577 words
4 minute read
Will I? - We see Steve, from support group, standing and singing alone. His voice is shaking as he asks, “Will I lose my dignity?” We follow Mark, camera in hand, as he is on the periphery of the stage, alone, documenting everything. Soon, from everywhere in the room, voices are heard singing Steve’s refrain.
This has always been one of our favorite numbers but Rent Live’s version of it has us loving it even more. We love how the theme of the song is isolation and we see everyone from Steve, to Mark, to Benny, experiencing it.
We love the surround-sound of being enveloped by singers. And that all the voice parts were so glorious. It reminds us of singing in choir - of concerts where all the choirs were taught the same song and we all sang it from different parts of the auditorium, coming in at different times.
This song in particular really centers the narrative on this huge portion of the population experiencing a chronic / terminal illness epidemic with minimal help or care from people in power. At this point in history (which Rent Live consistently points out) AIDS is basically a death sentence. And those with it largely only had each other to turn to.
Just a really beautiful piece. Do yourself a favor and listen to it.
On The Street - Mark, Angel and Collins come upon police harassing homeless people on a bench. Collins greets the officers and then backs off while Mark zooms in on the officer’s badge and tells him to “Smile for Ted Koppel” and calls the officer by name.
The police clear out, and one of the women the police were harassing is rightly upset at being used, essentially, as a prop in Mark’s film. She asks if he has a dollar and then laughs, “I thought not,” when Mark fails to produce one, walking away.
There’s so much to this song. It’s especially relevant in the current climate when people of color are regularly targeted by police (and witnesses only weapons to stop harassment are their phones, to document what’s happening.
We LOVE seeing this woman’s visceral reaction at being filmed without her consent. She’s not happy. Not grateful. She’s not about to be used as a prop in anybody’s film, or for anybody’s cause.
Santa Fe - Collins, Angel and Mark continue down the street and Collins begins sharing his frustration with grading papers, nightmares and poverty. He dreams of opening up a restaurant with Angel in Santa Fe.
Honestly, this isn’t a favorite song of ours, but Brandon Victor Dixon really performs it well (as he does everything - let’s be honest.) We also really like the choreography of this piece.
Our favorite part, though? The very end, when Mark’s just hanging out, watching as Angel and Collins stare deeply into each other’s eyes and realize that he’s a third wheel. He tells them he’ll leave them now, but see them later, at Maureen’s show. Collins asks Mark to try and convince Roger to come and Mark laughs, “Have fun, you two.”
So sweet.
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