Rent, the Musical

I may now count myself as among those who saw Rent, the Musical. Now I know why Pete considered it his favorite. Made in 1996, Rent was among the first to feature GLBT characters living in a bohemia in New York, some living with AIDS. For Pete, at the age of 18, the visibility of these characters, as well as the cuteness (for him at the time) of actors that played Roger and another, made him love the play so much that he has memorized all the songs. He told me that Rent made a big impact on him, which I could see.

With ASL interpreters at the event, I was able to watch and understand the musical almost as much as hearing audience can. During the music sequence (what do you call it?), the ASL performance could be very beautiful. This is probably the kind of magnificent performances of ASL that people kept talking about, that I sometimes couldn't see.

I came to the musical 6 minutes after it started, the BART train for some reason had a delay at West Oakland. After I got there, the usher directed me to my assigned seat. I didn't get a chance to chat with Pete until Act One was over.