a lost generation." Allen Ginsberg: (1926 - ) Poet of the "Beat Generation" of the late 1950's (along with Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso, Diane Di Prima, William S. Burroughs), his most celebrated poem is "Howl," which begins, "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by/madness, starving hysterical naked,/draggin themselves through the negro streets at dawn/looking for an angry fix/angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly/connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night." Seymour Krim wrote "Allen Ginsberg, chanter of the scorchingly present-tense 'Howl', is one of the true lunar voices rising about the skyscrapers; he has the courage of his imagination, and is keening a mighty song for his generation." Vaclav Havel: (1936 - ) Playwright, poet, essayist, who was jailed through much of the 1980's for his stance against the communist leadership of Czechoslovakia. In 1989, he became President of the newly democratic Czech Republic. "Everywhere in the world, people are surprised, how these malleable, humiliated, cynical citizens of Czechoslovakia, who seemingly believed in nothing found the tremendous strength within a few weeks to cast off the totalitarian system, in an entirely peaceful and dignified manner. We ourselves are surprised at it." Lenny Bruce: Cutting edge comedian of the 1950's, the first person jailed for swearing in public in the U.S. Played by Dustin Hoffman in the 1974 film, "Lenny." Maya Angelou: (1928 - ) Novelist, poet, historian, actress, playwright and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou (born Marguerite Johnson) began her career in drama and dance, but won world-wide fame in 1970 with her account of her childhood, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." In 1993, she wrote and delivered the presidential inauguration poem for President Clinton, "On the Pulse of Morning." You may write me down in history With your bitter twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Pablo Neruda: (1904 ? 1973) pseudonym of Neftali Ricardo Reyes y Basoalto, a Chilean poet who used highly symbolic language to describe the joys and horrors of life. Although he moved from symbolism to surrealism to realism throughout his career, he always concentrated on the dangers civilization could pose to the poor and oppressed. When he won the 1971 Nobel Prize for literature, the committee called him "the poet of violated human dignity." Langston Hughes: (1902 ? 1967) "The Poet Laureate of Harlem." Hughes was a prominent figure in the creative outpouring of the 1920's known as The Harlem Renaissance. His work was highly influenced by jazz, the blues, and the language of the street: "I tried to write poems like the songs they sang on Seventh Avenue?(those songs) had the pulse beat of the people who keep on going." In the morning the city spreads its wings making a song in stone that sings. Emotion, devotion to causing a commotion Huevos Rancheros: a spicy Mexican dish, usually prepared as hot wake-up breakfast: 1 can (32 oz.) refried beans 1 teaspoon Tabasco pepper sauce 1 dozen eggs butter or margarine � lb Monterey Jack Cheese 1 pk Corn tortillas Salsa Leaves from 10 sprigs cilantro, minced 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped 1 Jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons chopped onion � avocado, finely diced Combine all ingredients for salsa; set aside. Heat refried beans in a saucepan with Tabasco sauce; keep warm. Fry eggs in butter or margarine to desired doneness. Lay tortillas on each plate. Place one fried egg on each tortilla. Top with refried beans, cheese and salsa. Serve immediately. Serves 6. Uta Hagen: (1919 - ) Since she made her Broadway debut at 18 in the Lunt's famous production of Chekhov's The Seagull, she has played in such classic productions as Tennessee William's A Streetcar Named Desire, Clifford Odet's The Country Girl, George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan and Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She is best known as a teacher ? as Jack Lemmon has written, "This extraordinary woman is one of the greatest actresses I have seen in my lifetime, yet she has deliberately made her acting career secondary to teaching and directing others so that they might benefit." She has written "Respect for Acting," and "A Challenge for the Actor." Curry Vindaloo: Another spicy dish, this time from India. Extremely hot sauce based on such blazing ingredients as mustard seeds, cumin, coriander and red chilies. Usually blended with meat and served with rice. Here's a recipe for Vindaloo curry and Pork: 2 lb lean pork 1 � oz ginger 4 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons chili powder 2 tablespoons tumeric 1 tablespoon salt 5 cardamoms 5 cloves 2 cm cinnamon stick 6 black peppercorns 7/8 oz coriander � oz cumin 3 1/3 tablespoons vinegar spring curry leaves 5 1/8 tablespoons oil 1 tablespoon mustard 10 1/8 tablespoons water Wash and cube the meat. Grind together the ginger, garlic, chili powder, tumeric, salt, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, coriander and cumin together with vinegar. Place the meat in a bowl, add the ground ingredents and leave to marinate for 30 minutes. Place the curry leaves on top of the mixture and cover bowl. Place in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning the meat over 2-3 times during that time. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. Cover with a lid and cook until they pop, then add the pork plus the marinade. Pour in the water, re-cover and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Take the lid off the pan and simmer until the pork is cooked and tender. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving. Susan Sontag: (1933 - ) Film critic and essayist, her essays in the '60s and '70s had a powerful impact on America's counterculture. She is best known for her works "Illness as metaphor" (1978) and "AIDS and its metaphors" (1989), in which she analyses how society's reactions to those afflicted with disease over the centuries have more to do with preconceived notions and fears (what she calls "metaphors") than reality. "One can never underestimate how irrational people become when they are really frightened." Let he among us without sin be the first to condemn La vie Boheme! IDEAS FOR RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION Discuss the role of inspiration in art ? how can a person be an inspiration. How are Mimi and Angel inspirations in RENT? Mark Angel ? I hear you ? I hear it I see it ? I see it My film! Roger Mimi ? I see you ? I see it I hear it ? I hear it My song! | |||||||||||||||||||
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