Dark Monday • Seasons of Love

I began my 'Dark Monday' posts almost 5 years ago, to celebrate music that is near and dear to my heart. The phrase 'dark Monday' refers to a time when all the Broadway shows would take off on Mondays, leaving the lights on Broadway off for the day. Monday was the official 'weekend' for theater types, even those of us who worked off-Broadway. We would do eight shows a week, performing 6 nights a week, plus two matinees on Wednesdays and Sundays.

The second official 'Dark Monday' post was about a show I really enjoyed, 'Rent'. The hit musical addressed issues of drug abuse, greed, love, and sex for straight, gay, and transgendered people. The story was a retelling of Puccini's 'La Bohéme', telling the stories of young bohemians living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1840s. Jonathan Larson updated the show to the 1990s in New York's Lower East Side, facing the issues of the time. "Seasons of Love" became a hit, for it was a beautiful melody paired with lovely lyrics. It was part of the show when it opened in 2996, and again when it made it to film in 2005. This is the official music video from the film. Please enjoy "Seasons of Love".

You can purchase "Seasons of Love" from iTunes and Amazon.

Dark Monday • Anthony Rapp & Adam Pascal Sing What You Own

Anthony Rapp & Adam Pascal pictured from 'Rent' on tour. Photo by Joan Marcusm.

Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal costarred in the Original Broadway Cast of 'Rent', the Rock musical by Jonathan Larson that took New York by storm in 1996, first as an off-Broadway show that earned praise and the Pulitzer Prize For Drama, and moved to Broadway. The show was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, and took home four, including 'Best Musical'. I enjoyed several songs from the score, including "What You Own", the song sung by Mark (Rapp) and Roger (Pascal), two roommates who look at life very differently. Roger is a straight recovering drug addict who is also HIV positive, struggling to figure out how to find the life he wants, while Mark is a shy straight man, who uses his job as a filmmaker to distance himself from those around him. They both grow on the journey, as is evident when they sing the song "What You Own". This is a clip from the 2005 film version, which featured several of the original cast members. This is Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal singing "What You Own".

I really enjoyed the way their voices worked together, the way they sounded together. It doesn't hurt both are very good looking, and Rapp is a hot, out and proud gay man. 'Rent' was Larson's retelling of the classic story of Puccini's opera, 'La Boheme'. But instead of taking place in a lush society setting, 'Rent' is inhabited by poor artists living in Manhattan's Lower East Side, and dealing with modern issues, like drug abuse, prejudice, and HIV/AIDs. You can purchase the Original Broadway Cast album of 'Rent' from iTunes and Amazon. There was also an Original Soundtrack album for the movie version of 'Rent', which can be purchased from iTunes and Amazon.

Worth Another Listen - Anthony Rapp

I had a bit of a crush on Anthony Rapp after hearing him on the Original Broadway Cast album of Rent, and became quite the fan. So I bought his solo album, Look Around, released in 2000. Anthony is adorable, and has adefinite charm factor. He also is an out and proud man, having identified himself as queer in an interview in The Advocate. I totally enjoyed the whole album, but two songs in particular spoke to me. The first is Just Some Guy, a sweet love song with some jazzy undertones.



Another of my favorite songs is Living Alive, a rocker. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a video version, but if you would like to hear it, click here. Rapp also had the very cute song Out Out Damn Spot. The song is the only one on the album he did not either write or co-write. But it is amusing nonetheless, so I figured I would share it.



If you'd like to learn more about Anthony, or to hear more of his music, his MySpace site is here, and his FaceBook is here. You can also find him on Twitter here.

Dark Monday - Rent

In 1996, a little musical opened that might very well have changed the landscape on Broadway forever. It was named 'Rent', starring a cast of relative unknowns, most of whom went on to much more. They were Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Fredi Walker. The show ran for 12 years, until 2008.

To quote Wikipedia, "'Rent' is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera 'La Bohème'. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of AIDS."

The first video clip is video of the opening night performance of "Today 4 U", featuring Wilson Jermaine Heredia, who won a Tony for his portrayal of Angel. The quality isn't great, but it was the opening night!

The second clip is when the entire original cast flew to Chicago for the 1996 Democratic National Convention to perform "Seasons Of Love", a truly great song. The lyrics are so beautiful I used them at my sister's wedding when I made the toast at the reception, as I was her 'maid of honor.'

Just amazing!