of nothingness - Thank you Jonathon Larson

08:37 am - Thank you Jonathon Larson

I discovered rent on Dateline or 60 minutes or some other similar news magazine that my parents watched. It was an Obituary piece commemorating the life of Jonathon Larson who had died the day before his musical, Rent was to open at the New York Theater Workshop. The piece featured "glory" (sang by roger's character). The cast member was singing...film was black and white. the sound took my breath away. The names REnt and Jonathon Larson were filed in the back of my mind.

Two years later while on a field trip with the High School Gifted and TAlented english classes (we saw Pirates of Penzance sp?) i bought the soundtrack for rent on cassette tape at Books a Million. I loved the music, I committed to memory such obvious favorites as La Vie Bohem and with out you....but again the bulk of rent was filed away in the back of my mind.

Then i went to Oxford Mississippi. One day at Band rehearsal i was humming softly to myself...five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes...and this baritone player named Josh began singing Dearly beloved we gather here to say our goodbyes....and this was my introduction to the entirety of my social network at Ole Miss. Josh, and josh's friends and I would go to parties, occasionally we would sing selections from rent or from the current show we were playing. Josh was a flamer, thin and slightly twinkie-esque and no longer on speaking terms with his family because of his sexual orientation...for a time he was like my brother until i had to quickly leave oxford to return home.

Rent was the sound track of my life in the dark year between ole miss and murray state. for a few months, mark roger mimi maureen and joanne were my only companions. this actually continued for about a year or so in my stay at murray. til i met another Josh. Josh, Adam, and courtney Tanner (yes eddy, she's a real person). working at subway late one night they came in to the store....and i believe the song was "it's beginning to snow" we each took several parts all of us sounded schitzophrenic trying to sing the parts of a 30 member chorus. Again, Rent helped me to identify who among the masses of country fans, rodeo enthusiasts, and gothed addicts I could call friends...and again it was a flamer who could belt out rogers lament for fleeting chances at fame (josh) and roger's solo toast to the little town of bethlehem (adam) and mimi's take me out tonight (tanner).... but that group left town one by one. josh and adam split up, tanner dropped out until again I was alone in a rentless world. again i filed the sound track away in the back of my mind.

until one night at hazel house. i was still at that time uncertain about all of these new people i was hanging out with...they were cool, but did i know that they would or could possibly be that new group of close and intimate friends..... then there was this comment about a restaruant in santa fe, suddenly there was a full out launching of rent songs from this rag tag chorus...la vie bohem, tango maureen, will I loose my dignity?, five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes...and i knew at last that i had found this new family. they just needed the introduction, the sign, the approval of jonathon Larson.

i know that this musical has touched more people in vastly more profound ways...but rent has always been for me, an introduction to a new "family" of sorts and for that....thank you Jonathon Larson


****rent was released on DVD Feb. 22, 2006. included is a documentary on the life, work, and death of Jonathon Larson. Film version includes most of the original cast members (mimi and joanne are new).

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