Rent 1996 Opening Night-Seasons Of Love

[ArthurSBrahm]

Jonathan Larson R.I.P.

[metalmilitia89]

120p we meet again

[wirezd0]

Good thing video recording quality has gotten better since 1996... :P

[ambskater97]

@jaszon28 I hope to God you don't mean Gwen. If so, clean out your ears.

[wow1567]

absolutely incredible

[xJacobAlan]

Anyone else realize that this is what started the life-changing musical's journey.

Johnathan Larson, thank you for changing my life, in such an amazing way. I tear up everytime i hear/sing this.

[shelbsey]

lmao at the cameraguy trying to figure out which black guy is singing at 1:44

[Jtscott18098]

idina better sing!!!!

[tonigke]

@gabethatislander your welcome !! hihihi really? ok i laugh a little but i understand , it's terrible to try find an answer for so many years , but in the end it will come to you ;)

[tonigke]

@gabethatislander fredi walker is the one who plays joanne and gwen stewart is the one who sings the solo !

[printerbabe]

I thought the whole first act up to la vie boheme was just them sat on the tables? Because they were too upset, but then the songs became more upbeat...

I could have wrong information...blame wikipedia :L

Best musical ever :) LONG LIVE THE JONATHAN LARSON LEGACY <3

[esivetts]

@printerbabe that was the very very first performance-- it was off-broadway, whereas this is at the nederland (i think?) theatre on broadway. :3

[jsunflyguy]

Remember this was a slight improv, they added this to the opening when the composer died the night before.

[jeffrx]

Thanks for the videos! This show is great and will always be a part of my life!

[irishbluejay]

all the more amazing considering jonathan larsen died about 12 hours before

[jpsjps300]

@irishbluejay this is the broadway opening... he died months before this 12 hours before the off-broadway opening

[PEP123produtions]

Look like zombies....

[PEP123produtions]

The people kinda

[sweetypeady]

Idina Menzel is in this right?

[pussiepie1470]

@sweetypeady yes, she's maureen

[sweetypeady]

@pussiepie1470 Yeah I know, I just didn't see her..

[60708]

WHY DOES THERE HAVE TO BE FUCKIN DEBATE ON EVERY VIDEO. CHILL OUT

[ambskater97]

This all happened 15 years ago yesterday. And with this song, a legend was born!

[tipofmytongue1024]

I ALWAAAAY HATEEEDD Taye Diggs' clap!!! I made fun of it when our Community College did a production of it throughout our run.

[vaultingdiva]

This song should go down in history as the best ever.

[souprfarmergirl]

that you posted it, I pressed enter too soon =.=

[souprfarmergirl]

You have no idea how jealous I am of you to be able to see this the very first time it was performed on broadway, even more than that im extremely thankful that t

[Woodrokiro]

And so a legend was born.

[musicaljones11]

wow gwens voice came along way from this

[vitamonster210]

to imagine that these guys did such an amazing job on opening night just hours after they lost their good friend Jonathan Larson. God bless him for giving us this strong message.

[supertaquito94]

@vitamonster210 This is the opening night on Broadway, he died right before the off-Broadway opening night.

[Mastas999]

@supertaquito94 And if the doctor wasn't a fool and held his chest x-ray up to the whiteboard ... they would of found his aortic dissection and would of had a 90% chance to cure it and Johnathon Larson would still be gracing us with our presence today. Such a shame hes gone.

[Mastas999]

@Mastas999 Jonathon*

[hollywood9314]

@Mastas999 i know this is going to sound terrible, and i absolutely love jonathan larson and i dont mean to sound cruel. but i dont think RENT would be the phenomenon it is today if jonathan was alive.when jonathan passed away, the whole cast connected on a deeper emotional level, because of the great loss they had felt together. the emotion is what makes the show. i love jonathan larson and i thank him for giving us an AMAZING show. but it would never be what it is toaday, if he were still here

[hollywood9314]

@vitamonster210 this wasnt the night after jonathan died. jonathan passed away before the previews had started. the night that john had passed they sat down and read through the show. it wasnt an actual performance.

[1111che]

sorry but the vid scks

[kitara251]

Never get tired of hearing 'seasons of love' and Gwen's solo. Thank you Jonathan Larson!!

[mallets4life]

I would have bawled if I had been there. Nuff said.

[Esaristu]

Measure you life in La Wuv...never liked how she sang that...Love Rent though!

[Memnb2013]

i like the way they did it in the movie version better with just the principle cast members on the stage and no one else with joanne and collins doing the solo's, it gave it a more friendly feel cuz they were all friends and not like the entire cast where some people may or may not know others.

[sausageyman]

@Memnb2013 but in the stage show they do all know each other...like in la vie boheme they are all sat at the same table

[Memnb2013]

@sausageyman true true but idk i just like the way the movie handled it more than the stage version, and i also like the way that the movie did la vie boheme too, with roger and mimi going outside to sing "I Should Tell You" and then coming back inside and being part of the second part of la vie boheme and with Joanne in the cafe the whole time instead of coming back and forth.

[iluvdng07]

@Memnb2013

You do realise since this was on stage it was impossible for them to go outside and sing, right? I do agree with u, though. I like how in the movie they had their own moment, but in the stage production the director has to accommodate the setting.

[IheartNaley]

This is HISTORY right here. Absolute magic!!!

[KristinandIdinagirl]

Who in this sane world could have voted down on this? Someone is really crazy.

[KristinandIdinagirl]

Thank you, Jonathan Larson. Thank you, Jonathan Larson. Thank you, Jonathan Larson. Thank you Jonathan Larson. Thank you, Jonathan Larson. Thank you, Jonathan Larson. Thank you, Jonathan Larson. It cannot be stressed enough. Thank you, Jonathan Larson.

[queensammi]

The revival coming off-broadway next year!!!!!! Could not be more excited, I loved it back then when I saw it w/ the OBC, and I still do!! Seems corny, but this show truly changed my persfective...

[bludwyng]

This show should NEVER have closed. It should have run forever.

[killersolo5]

I was watching this video and the second it was over a commercial came on TV and seasons of love was the background song!! They finally have a good song on TV!!!

[prue6967]

Just because this phrase can't be said enough...thank you, Jonathan Larson. RIP <3

[LoverofPOTO]

Gwen Stewart is my life <3

[Rory875]

You have no idea how much this video means to me. This is practically the foundation of, well, me.

[mikockla]

If this is the first night on broadway... that's the day after jonathan larson died I think.

[jemmopp]

@mikockla Larson died the night before the show's first off-broadway performance on Jan 25, 1996. The cast decided to simply do a sing-through of the show in his honor while sitting at the 3 set tables, but by the time they got to La Vie Boheme they couldn't contain the energy of the show and did the full second act as intended, minus costumes.

This is the broadway opening night a few months later, on April 29, 1996.

[jwrhodes]

God, can you IMAGINE being the first audience to hear this song?

[SweetTalk1o1]

this sorta brought tears to my eyes ///

[KrfNYC2]

Love...(sigh).

[Firstworldleader]

Ha I remember seeing this opening night, and the tribute to the director who passed right before opening day.

[slaysq]

thank you for this video. how amazing such an event.



[MrFriendliest]

So for our 8th grade trip a few weeks ago, we saw In the Heights in new york. Don't get me wrong, in the heights was actually really really good, but RENT will always be my favorite musical. It would have truly been amazing to have seen where it all began(opening night) but alas, I was born in 1995.

[Stochiii1]

@MrFriendliest i saw In the Heights too when it came to San Diego for tour and actully In the Heights got me into RENT :) i can't really pick from those too because i really love them both. Me too i would of loved to seen it but i too was born in 1995 :\

when you went to see In the Heights in new york did you see it with Lin-Manuel as Usnavi? :)

[MrFriendliest]

@Stochiii1 I don't believe so.

[elphieLil]

good holy lord...I must be dead and already in heaven!!thank you so much for posting it,and your dad is an angel for taping it!!I wish I could have seen it live....it must have been a magical experience :)

[cheymckenzie96]

is jesse l martin the origanal collins???

[idinasfavefanzel]

@cheymckenzie96 Yes

[moiraghblue]

um, he is the ONLY Collins that ever mattered! No one but the origianl cast should ever be allowed to perform RENT.

[cheymckenzie96]

@moiraghblue well i just thought he was so much better than the others ive seen play him so i kinda figured i just wanted to be sure

[LukeWittz]

@cheymckenzie96 collins and joanne dont sing the solos in the broadway production

[wrathofthemedusa]

crying........

[fashionfascio]

AMAZING

[allaboutmad]

@shutupppppppp yupp

[stormytrymaya]

I can not belive this is on youtube, I have been trying to find this everywhere! Thank you so very much idinasfavefanzel for posting this speical show where everyone can see their spectacular opening night!

[shutupppppppp]

Is that Daphne Rubin-Vega? That didn't seem like her.

[TheMintyMuffin]

@shutupppppppp

It is her :) OBC, baby!

[10zengirl10]

I THAT IS AMAZING. I can't even begin to imagine how incredible it must have been on opening night! God, it still gives me chills and I've heard this song/seen videos of it/seen the movie number about a billion times.

[phillyeagles0328]

holy hell is this legit???????????

[unfabulous386]

rent = love <3

[ssnape]

is the lady soloist also the one in the filmed live on broadway 2008????

[idinasfavefanzel]

Yes.

[xJordanxox]

they made the RENT movie. but the original mimi was pregnant and the original joanne was to old.

[unfabulous386]

AMAZING!

[mmf0317]

god bless your dad!

[saraybrunette]

:D:D:D IM GOING TO SEE THIS ON SUNDAY!!!! WITH THE ORIGINAL MARK AND THE ORIGINAL RODGER!! YAYY!!!! w00t! es my favorite musical!!! YAY

[mare57brapp]

THAT IS SO SICK!

which theatre?!

[computerguy105]

@mare57brapp neaderlander theater.

[aemanuels]

the original mrs jefferson will be there too... best Seasons of Love soloist EVER! i saw it in SF twice in november and it changed my life

[jchung2527]

Saw them in Miami on Dec 8th! Unbelievable... Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal were ridiculous!

[computerguy105]

@jchung2527 THEY WERE GREAT! hell of a performance. i didnt care for the rest of the cast though

[MvyMkr]

Oh Myyyyyyyyyy!

Jonathan had a unique gift to just make music seem transcendant! The notes and the lyrics, the tune and the message - even the simple staging decisions - all just come together to form something so pure!

GENIUS!

[hibityhabity]

jonathan died so suddenly from an anerysm the saddest story ive heard

[MvyMkr]

Whats sadder is it was all less sudden than you might think. He had twice been misdiagnosed first with food poisoning and then I believe with flu.

Genuinely terrible!!!

[faithietayter]

howd you get this?

[idinasfavefanzel]

My dad taped it.

[xbellaxbrutalityx]

@idinasfavefanzel your dad is officially amazing.

[elchistoso100]

@idinasfavefanzel

That's interesting to know. If your Dad did indeed film this, then you would know this has been mis-circulated as the opening night video, when it's just a preview performance.

[hollywood9314]

@elchistoso100 actually, if youre saying it has been mis-circulated because of what happened when they just sang through the show the night after Jonathan passed away, that was the opening preview, not opening night of the broadway show. this really is openning night

[elchistoso100]

@hollywood9314 ??? i didn't say that, i said it's a video from it's broadway preview run, lol.

[Firesoar13]

@idinasfavefanzel He's lucky he wasn't caught.

[somewhatcompetent]

@idinasfavefanzel I like your dad....just saying in a non creepy way. okay...do-over...your dad's cool for that. lol

[LaughingViolinist]

isn't this the day Jonathon Larson died?

i'll cover you must have had so much more meaning.

[idinasfavefanzel]

No, he died the day before the opening night Off-Broadway. This is the opening night on Broadway.

[Kdelossantos2]

no, he died the night before the first preveiw

[LullabyofBroadway7]

@idinasfavefanzel You're kidding! WOOOW i didn't know that! I don't know why, but I find it veeeeeeery meaningful

[chinaeitak]

ya that was so sad he went home after the dress rehearsal the day before and died alone in his house i love this musical sooooo much!!!!! <3 Katie

[WickedMaureenJohnson]

LOVE.

[kalden07]

How is this possible!?

[daisukefan92]

this was back then when the theater did not have a lot of sucurty.

[carolinep201]

lmfao!!

[Pilito51]

wow jessica who woulda thought you'd have opening night

[idinasfavefanzel]

Uhm....Thanks?

[openanotherdoor]

Pffft...

I Guess...

[fasho003216]

haha. oh my gosh. amazing as ever.

[VMKAnimaniac]

Wow, so Taye Digg's clap has always been that way?

[idinasfavefanzel]

Ahahahah, that made me laugh :D

[fasho003216]

lol lol lol! taye. that's hilarious.

[thx97JxR]

thank you Jonathan Larson.

[GlindaTheGood09]

AMEN!