Anthony Rapp Books

This book has everything you need if you are interested in more than just the movie. The whole script is included. Interviews with the entire cast! The whole story of how rent was created, start to finish. It is worth every penny and is the only rent book you'll ever need.

An absolute necessity for any renthead. only complaint is it is written early on in the broadway run but really that is the end of the story mostly.
rent has etched itself into my psyche like a weevil. there is not a morning that i wake up that one of the songs is not in my head. i sell music and i have never came across a group of music that has had this effect on me.
perhaps the story of larson's early demise colors it and adds that extra tragic twist that keeps it inside your soul but whatever it has provided the most joyus ride into musical bliss that i have ever experienced yet.
(move over "pet sounds", "west side story", "toy matinee" & "eli & the 13th confession".
the book is laid out well, quite informative. even has comments from the pit band (who are essential).
GET THIS if you have to futher feed your rent needs.
viva la vie bohem.

I wasn't a big fan of "Rent" until I saw the movie, and when I read this book, it gave me a bigger meaning to the play/movie.

Warning: This is just for fans of "Rent". Those who haven't seen the movie will get into the story of how it was made, but not as much the screenplay.

The life of Jonathan, how Rent was born, how it still grows... The neverending story of the musical that changed (and continues changing) the world. A MUST for every renthead, but also for everyone who likes this musical (both the stage version or the movie). A lot of informations, photos, the musical script...
You HAVE TO BUY IT!!!
...it made me cry... it's SO real... and SO full of love... AMAZING!!!

Daughter is "Rent Head" she cried of happiness when she received for Christmas so That gets 5++++ Stars in my book.

Anthony Rapp was in on the creation of the masterpiece which became the Broadway sensation "Rent," almost from the beginning. He has written his memoir of that experience with great sensitivity and insight.

This book is a riveting tale about the creative process, how a play goes through its evolution to get to Broadway, and how every once in awhile a theatrical miracle can happen which changes everyone's lives. "Rent" is such a miracle. I just saw the play once again on Broadway this past weekend. I took my teenaged daughters to see it. After eleven years, it is finally closing down some time this year. If you cannot get to New York to see the play, rent the movie. It's not as good, but almost.

I loved this book, and recommend it to anyone who has ever overcome adversity to pursue a dream.

This book is amazing. It's a great read, easy to follow and really hits at your heart. I would reccommend it to everyone.

I am a fan of Anthony Rapp's and a major fan of Rent, so I felt the need to pick up this book. It gives you such great insight into Anthony as a person and there was a lot in here to which I could relate. Plus, you get to follow along with the backstory behind Rent, which I also found very informative and entertaining. But above all, Anthony pleasantly surprised me with his writing talent. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I hope he continues to write in the future.

At first when I wanted to get this audio book I went to Barnes and Nobles. Figured, Hey, might as well save on shipping and handling. They never told me a price and told me it'd be in soon. TWO months go by and still no book! I go in every week and ask them, do you have my audio book yet?? they say No, we can't find it in any warehouse anywhere. Finally I say take me off the list, I'm going to Amazon.com. I also ask them what was the price? They say "about $70" I am so glad that I never got it from them!! I saved FIFTY bucks with amazon.com and also got it in TWO DAYS!! And that was with the cheapest shipping they have! It made the entire process worth it. And the audio book is simply amazing, I read the book about two years ago and now I listen to the Audio Book in the car while I'm driving. It's extremely relaxing and Anthony's voice is so soothing and I don't feel alone when I drive alone at night.

Since I'm a big fan of Rent, I enjoyed this a lot. A revealing look at Jon Larson and his cast in the early days.

I don't have much to say about Rent except for that it was well directed and has a great story line. It's definitely not a "for everyone" movie, but for the right person it definitely tugs at the heart strings. I cannot count the number of times I have watched it and/or listened to the soundtrack. The movie was very well cast and the addition of Rosario Dawson & Traci Tomms as JoAnne and Mimi were exquisite - I actually prefer them over the originals.

I have never seen the play, i wasn't all that interested in Rent as a whole until i actually saw it. I fell in love with this instantly and wouldn't mind seeing the play sometime now. Just goes to show, never judge a book by its cover.

Rent is the most amazing and touching movie I have ever seen in my entire life! The songs, the characters and the story are all completely real. The songs are catchy, the characters are colorful, and the story is beautiful. This is the most beautiful movie I have ever seen and it is AMAZING!

The musical RENT is a film adaptation of a Broadway play. I've recently seen a pretty dang good Chicago production of it. It's got no shortage of heart, lots of energy, and lots of laughs and tears. It's also got some weaknesses that are precariously close to being its death blow. Its flaws don't kill it, but they come close.

The performances are absolutely amazing. I don't have a single critical thing to say about any of the actors.

Musically, I know this music has made the global rounds and it's huge. I don't think there's anything bad to say about the musical score either.

But looking critically at RENT, both as a story and as a film, reveals glaring flaws that keep me personally from falling head-over-heels in love with it and becoming a full-fledged RENT-head. This story has some problems that are both unfortunate and major, paradoxically leaving me with a sense of disingenuousness. Which doesn't make sense considering its origin, where it came from, Larson. I shouldn't be able to call 'BS' on RENT and be justified, and yet I can.

RENT assumes rather than earns its authenticity.

RENT has an unflinching, unapologetic self-centeredness that both serves it and cripples it. It has devoted so much focus and effort into being Gen-X'y, bohemian, and anti-establishment, that it has overlooked having a genuine identity of its own. Its uniqueness is stereotypical. It's confined to its freedom. Its portrayal of village artists and photographers is obvious, clunky, one-dimensional, cliché. The film is far too self-congratulatory to even consider noticing this.

RENT is trying (plaintively?) to make its characters' last year on Earth a celebration, but the thing is, I feel like a terrible situation of tremendous gravity, urgency, and despair has been turned into something of a 3-ring circus. On some level I feel like I have to question how seriously this was meant to be taken. Only its origin saves it from being creatively bankrupt. The exact same story coming from any Hollywood writer would rightfully get burned at the stake. Ultimately, these decisions ARE Larson's prerogative. I guess that being homeless and your imminent AIDS-related death doesn't automatically require an uptight documentary-style treatment.

RENT's excessive prettiness is also a big detriment to the film's authenticity, honestly. These people are awfully beautiful to be homeless AIDS victims. These are all designer characters. Their appearance is a deliberate, calculated, manicured image designed to make the idea more digestible. I rather suspect some watch this so they can feel like they've adopted some of the suffering of an underprivileged group of people. Do those individuals spend any actual time with the homeless? Who's to say. This mentality has infected other visual aspects of the film, too. Everything is so manicured and staged it becomes false. Everything is designer and Hollywood and perfect, including--nay, ESPECIALLY the abandoned buildings and alleys. The cinematography is a technical masterpiece and everything happens much too perfectly for me to believe in the world of RENT. It's not to be unexpected in a musical, but the nature of the subject matter changes the game quite a bit. Would I apply that equally to all films everywhere? Unfortunately, we're in the territory of art criticism here and it's subjective--and context matters, so no. For instance, Chicago has all the exact same traits, but they work for the film it instead of against it. And, say, a maverick cop out to kick some butt lacking authenticity is an entirely different ball game than being fake about THIS.

The entire scene with Sarah Silverman is the epitome of what I'm talking about. It fails to be the stark contrast with the rest of the film that it's trying to be. Furthermore, the entire subplot is an absurd non sequitur, but that's beside the point. It's trying to contrast how perfectly neat and tidy this corporate world is with how free and loose the world of the rest of the film is, but the entire film is actually neat and tidy--the spontaneity and freedom are artificial. I don't buy it.

But thanks to the performances, damn, RENT sure does have a fire in its britches.

In a way, it is simultaneously justified and questionable to call this film fakey, as it is just Jonathon Larson's feelings on the subject rendered in musical form. It really has an energy to it, no denying that. It really challenges you to drop your hangups and relax and enjoy the ride.

I'm not a RENT-head, nor do I hate it. I don't think it's mediocre, canned, or kitsch. I don't think it's amazing or enlightening. Calling it pretentious isn't exactly fair, though there is a pretentiousness to it. I do, however, feel confident in saying both that it has flaws and has something to it.

So, how you feel about RENT will always come down to how deeply you connect to the characters and how much you're feeling the music. Is it an electrifying, heartbreaking celebration of life and love, or is it a mockery? Both cases could be made. My bottom line opinion: RENT is successful in spite of itself. The actors work harder than they should have to to sell a story that's working against them, confined by excessively stiff character molds--and they are so good, they pull it off. What's strong is incredibly strong. But to pretend its flaws didn't exist would be, for me, an intellectual suicide.

The musical "Rent" was a phenomenon in the '90s. It served as an interesting period piece- all about the '80s and the destructive rise of AIDS. Its creator's premature death added luster to the updating of "La Boheme." The movie version of "Rent" is fascinating, considering it was directed by Chris Columbus of Home Alone&Harry Potter fame. Columbus sanitizes the drug use&promiscuity issues,making them sugar-coated and almost family-friendly. Columbus also renders such controversial issues as homosexuality normal,daring in a mainstream film.

"Rent" opens simply. On a bare stage,the cast sings the powerful "Seasons of Love." There are three parallel stories going on,making it more layered than the original La Boheme. Taye Diggs stars as an evil developer who wants to destroy an artists' collective to make way for corporate power. Maureen (Idina Menzel) is a performance artist,in a conflicted relationship with her girlfriend (Tracie Thoms) Jesse L. Martin stars as a gay philosopher whose life is saved by a drag queen named Angel. Adam Pascal stars as an aspiring songwriter,Roger,who encounters a stripper named Mimi (Rosario Dawson) Anthony Rapp stars as an aspiring filmmaker capturing the drama of life- from Maureen's protest to the support groups for those suffering from AIDS. There are musical highlights along the way,such as the hilarious "Tango Maureen",the hedonistic "La Vie Boheme" and the joyous ode to the Southwest,"Santa Fe." One of the best scenes is when Pascal is briefly in Santa Fe,among the canyons&before the St. Francis Cathedral (it is spectacular)

The story is complicated. Roger&Mimi deal with her heroin addiction,they break up&later reconcile. Maureen&her girlfriend have a lavish engagement,a falling-out,but they soon reconcile. The only couple that doesn't split is the professor&Angel. However,Angel dies from AIDS (while Mimi is miraculously healed of it) It's the gay couple that lasts--again,daring for a mainstream film. Homosexuality is presented in a normal way; Angel's gender ambiguity is treated as a fact of life,being called both "he"&"she" at his funeral.

"Rent" has catchy songs,spectacular production&a strong cast. Underneath its flashy&romantic facade,it's a thought-provoking musical. Rent is worth paying!