The movie Rent was on the television last week. I loved the Broadway show Rent and the original cast recording, but I’d never seen the movie. I know all the songs by heart. The first time I saw the show, there were people in the audience singing along with the songs during the show. That annoyed me. The second time I saw the show, I was one of those people. (And not for nothing, if Adam Pascal’s wife ever puts him out, and he’s looking for a sweet chocolate occasionally neurotic aspiring writer with a bit of manageable baggage and (sadly) no church, I’m your sweet caramel.)

But I digress…

Rent was not the first Broadway show that I saw, but it was the first one that I fell in love with. What impressed me was the quality of the cast, the intensity of the music, and story behind the story. Jonathan Larson wrote this brilliant show, with much of the content inspired by his own life’s events and, of course, Puccini’s La Boheme. He had spent years of his life pursuing a dream, and the night before the show was to debut on Broadway, Larson died before he got to enjoy its success. Still, I have to think that he enjoyed the process, and that he knew, as he attended the final dress rehearsal, that he had accomplished something extraordinary. That must have felt pretty good.

There are so many storylines in the production, and really each one makes me cry. I saw the show the first time with my first real love, and I was like Mimi without the great body and drug habit, and he was probably more like Benny, but he looked more like Roger, and there were times when we were both a bit of Joanne (“a snob and over-attentive”) and I’m sure I moo’ed like Maureen, was blocked from pursuing my dream like Mark, desperate and eager in my expressions of love like Angel, and … well, I was probably never like Tom Collins. And all of that is probably what made the production so popular. No, not how it related to my life, but how everyone could relate to the feelings and sometimes even the events portrayed in the show.

My favorite song in the show is I’ll Cover You, sung by Angel and Tom Collins. Angel has nursed a recently mugged Tom back to health, after the two were instantly drawn to each other. Tom’s coat has been taken, and Angel takes his/her money to buy Tom a “new-ish” coat. The two precede to pronounce their love for each other in song (duh…it’s a musical), and what comes out is a beautiful love song.

“Live in my house. I’ll be your shelter. Just pay me back with one thousand kisses… I’ll cover you with a thousand sweet kisses.” – Jonathan D. Larson

I think that’s the kind of love that Larson wanted to experience and believed could be experienced and likely did experience, and probably that’s why I like the song so much. I’m a hopeful romantic, knocked down a few times, but still plugging away at life in search of my dreams. Maybe I need to get mugged…

So, Rent closes on Broadway on September 7th. There’s a part of me that would love to be there, but I don’t think Adam, Jesse L., Anthony, Taye, Idina, or any of the gals from the original cast will be on the stage. That’s probably a good thing, because after I rushed the stage, I’m sure there would be too many restraining orders against me, and who wants to deal with that madness?

Anyway, I like the memories I have from Rent and the feelings that rise up inside me whenever I hear and sing along with the songs. More than that, though, I like the passion of Jonathan Larson, and the inspiration he is for writers of all kinds.