I'm really interested in changes to characters... I'm sure Jonathan would be happy with that because time has passed and also the characters have grown.
 

very nicely written blog. is the camera being eliminated completely? is art still an aspect of RENT and an area of extreme importance to these characters? o my gosh, i wanna fly to london tomorrow. break a leg. will there be a cast recording? remember, december 24, 9pm, cold cold brrrr...no heat, the power blows, keep that shirt on!
 

ooo an abercrombie mark, sounds great. soo can;t wait to come and see it. totally see where ur coming from with these changes.
 

after watching the show i can say with out a doubt the new view on mark works. lovin your work :-)
 

dear Oliver,
I just saw the play. I went in blind and was shocked by some of the changes but i think your blog is accurate and i except and understand the changes. I wasn't expecting it to be so different but i found mark more interesting in this version. You defiantly made mark more of a sexy guy then a geek. I think you have an amazing voice and body, however it was def. not what i was expecting. Break a leg.
-justine

ps. break a leg, and keep up the good work!
 

dear Oliver,
I just saw the play. I went in blind and was shocked by some of the changes but i think your blog is accurate and i except and understand the changes. I wasn't expecting it to be so different but i found mark more interesting in this version. You defiantly made mark more of a sexy guy then a geek. I think you have an amazing voice and body, however it was def. not what i was expecting. Break a leg.
-justine

ps. break a leg, and keep up the good work!
 

Curious though I am about the whole thing (and, believe me, as soon as I'm able to I'm seeing it), it just feels like it's losing what made Rent ... Well, Rent (ie. Rent is a rock-opera, not a pop musical.)

Don't get me wrong. I'm hardly a purist and I am definitely NOT a Mark!girl by any means. But while new views on it are great and totally needed after 11 years, you can't simply re-invent a character who more or less makes the show what it is. Obviously Mark is from a completely different life than Mimi or Roger, yet in making his choice to live his life the way does, he's not going to be wearing Abercrombie and suddenly be all stylish. That would make him seem more like Benny, which would totally take away from the character foils created within the show.

Also, those people who only ever associate Mark with his camera or scarf are the people who aren't really going to care too much either way. Anybody who's actually taken the time to take in the show can see that Mark, perhaps out of more than any other character (Roger possibly being the only exception), has the most emotional journey. He might not be much of a dynamic character, but it's Mark who drives the show forward and from a narrative perspective it's going to come off as limited.

And I'm sure, too, that there are many arguments for the opposite view, and that loads of fans of what the show is now will love the new re-invention -- I mean, for all I know i could be one of them. I really think it's great that a group of people are taking the time to make Rent mainstream again, but it shouldn't be forgotten that kids as young as ten are seeing the show on Broadway still and loving it.
 

Abercrombie...stylish?? I think not haha x
 

Thanks Oliver for sharing your views and experience via this blog! Getting the opportunity to see through the eyes of an insider how a character is developed and/or reinvented is something that doesn't happen all that often, and for that we theatre-goers and -lovers should be extremely grateful.

Personally, I have refrained from posting any comment so far, since I have yet to see your work - but I'm coming over this weekend!
Having read your comments, and even more having gathered some aspects of the producers' view on your character, though, I can't help sharing with you my two cents... and honestly, they do rhyme along with most of what Lauzzie just said.
While I am very open to changes and I am curious to see how your character has evolved through the years, I am slightly taken aback by statements such as "Mark has a limited emotional journey" in the original staging.
Sure, he has chosen to live amongst 'Bohemians' while he could have stayed at home with his family, yet - as was clearly and effectively expressed in the movie version - Mark is happy to be there (as opposed to being with his family) despite being at a time broke, with no food and no heat. Sure, he's in a different condition with respect to his friends, as is very clearly expressed in the little outburst he has when confronted by Roger during 'Goodbye, love', when he lets out a nearly furious/desperate 'perhaps it's because I'm the one of us to survive'. But it is through being slightly different, through belonging only partly to the rest of his group of friends that Mark can tell the story, at times directly from the inside, at times from the outside looking in through the lens of his camera. And Mark definitely goes from being geeky and shy-ish and totally subordinate to Maureen to realising what he really wants to do with his life (i.e. not accepting compromises and embrace his art instead of working for Buzzline) as well as fully getting the jist of whate RENT is all about, that is the importance of having a "second family" made of friends and people who love and support him, of being honest to himself and to his feelings, of living avery day to their fullest...

So, please, let's be honest. One thing is choosing to re-invent a character, and dressing him up in A&F (which is quite funny, cuz one of Jonathan Larson's beliefs was apparently that characters on stage were to wear nothing that could point to a specific trademark) and showing off that he's been working out and taking good care of his looks, which is all good. I am going to try and embrace all the changes you guys have made with no preconceptions, cuz that - I believe - is the spirit a revival should be faced with... yet please, let's not say that Mark's character as originated had this kind of flaw, because that is really not quite true. As Lauzzie said, those referring to Mark as 'the one with the camera' probably would have referred to Angel as 'the one in the Santa drag', to Mimi as 'the slutty drug addict' and to Roger as the 'former rockstar with an addiction problem' which is really much of a misconception of what RENT is about.
Break a leg and keep up the good work,
Andy

"Share love, give love, spread love... measure your life in love"
 

haha - I don't really know much about the original rent...except that I've heard the soundtrack and saw the god awful film...'the changes' seem quite political, but very interesting so gonna try and read up on the first rent, as I'm more curious now. Something I don't understand about the trademarks thing...I'm sure Collins sings (before Angel's first song) something about Bustello and Marlboro, then later about Stoli...but those are trademarks too...!! I'm gonna post a comment about what I thought on the show :)
 

Hey, Michael!
Sure, if you know little about the original staging and you're not familiar with certain elements, there's every chance that some of my remarks sound quite pointless, but I guess it's good to get a chance to exchange opinions, no matter what.
As for the trademark thingie - which is not the biggest of deals, anyway - you may have noted that I referred to 'wearing' trademarks. Bustelo, Marlboro and Stoli did make it into the original script, as did Captain Crunch for what matters... yet one thing is being able to afford vodka and cigarettes because someone has earned some big money over 'helping' a dog "bark itself to death", another thing is wearing a whole set of A&F clothes in mint conditions - the way I see it, if you were broke and unable to pay the rent, I doubt that you could afford to buy hoodie after hoodie at their store...
 

Sure I will give it a go because I like Rent and I like new (really new) revivals (not re-release the same old show). But there's something that's worrying me about Mark... if he's wearing abercrombie and no glasses, is he moving like a rapper or going like "hey yo"? I hope not. Because it's hard to believe someone like the one on the pictures can actually sing the lines in "La Vie Boheme". But I will tell about it when I see it! Til then, break a leg!
 

Mark was my favorite character in the original Rent and I was quite worried after reading this. However after seeing Rent Remixed i could not love what has happened to Mark anymore! He is still my favorite character and that tango was friggin HOT!
 

Ok well, firstly I shall say that I have never seen the original stage version of RENT, (which might in fact make me slightly more open-minded than many...) although I have seen the movie, and I have done my fair share of research on the topics and meanings of the show.
Therefore I feel a need to express my worry over the changes in the character of Mark. Firstly, I frankly do NOT understand the reason behind your thinking that Mark maybe didn't have as big a character arc or as deep an emotional journey as other characters! It seems quite obvious to me that his emotional journey is in fact the main force that drives the musical forward, and in songs such as "Halloween" "Goodbye Love" and even "Rent" itself, the audience get to delve deep into his psyche. It also seems to me that it depends on the way you play him. In the funeral scene for example, Mark shouldn't be able to let himself cry because he still hasn't reached that stage of emotional maturity and vulnerability that comes with becoming comfortable with yourself and your feelings, whereas at the end he gets to grips a bit more with the idea of being "alive" and truly "living for today!"
Secondly, I don't really understand why the fact of his higher-class upbringing needs to be explored. Isn't the whole point of living "La Vie Boheme" that everybody comes together, no matter what race, class or sexual orientation, and is equal!? Stressing Mark's upbringing in the way you talk about seems to me to take away from the main ideal of the character's lives and start re-grouping individuals as sections of society!
Thirdly, the whole notion of a more "preppie" mark seems to me absolutely laughable! This show was meant to define a nation and an age, to relate to young people and let them know it's alright to be themselves! WHY then! Must you insist on having Mark be one of the "preps," thus alienating the very people who have found such comfort in relating themselves to him as a character! So what if people think of Mark as the one with the glasses or the camera! The camera is a vital tool of expressing Mark's alienation from truly experiencing life, and how he distances himself from the action, acting very much as an observer, rather than experiencing the highs and lows of life first hand.
Finally, the whole "Abercrombie" label also seems very hypochritical, RENT being about not letting labels confine you, and fashions not being a big deal or indeed relevant at all to the life these people lead. To become so caught up in this seems to go against the very concept of RENT itself, to trivial details that Larson quite obviously disliked.
I understand you are all professionals and I am merely a 16 year old girl with a view, but I fear that the true message of RENT is being lost behind stereotypes and genres that the musical tried to break free from in the first place.
I'm sure there are many more things I could say on the subject of Mark (Him being such a complex and intricately interesting character) on this issue, but I do realise that I have not yet seen your portrayal of the character on stage...I am coming to see it tomorrow when I shall make my final judgement, but I hope this comment may have helped give an insight to why many a RENTHead is skeptical on your changes!
All that is left to say now is thank you for taking the time to read this long and droning post, and to wish you good luck in future performances.
Break a leg!
Holly
xxx
 

Dear Oliver (Mark),

I've just got home having spent the evening watching and listening to the new Rent 'remixed' show which you and your fellow cast members put on this evening. Sat in the second row, just like my fellow audience members I got that sharp tingle of excitement as the first notes were played on piano and the ensemble began to sing the opening number. It's bee too long since I last heard those songs performed live!

I found myself lip synching to each song, while my friend nudged me and said stop mouthing the words, your putting me off lol! She was lucky I was only lip synching as whenever I find myself going to listen to live music I find myself singing away.....only my voice isn't quite as good as yours!

I really enjoyed the show tonight. Not only are you very easy on the eye (phwoar! :o) ) - I enjoyed a lot of the new approaches to old favourites. As I was trying to explain to you outside the theatre and fighting to think how best to explain it. Standing there with the star of the show and going all weak at the knees aargh! Isn't that always the way.

I thought 'out tonight' was really well done with the whole Chicago-esque <myspace>style</myspace> to it. The 'tango Maureen' number was equally well done, as was Denise Van Outen's 'over the moon' which on the Rent film release a couple of years ago - didn't really work. However with Denise really getting into character and owning that song engaging both the audience and the rest of the cast it sounded much better than previous attempts. I was mooing like a trooper lol!

Your vocal range on 'La Vie Boheme' was amazing. At points it kinda reminded me of that Bugs Bunny cartoon where he's conducting a tenor and he's continually asking the tenor to reach higher and higher notes. Like that sound and image, your voice just seemed to keep going and going. Amazing vocal range, and at the same time a subtle change to the original which really worked.

I really liked the way you took the piece where Angel dies in a new direction. The ensemble cast coming out and acting out what the disease was doing to Angels body was very inventive. Kind of reminded me of how the spirits came to take people away in the 'Ghost' movie a few years ago. Followed by the stairway to heaven ascent he takes at the end of the song. The music played throughout the piece was also very hard not to sit still to. I had to keep reminding myself that everytime I moved in the seat, every other seat in the row moved with me. I liked the decision to give Mark the majority of the 'What you Own' song and the more acoustic choice of sound to the rockier number it has been known to be up till now was great. I could quite easily wax lyrical about each track but I'm not sure if I have enough text space left, and theres only so much flattery you can give before it becomes transparent.

On the flip side I thought some of the numbers at times sounded like they were just singing the song rather than using the words as a vehicle to describe the characters emotions in a particular part of the story, maybe that was just me?

One last thing I wish I'd asked you if you wanted to go for a coffee when I saw you outside. I was amazed how quickly the cast came out of the building after the show. But I'm kicking myself I didn't ask. I have no doubts the offer would have been shot down. But I'd rather have made the fool of myself then and there than have the recurring 'what if' thought running through my brain on the journey home. Oh well maybe I'll get the opportunity next time. (fingers crossed!)

Thanks for putting on a great performance tonight!

Rob Wheeler
xx
 

And you were FABULOUS as Mark!
Seriously!
 

Hey Oliver! I know this is totally irrelevant but i thought i'd drop you a message! i go 2 ur old school KHS and i do AAODS aswell lol! hehe! i thought maybe you cud cum n c us do a show sumtime or summat! lol the company's changed so much since colin was directing lol was he there wen you were? anyways he's left now and we have jackie the former musical director directing now and we just finished my fair lady which went amazingly lol! we're doing les mis SE in november so shud b gd! lol w/b 2 my page if pos! xxx