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r
Back in action
• Anthony Rapp, Idina Menzel, and Wilson
Jermaine Heredia had all moved on with their lives,
comfortable with Rentas pan of their past. Then
Hollywood director Chris CoIi'iIi'ibus came calling.
COVER STORY ~I -------------------
, , East Village. Rock opera. AIDS. It could be the ul
timate Cheez Whiz, or it could be something m
teresting," Tecalls Anthony Happ of his first peek
at a synopsis of an unproduced stage musical
caUe4 Rent. He was standing in an obscme of
fice in the New York headquarters of the powerful ICM talent
agency, but after a good run on the New York stage and playing
teen roles in several films, including Dazed and Confused, he was
about as far from the top of the heap as an ICM client could get.
"It was September of 1994. I was working at Starbucks-the
first time I'd had to take a sW"Vival job in New York. There was a
guy [at ICM] who got upgraded from an assistant to an agent's job.
I saw the Rent breakdowns on his desk. It was a three-week work
shop, and [gay stage director] Michael Greifwas directing it, and I
knew who he was." Happ talked his way into an audition.
Meanwhile, would-be rock and roller ldina Menzel was between
gigs as a wedding singer when she heard about the show and
thought it sounded like fun. And the timing was perfect: Rent was
going to be workshopped in January and February. There aren't a
lot of weddings in the dead of winter. "I was just happy to be doing
theater," says Menzel. "It was my first professional [acting] job." It
turned out to be much more. 'That New Year's Eve at the Four Sea
sons in Philly was the last wedding gig I ever did."
Actor Wilson Jermaine Heredia was not interested in audition
ing for some workshop production of a rock opera inspired by Pucci
ni's La Boheme. "It was downtown, it was only going to last a
month, and I'd just got medical insmance," he recalls. "I was work
ing full-time as a dispatcher for a realty company, midnight to 9 in the morning. They owned all these buildings and had their own
maintenance crew. If there was a leak at 2 in the morning, I was
the person they'd call." Sending out plumbers was a secure gig.
Singing and dancing in a musical about AIDS? Heredia recalls
thinking, You know what? I can't afford that.
But the power of Rent won him over: "When I got the music and
the script, I got nervous because I loved the project so much." He
auditioned and was offered the pivotal role of Angel, a mischievous
drag queen with AIDS and a great sense of rhythm. But he
dithered, still worried about quitting his job. "My manager called
me up and was infuriated with me. He said, 'Listen, are you a dis
patcher? Or are you an actor?' " Heredia says.
That question woke him up. And soon afterward, Rent woke up
Broadway and the world. Created by a long-struggling writer
composer named Jonathan Larson, who wrote the book, music,
and lyrics, it brought onto the mainstream stage the world of the
lower east side in New York City-a universe populated with
homeless people, drug addicts, aspiring performers, drag queens,
and would-be filmmakers living on the streets or in dodgy lofts
with no heat. In short, outcasts. But outcasts who had found their
own sense offamily, their own idea of home.
In Larson's vision, the La Boheme characters were transformed
into young New Yorkers, struggling artists, gay and straight [see
sidebar]. Happ played Mark, the filmmaker and narrator whose ex
girlfriend, Mameen CMenzel)-an amusing gloss on Laurie Ander
son-style performance artists-is now dating Joanne, a smart, dri
ven career woman. Mark lives in an illegal sublet with Roger
(Adam Pascal), an HN-positive rock musician and recovering ~
50 November 8.2005 www.advocate.com THE ADVOCATE
COVER STORY I~------------------ -
addict who falls hard for Mimi, the
drug-addicted stripper who lives down
stairs. Mimi is also dating the landlord,
Benny (Taye Diggs), Mark's and Roger's
one-time friend turned real estate
mogul. Meanwhile another pal, comput
er hacker Tom Collins (Jesse L. Martin),
meets and falls for Angel, a sweet pres
ence who finds his true love just as the
closing credits of his fabulous life are be
ginning to play. The rest of the Renters
ROSARIO
DAWSON TRJ\CIE ,[\DAliA
P!~SCAL The music-more than two hours of
it-wove their stories into Larson's
down-and-out tapestry, which also in
cluded a chorus of homeless folks and
an HIV support group. Even as demos,
songs like "I'll Cover You" (a heart
breaking same-sex love song), "La Vie
Boheme," and "Seasons of Love"
marked a major talent, redefining what
a musical could be. Larson had turned
New York's supposedly seamy side into
a celebration of life and love, and Rent
turned New York on its head, packing
successively bigger theaters en route to
Broadway, a fistful of Tony Awards,
and the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for drama. ROLE: Mimi
FITS IN HOW: ROLE: 8enny
FITS IN HOW: ROLE: Tom
FITS IN HOW: ROLE: Joanne ROLE: Roger
FITS IN HOW: FITS IN HOW:
HIV-positive
drug-addicted
stripper. In love
with Roger Friend turned
landlord.
Dating Mimi Lover of Angel
[Wilson Heredia)
Friend of Mark Lawyer, lover Roommate of
of Maureen Mark [Anthony
Rapp). In love
and Roger with Mimi
ORIGINAL CAST: ORIGINAL CAST: ORIGINAL CAST: ORIGINAL CAST: ORIGINAL CAST:
No Yes Yes No Yes
Rent was never just a hit musical.
Rent mattered. It amplified the urgent
desperation of the late '80s and early
'90s, when AlDS was rampant, no one
seemed to care, and people struggled to
get by. It took place and was first per-The New York
City native is a
sought-after film
star. Wowed
audiences in Sin
City. Men in Black
II, and The 25th Film roles include
How Stella Got
Her Groove Back.
Played the lead
on UPN's Kevin
Hill. Married fel· Since 1999 has
played a detec·
tive on TV's Law
& Order. Sang
and danced in a
2004 TV musical Charmed gay TV Starred on Broad·
aficionados as a way in Aida, reo
costa r ofthe leased two CDs,
short-I ived toured with his
Wonderfalls . rock band. Sang
Currently filming in 2003's School
Hour. low Renter Idina
Menzel in 2003. production of A
Christmas Carol. The Devil Wears of Rock.
Prada. -Anne Stockwell
formed long before drugs like the protease inhibitor cocktail would
lull people into a false sense of complacency about this plague. It
put queers and drug addicts and people with AlDS at the heart of a
big-hearted musical. This wasn't Cheez Whiz: Rent spoke to audi
ences worldwide with the emotional appeal of, say, Les Miserables
or The Lion King, but it wasn't a noble fantasy of long ago or far
away. This show celebrated the lives of the very people audiences
stepped over outside as they made their way into Broadway venues.
Young people in particular lined up around the block, often
showing up the night before, to be able to buy $20 tickets in the
front two rows, which were sold just hours before each curtain.
Now a big-budget film musical-due out nationwide November
23-Rent still matters, even if the "Rentheads" who were teens
when the show began are now pushing 30, and the Broadway cast
members who re-create their roles in the film-Rapp, Menzel, and
Heredia along with Pascal, Martin, and Diggs-needed a little
movie magic to once again embody their 20-something alter egos.
"We had a nutritionist working with us on the movie to keep us
healthy and make us look younger and a little hungrier," says
Rapp. Adds Menzel with a laugh: "Even back then, we were never
that young."
The actors knew they had to recapture the sense of despera
tion that infused the show when it premiered. "It was all raw
[energy] and spontaneity," says Menzel. Even now, Rapp insists,
"urgently" is the only way to play these roles, because the stories
Rent tells, although set 16 years ago (from Christmas 1989 to
late 1990), have lost none of their immediacy in an America-and a world-where tolerance and respect are still hard-won.
"We can see that in the last election," says Menzel, talking
about how important it is to take Rent's message to movie houses
all over the country. "We as New Yorkers-been there, done that.
But the rest of the world needs to see people of different ethnicities,
women loving women, men loving men. The movie is still extreme
ly relevant because a lot of people still need to be educated."
And after all, movies have often turned to the recent past to com
ment on the present: Think Shampoo (a 1975 film set seven years
earlier), The Deer Hunter (a 1978 film largely set in 1968), or even
Longtime Companion (a 1990 film that begins in 1981). "It's not
going to feel like a dated piece," says Heredia. "It's still happening
and we have to realize that. HIV is not gone. There are casualties
every single day."
What will separate Rent the movie from Rent the stage show is
the medium itself. Onstage Rent was performed on a nearly bare
stage, with some scaffolding standing in for the grime of the East
Village, the sterility of a hospital, and the funkiness of a downtown
cafe. Filming the movie on location in New York and San Francisco
and on an elaborate backlot in Los Angeles adds a verisimilitude
that the filmmakers hope will offer a different kind of power.
The cast felt it, even craved it. Menzel showed up on the set even
when she wasn't scheduled for that day. She went to support Pascal
when he was performing "One Song Glory" late at night on a
rooftop in downtown New York. It was lit so beautifully and the city
was such a inspiring backdrop, Menzel says, "It just seemed right."
Rapp had the wonderful and bizarre experience of shooting ~
52 November 8, 2005 www_advocate _com THE ADVOCATE
COVER STORY I~---- ---- ---- ---- --
scenes just blocks from where he used to live. "There was somethlng
about being on Seventh Street between [avenues] A and B at night
with the big movie lights and the camera on me," says Rapp. "I
lived just the other side of Tompkins Square Park from where we
were. And I was singing this song Jonathan had written with my
voice in mind. That was the most outcof-body experience where I
thought,Oh, my fucking God, I can't believe this is happening."
The translation to film also adds intensity of some intimate mo
ments, says Heredia. Angel's death from AIDS complications was
beautifully stylized onstage, at a time when the harsh physical suf
fering of people with the disease was more
prevalent in queer New Yorkers' lives and
more visible in the media. Now, when the
brutality of AIDS is largely glossed over, the
movie drives home the reality.
"The death of Angel is not pretty. It's a
real hospital scene-lesions and all," says
Heredia, now 33 and recently divorced. "I
have to quote Tupac. I can't do it verbatim,
but he said that the only way people react to
anythlng is if you show them. Vietnam only
stopped because people saw it on television.
So we show it in the film. The only way any
thlng is going to get better is to put it in your
face. It's not pretty, is it? It's real."
How well the cast's experience will trans
late to moviegoers remains to be seen. The
completed film was not made available to
The Advocate at press time, but it is by all re
ports no carbon copy of the stage show. Songs
were cut to lower the running time, including
"Christmas Bells"; the steamy, Bob Fosse-in
spired "Contact"; and two more Rapp says
he's not yet allowed to name. And the produc
tion has been dogged by questions-whether
director Chris Columbus (of Home Alone and
Mrs. Doubtfire) can make Rent gritty enough
to match its subject and setting; whether the
actors are too old to reprise their roles.
Rapp is the first to come to Columbus's de
fense. He had his first feature role in 1987's
Adventures in Babysitting, Columbus's debut
as a director, and says he never doubted for a
minute that 18 years of experience had pre
pared the filmmaker for just this project. "Having worked with
[Chris], I knew he had more fire in him, a darker sensibility, and
edgier sense of humor than he'd shown in his films," Rapp says.
"One of the things he said in our meeting that was eye-opening to
me was, 'This is going to be the most important film I ever make.' "
"Chris's movies are about community and family," says Heredia.
"Rent is the same thlng. It's not about AIDS, it's not about homosex
uality, it's not about homelessness-it's about family."
As for casting six of the eight original principal actors--{)nly
Daphne Rubin-Vega (Mimi) and Fredi Walker (Joanne) were re
placed-Rapp says the movie's cast is so immersed in the roles that
they readily tapped in once again to the sadness and joy inextrica
bly tied up in Rent. And no one else shares these six actors' experi
ence of the show's dramatic birth and its creator's shocking death:
Larson died suddenly the night after the final off-Broadway dress
rehearsal-January 25, 1996. "We gathered together in the theater that day in shock and not
knowing what to do," says Rapp, now 34 and in the fourth year of a
relationship. "We were supposed to have a preview [performance]
that night [with a paying audience]. The decision came down pretty
quick from Michael and Jim [Nicola, the artistic director of the New
York Theatre Workshop] that we were going to do a sing-through of
the show because we didn't want to leave the theater silent and
Jonathan's family was flying in."
The cast and crew invited friends and family to what was sup
posed to be a sing-through with the cast seated at tables onstage.
"But by [the act 1 finale] 'La Vie Boheme,' we were up and dancing,"
Rapp says. "Doing it that night brought home, more than it had,
that there was so much joy and life in the piece, and there is also in
credible loss and sorrow. And both things are true, and both thlngs
are as fully realized as the other. To me, part of what the story is
saying is that in the face of these circumstances you can still live
your life as fully as possible.
"Jonathan's father, AI, said to me after that performance, 'This
has got to be a hit. You've got to make this a hit.' "
The ironies piled up. Larson, on the cusp of a career-making suc
cess with a musical that drew its fire from the tragic loss of so many
talented young people, had died of an untreated aortic aneurysm
that went undiagnosed after several visits to the emergency room.
If he'd had the medical insurance Heredia gave up to be in the
show, he might be alive today. Rapp, the very queer show's sole out
gay actor in a lead role, was playing the straight narrator. And ~
THE ADVOCATE www.advocate .com November 8,2005 55
COVER STORYII------- -----
Rent became a money machine about poor,
struggling artists, starring once-struggling
actors who had to fight for what they consid
ered a fair shake.
"Here you are, doing a show about art ver
sus commerce, and we have producers start
ing to lowball us on money and we have to
stand up for ourselves," Menzel says, recall
ing how the original cast fought for and won
appropriate salaries when the show trans
ferred to Broadway . "It was such a bitter
sweet experience for all of us. These wonder
ful things were happening for our careers
and yet ... Jonathan wasn't there."
He wasn't there when his work won the
Pulitzer in April 1996 nor when it opened on
Broadway a few weeks later. He wasn't
around when it won four Tony awards: one
for Best Musical, two for Larson's book and
songs, and one for Heredia, the first Domini
can actor to take home the award. He wasn't
around for the show's largely sold-out na
tional tour or its numerous productions
around the world. He wasn't around when
Menzel and Diggs married in January 2003.
He won't be around for the musical's 4,OOOth
Broadway performance in mid December.
And he wasn't around to help shepherd
his creation from stage to screen-a task
that tempted A-list directors including Mar
tin Scorsese, Danny DeVito, and Spike Lee.
By the end of the millerurium-referenced
in "What You Own," one of the show's rous
ing rock numbers-the original cast had all
moved on, remembering Rent as a landmark
moment in their lives that had come and
gone. Post-Rent, Rapp has done You're a
Good Man, Charlie Brown on Broadway, a
national tour of Little Shop of Horrors, and
the film A Beautiful Mind, among other pro
jects. Menzel played the lead in Wicked and
won a Tony of her own. And Heredia left the
business altogether , at least temporarily.
They all followed press reports that Spike
Lee was talking with celebrities like Justin
Timberlake, Brittany Murphy, and John HIV then and now
World AIDS Day. December 1. reminds us why Rent still commands attention. Despite
major advancements in medical treatment for HIV. the plague continues to expand.
Here's a brief look at the realities of AIDS when Rent was written-and now.
GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN HETEROSEXUALS
• Then: Gay and bisexual
• Then: About 6% of the
men accounted for 57% nation's AIDS cases result-
of the nation's AIDS ed from heterosexual
cases. transmission of HIV.
Now: Gay and bisexual Now: 31% ofthe nation's
men account for 42% of AIDS cases are a result of
• the nation's AIDS cases .
• heterosexual transmission
ofHIV.
NUMBER OF HIV-POSITIVE AMERICANS
Then: As of 1989, 650,000 Americans were believed to be HIV-positive.
Now: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as
1.1 million Americans are living with HIV.
TREATMENT
Then: •
Only one anti-HI V drug, AZT, was available. Studies showed that AZT monotherapy was
largely ineffective and that the virus was quickly able to mutate defenses against the drug.
Now: •••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Twenty-seven antiretroviral drugs are available in four separate medication categories .
Treatment typically consists of three anti-HIV drugs, with one either a potent protease
inhibitor, first available in December 1995; or a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase
inhibitor, first available in June 1996. (Two drugs will be taken off the market by 2006,)
DEATHS
Then: As of the end of 1989,85,128 of Americans with AIDS had died.
Now: As of the end of 2003,524,060 Americans with AIDS had died.
Death rates declined sharply after protease inhibitors became available. -Bob Adams
SOURCE: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 'Jennifer Ruth Jruth@cdc.gov,
and THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRA nON (treatment)
Leguizamo about starring in the Rent movie-just the sort of people
you'd expect to find in a glitzy film of a hip Broadway show. "I got the last shot of the movie," says Rapp. "It was just a little
pickup shot of me riding my bike through the backlot of Warner
Bros. in L.A. and singing, 'We're hungry and frozen.''' He laughs. But Lee moved on, Columbus stepped in, and stunt casting was
out. Columbus sought out the original performers. "I said, 'Please
tell this man I don't need a pity meeting,''' says Menzel, who quite
reasonably doesn't much trust anyone from Hollywood. "I literally
said, 'I'm really busy and really tired. I understand if I'm too old.
But I don't want my own time to be wasted.'" Columbus had to
work to track down Heredia, who had taken a self-imposed one
year hiatus from acting and was tending bar and working in a video
store. Rapp, an old friend, needed no persuading.
Guided by a seemingly magical power only a director of Harry Pot
ter films could wield, the movie went before cameras in early 2005
with much of the Broadway cast in place, right up to the final shot. "I knew it was the last shot [to be filmed]. I'm ready; let's do it.
But as soon as they called it a wrap, I kind of broke down a little. I
didn't try to hold it in, I didn't know how I was going to feel, but it
was very overwhelming . Maybe I'm a sappy, sentimental guy in
some ways, but I went right up to Chris and said, 'Thank you.'
"I mean, I really needed this to happen in my life. I needed to be
a part of this again and see it through to the end and have it be for
ever. It's one of the greatest gifts I could ever imagine to be given
that opportunity ." •
Giltz writes for the New York Post and other publications.
56 November 8, 2005 www.advocate .com THE ADVOCATE
F OM THE READERS 1----1 - ----- --
Rent to own
Thank you so much for writing such an
in-depth story about the movie version of
Rent ["Rent Gets Real," November 8]. As I
have read many other articles regarding
the upcoming release, they all seemed
like sound bites compared with the histo
ry that was put into your story. As a self
proclaimed Renthead, I can't tell you how
excited I am to see this life-changing story
brought to the big screen. With most of
the original cast in place, I believe it will
do exactly what the original play set out
to do-open eyes, pull the heart strings,
and preach the power of love.
JASON STODDARD San Jose, Calif.
No excuses
Jerry Davis states that gay Spokane
mayor James West is being asked to "step
down" because of his ''hypocrisy'' [First
Person, November 8J. Wrong. He's being
asked to step down because he attempted
to sell City Hall jobs for sex. That's illegal;
hypocrisy isn't. I despise West's antigay
bills, and I wish society were tolerant
enough to allow him to feel comfortable
living his life openly. But to blame society
for West's wrongs is silly. His wrong is
illegally using his government position,
not being gay or being a hypocrite.
SHANE ABMA Portland, Ore.
In the pink
The use of Baker-Miller pink as a calm
ing influence is well-known in the crimi
nal justice and psychology fields ["Locker
Room Dustup," November 8]. It is not
surprising that an athletic coach chose to
14 December 6, 2005 "I can't tell you how excited I am to see Rent
brought to the big screen. With most of the original
cast in place, I believe it will do exactly what the
original play set out to do-open eyes, pull the
heart strings, and preach the power of love,"
use it in the opponents' locker room. It's
called the home field advantage. It has
nothing to do with gays or women but
rather with the subliminal ability to calm
or defuse those in its presence. Any
knowledgeable colorist is well aware of
its psychological properties. The research
is well-documented.
MERLE H. SYKORA via the Internet
Of course pink is being used to imply fem
ininity or weakness, but let's show a little
more sense of humor and rise above P.C.
bullshit so we will be taken more serious
ly about the real issues facing all of us.
SAM MOLLOY Lexington, Ky.
If the color pink angers visiting teams, it
only serves to make them more adversari
aI, not less. The University ofIowa is not
homophobic, being the first public univer
sity to offer partner benefits and the first
to offer a gay studies course (which al
ways had a waiting list). I attended U.1.
during Hayden Fry's tenure, and we had
a good football team. Big deal. His sup
porters threatening [ErinJ Buzuvis [a vis
iting law professor who accused the school
of perpetuating negative stereotypesJ
with rape and death? Get a life, morons.
DOUGLAS MAAG via the Internet
Road rage
I was feeling proud and uplifted after
reading "We're Here to Help" [November
8J about gay and lesbian relief workers in
New Orleans. Then a few pages later I
wasn't feeling so proud anymore and my
heart sank after reading ''Why I Love My
Car." In addition to the owners saying
how great their cars are, you should have
listed the gas mileage for each vehicle. Of
the four late-model cars pictured, only
the VW Beetle gets somewhat decent gas
mileage. Jennifer Macey has the right
idea about looking forward to hybrid and
more environmentally conscious models,
but in the meantime her vehicle is get
ting senseless and horrible gas mileage.
There's nothing "hot" or "sexy" about
www.advocate .com -JASON STODDARD, San Jose, Calif.
driving a gas-guzzling vehicle. Where
was the Mini Cooper convertible (which
has the highest EPA rating for gas
mileage) in your road test of convertibles?
We in the gay community should be set
ting examples of responsible and intelli
gent vehicle choices and not getting
caught up in the SUV size wars (size
queens, indeed) and the myth that "big
ger equals better," since in reality ''bigger
equals more irresponsible" and is totally
not "hot."
BRENT REED San Francisco, Calif.
Church and state
Regarding your November 8 Cross Coun
try item that reads, "Catholic leaders
launched a petition drive in churches
across [MassachusettsJ on October 2 in
an effort to gather the 65,000 signatures
necessary to get a same-sex marriage ban
proposal on the 2008 ballot"-has anyone
called the IRS to check on when the
Catholic Church's tax-exempt status in
Boston was being withdrawn for getting
involved in politics to this degree? All
they do is collect money for those fat cats
who hate us, and now this!
MICHAEL O'DONNELL Tucson, Ariz.
Baby steps
After reading Chris Rice's column titled
"Friends Like These" [November 8J I felt
overwhelmingly compelled, but perhaps
not in the sense he'd like his readers to be.
Perhaps many younger gay men and
women feel as he does, that the gay mar
riage movement has been "thrust" on the
national stage, but I disagree. For us folks
who are a bit older, this sudden identifica
tion on a large scale isn't something that
I've seen appear out ofthin air. What I
have seen is a marriage movement that
has been created by thousands of small
stories massed to bring on a movement.
To disregard that fact is to devalue the
efforts of thousands of us who have for
many years been pushing for equality.
What compelled me even more than
this sudden phenomenon theory was ~
THE ADVOCATE
Back in action
• Anthony Rapp, Idina Menzel, and Wilson
Jermaine Heredia had all moved on with their lives,
comfortable with Rentas pan of their past. Then
Hollywood director Chris CoIi'iIi'ibus came calling.
COVER STORY ~I -------------------
, , East Village. Rock opera. AIDS. It could be the ul
timate Cheez Whiz, or it could be something m
teresting," Tecalls Anthony Happ of his first peek
at a synopsis of an unproduced stage musical
caUe4 Rent. He was standing in an obscme of
fice in the New York headquarters of the powerful ICM talent
agency, but after a good run on the New York stage and playing
teen roles in several films, including Dazed and Confused, he was
about as far from the top of the heap as an ICM client could get.
"It was September of 1994. I was working at Starbucks-the
first time I'd had to take a sW"Vival job in New York. There was a
guy [at ICM] who got upgraded from an assistant to an agent's job.
I saw the Rent breakdowns on his desk. It was a three-week work
shop, and [gay stage director] Michael Greifwas directing it, and I
knew who he was." Happ talked his way into an audition.
Meanwhile, would-be rock and roller ldina Menzel was between
gigs as a wedding singer when she heard about the show and
thought it sounded like fun. And the timing was perfect: Rent was
going to be workshopped in January and February. There aren't a
lot of weddings in the dead of winter. "I was just happy to be doing
theater," says Menzel. "It was my first professional [acting] job." It
turned out to be much more. 'That New Year's Eve at the Four Sea
sons in Philly was the last wedding gig I ever did."
Actor Wilson Jermaine Heredia was not interested in audition
ing for some workshop production of a rock opera inspired by Pucci
ni's La Boheme. "It was downtown, it was only going to last a
month, and I'd just got medical insmance," he recalls. "I was work
ing full-time as a dispatcher for a realty company, midnight to 9 in the morning. They owned all these buildings and had their own
maintenance crew. If there was a leak at 2 in the morning, I was
the person they'd call." Sending out plumbers was a secure gig.
Singing and dancing in a musical about AIDS? Heredia recalls
thinking, You know what? I can't afford that.
But the power of Rent won him over: "When I got the music and
the script, I got nervous because I loved the project so much." He
auditioned and was offered the pivotal role of Angel, a mischievous
drag queen with AIDS and a great sense of rhythm. But he
dithered, still worried about quitting his job. "My manager called
me up and was infuriated with me. He said, 'Listen, are you a dis
patcher? Or are you an actor?' " Heredia says.
That question woke him up. And soon afterward, Rent woke up
Broadway and the world. Created by a long-struggling writer
composer named Jonathan Larson, who wrote the book, music,
and lyrics, it brought onto the mainstream stage the world of the
lower east side in New York City-a universe populated with
homeless people, drug addicts, aspiring performers, drag queens,
and would-be filmmakers living on the streets or in dodgy lofts
with no heat. In short, outcasts. But outcasts who had found their
own sense offamily, their own idea of home.
In Larson's vision, the La Boheme characters were transformed
into young New Yorkers, struggling artists, gay and straight [see
sidebar]. Happ played Mark, the filmmaker and narrator whose ex
girlfriend, Mameen CMenzel)-an amusing gloss on Laurie Ander
son-style performance artists-is now dating Joanne, a smart, dri
ven career woman. Mark lives in an illegal sublet with Roger
(Adam Pascal), an HN-positive rock musician and recovering ~
50 November 8.2005 www.advocate.com THE ADVOCATE
COVER STORY I~------------------ -
addict who falls hard for Mimi, the
drug-addicted stripper who lives down
stairs. Mimi is also dating the landlord,
Benny (Taye Diggs), Mark's and Roger's
one-time friend turned real estate
mogul. Meanwhile another pal, comput
er hacker Tom Collins (Jesse L. Martin),
meets and falls for Angel, a sweet pres
ence who finds his true love just as the
closing credits of his fabulous life are be
ginning to play. The rest of the Renters
ROSARIO
DAWSON TRJ\CIE ,[\DAliA
P!~SCAL The music-more than two hours of
it-wove their stories into Larson's
down-and-out tapestry, which also in
cluded a chorus of homeless folks and
an HIV support group. Even as demos,
songs like "I'll Cover You" (a heart
breaking same-sex love song), "La Vie
Boheme," and "Seasons of Love"
marked a major talent, redefining what
a musical could be. Larson had turned
New York's supposedly seamy side into
a celebration of life and love, and Rent
turned New York on its head, packing
successively bigger theaters en route to
Broadway, a fistful of Tony Awards,
and the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for drama. ROLE: Mimi
FITS IN HOW: ROLE: 8enny
FITS IN HOW: ROLE: Tom
FITS IN HOW: ROLE: Joanne ROLE: Roger
FITS IN HOW: FITS IN HOW:
HIV-positive
drug-addicted
stripper. In love
with Roger Friend turned
landlord.
Dating Mimi Lover of Angel
[Wilson Heredia)
Friend of Mark Lawyer, lover Roommate of
of Maureen Mark [Anthony
Rapp). In love
and Roger with Mimi
ORIGINAL CAST: ORIGINAL CAST: ORIGINAL CAST: ORIGINAL CAST: ORIGINAL CAST:
No Yes Yes No Yes
Rent was never just a hit musical.
Rent mattered. It amplified the urgent
desperation of the late '80s and early
'90s, when AlDS was rampant, no one
seemed to care, and people struggled to
get by. It took place and was first per-The New York
City native is a
sought-after film
star. Wowed
audiences in Sin
City. Men in Black
II, and The 25th Film roles include
How Stella Got
Her Groove Back.
Played the lead
on UPN's Kevin
Hill. Married fel· Since 1999 has
played a detec·
tive on TV's Law
& Order. Sang
and danced in a
2004 TV musical Charmed gay TV Starred on Broad·
aficionados as a way in Aida, reo
costa r ofthe leased two CDs,
short-I ived toured with his
Wonderfalls . rock band. Sang
Currently filming in 2003's School
Hour. low Renter Idina
Menzel in 2003. production of A
Christmas Carol. The Devil Wears of Rock.
Prada. -Anne Stockwell
formed long before drugs like the protease inhibitor cocktail would
lull people into a false sense of complacency about this plague. It
put queers and drug addicts and people with AlDS at the heart of a
big-hearted musical. This wasn't Cheez Whiz: Rent spoke to audi
ences worldwide with the emotional appeal of, say, Les Miserables
or The Lion King, but it wasn't a noble fantasy of long ago or far
away. This show celebrated the lives of the very people audiences
stepped over outside as they made their way into Broadway venues.
Young people in particular lined up around the block, often
showing up the night before, to be able to buy $20 tickets in the
front two rows, which were sold just hours before each curtain.
Now a big-budget film musical-due out nationwide November
23-Rent still matters, even if the "Rentheads" who were teens
when the show began are now pushing 30, and the Broadway cast
members who re-create their roles in the film-Rapp, Menzel, and
Heredia along with Pascal, Martin, and Diggs-needed a little
movie magic to once again embody their 20-something alter egos.
"We had a nutritionist working with us on the movie to keep us
healthy and make us look younger and a little hungrier," says
Rapp. Adds Menzel with a laugh: "Even back then, we were never
that young."
The actors knew they had to recapture the sense of despera
tion that infused the show when it premiered. "It was all raw
[energy] and spontaneity," says Menzel. Even now, Rapp insists,
"urgently" is the only way to play these roles, because the stories
Rent tells, although set 16 years ago (from Christmas 1989 to
late 1990), have lost none of their immediacy in an America-and a world-where tolerance and respect are still hard-won.
"We can see that in the last election," says Menzel, talking
about how important it is to take Rent's message to movie houses
all over the country. "We as New Yorkers-been there, done that.
But the rest of the world needs to see people of different ethnicities,
women loving women, men loving men. The movie is still extreme
ly relevant because a lot of people still need to be educated."
And after all, movies have often turned to the recent past to com
ment on the present: Think Shampoo (a 1975 film set seven years
earlier), The Deer Hunter (a 1978 film largely set in 1968), or even
Longtime Companion (a 1990 film that begins in 1981). "It's not
going to feel like a dated piece," says Heredia. "It's still happening
and we have to realize that. HIV is not gone. There are casualties
every single day."
What will separate Rent the movie from Rent the stage show is
the medium itself. Onstage Rent was performed on a nearly bare
stage, with some scaffolding standing in for the grime of the East
Village, the sterility of a hospital, and the funkiness of a downtown
cafe. Filming the movie on location in New York and San Francisco
and on an elaborate backlot in Los Angeles adds a verisimilitude
that the filmmakers hope will offer a different kind of power.
The cast felt it, even craved it. Menzel showed up on the set even
when she wasn't scheduled for that day. She went to support Pascal
when he was performing "One Song Glory" late at night on a
rooftop in downtown New York. It was lit so beautifully and the city
was such a inspiring backdrop, Menzel says, "It just seemed right."
Rapp had the wonderful and bizarre experience of shooting ~
52 November 8, 2005 www_advocate _com THE ADVOCATE
COVER STORY I~---- ---- ---- ---- --
scenes just blocks from where he used to live. "There was somethlng
about being on Seventh Street between [avenues] A and B at night
with the big movie lights and the camera on me," says Rapp. "I
lived just the other side of Tompkins Square Park from where we
were. And I was singing this song Jonathan had written with my
voice in mind. That was the most outcof-body experience where I
thought,Oh, my fucking God, I can't believe this is happening."
The translation to film also adds intensity of some intimate mo
ments, says Heredia. Angel's death from AIDS complications was
beautifully stylized onstage, at a time when the harsh physical suf
fering of people with the disease was more
prevalent in queer New Yorkers' lives and
more visible in the media. Now, when the
brutality of AIDS is largely glossed over, the
movie drives home the reality.
"The death of Angel is not pretty. It's a
real hospital scene-lesions and all," says
Heredia, now 33 and recently divorced. "I
have to quote Tupac. I can't do it verbatim,
but he said that the only way people react to
anythlng is if you show them. Vietnam only
stopped because people saw it on television.
So we show it in the film. The only way any
thlng is going to get better is to put it in your
face. It's not pretty, is it? It's real."
How well the cast's experience will trans
late to moviegoers remains to be seen. The
completed film was not made available to
The Advocate at press time, but it is by all re
ports no carbon copy of the stage show. Songs
were cut to lower the running time, including
"Christmas Bells"; the steamy, Bob Fosse-in
spired "Contact"; and two more Rapp says
he's not yet allowed to name. And the produc
tion has been dogged by questions-whether
director Chris Columbus (of Home Alone and
Mrs. Doubtfire) can make Rent gritty enough
to match its subject and setting; whether the
actors are too old to reprise their roles.
Rapp is the first to come to Columbus's de
fense. He had his first feature role in 1987's
Adventures in Babysitting, Columbus's debut
as a director, and says he never doubted for a
minute that 18 years of experience had pre
pared the filmmaker for just this project. "Having worked with
[Chris], I knew he had more fire in him, a darker sensibility, and
edgier sense of humor than he'd shown in his films," Rapp says.
"One of the things he said in our meeting that was eye-opening to
me was, 'This is going to be the most important film I ever make.' "
"Chris's movies are about community and family," says Heredia.
"Rent is the same thlng. It's not about AIDS, it's not about homosex
uality, it's not about homelessness-it's about family."
As for casting six of the eight original principal actors--{)nly
Daphne Rubin-Vega (Mimi) and Fredi Walker (Joanne) were re
placed-Rapp says the movie's cast is so immersed in the roles that
they readily tapped in once again to the sadness and joy inextrica
bly tied up in Rent. And no one else shares these six actors' experi
ence of the show's dramatic birth and its creator's shocking death:
Larson died suddenly the night after the final off-Broadway dress
rehearsal-January 25, 1996. "We gathered together in the theater that day in shock and not
knowing what to do," says Rapp, now 34 and in the fourth year of a
relationship. "We were supposed to have a preview [performance]
that night [with a paying audience]. The decision came down pretty
quick from Michael and Jim [Nicola, the artistic director of the New
York Theatre Workshop] that we were going to do a sing-through of
the show because we didn't want to leave the theater silent and
Jonathan's family was flying in."
The cast and crew invited friends and family to what was sup
posed to be a sing-through with the cast seated at tables onstage.
"But by [the act 1 finale] 'La Vie Boheme,' we were up and dancing,"
Rapp says. "Doing it that night brought home, more than it had,
that there was so much joy and life in the piece, and there is also in
credible loss and sorrow. And both things are true, and both thlngs
are as fully realized as the other. To me, part of what the story is
saying is that in the face of these circumstances you can still live
your life as fully as possible.
"Jonathan's father, AI, said to me after that performance, 'This
has got to be a hit. You've got to make this a hit.' "
The ironies piled up. Larson, on the cusp of a career-making suc
cess with a musical that drew its fire from the tragic loss of so many
talented young people, had died of an untreated aortic aneurysm
that went undiagnosed after several visits to the emergency room.
If he'd had the medical insurance Heredia gave up to be in the
show, he might be alive today. Rapp, the very queer show's sole out
gay actor in a lead role, was playing the straight narrator. And ~
THE ADVOCATE www.advocate .com November 8,2005 55
COVER STORYII------- -----
Rent became a money machine about poor,
struggling artists, starring once-struggling
actors who had to fight for what they consid
ered a fair shake.
"Here you are, doing a show about art ver
sus commerce, and we have producers start
ing to lowball us on money and we have to
stand up for ourselves," Menzel says, recall
ing how the original cast fought for and won
appropriate salaries when the show trans
ferred to Broadway . "It was such a bitter
sweet experience for all of us. These wonder
ful things were happening for our careers
and yet ... Jonathan wasn't there."
He wasn't there when his work won the
Pulitzer in April 1996 nor when it opened on
Broadway a few weeks later. He wasn't
around when it won four Tony awards: one
for Best Musical, two for Larson's book and
songs, and one for Heredia, the first Domini
can actor to take home the award. He wasn't
around for the show's largely sold-out na
tional tour or its numerous productions
around the world. He wasn't around when
Menzel and Diggs married in January 2003.
He won't be around for the musical's 4,OOOth
Broadway performance in mid December.
And he wasn't around to help shepherd
his creation from stage to screen-a task
that tempted A-list directors including Mar
tin Scorsese, Danny DeVito, and Spike Lee.
By the end of the millerurium-referenced
in "What You Own," one of the show's rous
ing rock numbers-the original cast had all
moved on, remembering Rent as a landmark
moment in their lives that had come and
gone. Post-Rent, Rapp has done You're a
Good Man, Charlie Brown on Broadway, a
national tour of Little Shop of Horrors, and
the film A Beautiful Mind, among other pro
jects. Menzel played the lead in Wicked and
won a Tony of her own. And Heredia left the
business altogether , at least temporarily.
They all followed press reports that Spike
Lee was talking with celebrities like Justin
Timberlake, Brittany Murphy, and John HIV then and now
World AIDS Day. December 1. reminds us why Rent still commands attention. Despite
major advancements in medical treatment for HIV. the plague continues to expand.
Here's a brief look at the realities of AIDS when Rent was written-and now.
GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN HETEROSEXUALS
• Then: Gay and bisexual
• Then: About 6% of the
men accounted for 57% nation's AIDS cases result-
of the nation's AIDS ed from heterosexual
cases. transmission of HIV.
Now: Gay and bisexual Now: 31% ofthe nation's
men account for 42% of AIDS cases are a result of
• the nation's AIDS cases .
• heterosexual transmission
ofHIV.
NUMBER OF HIV-POSITIVE AMERICANS
Then: As of 1989, 650,000 Americans were believed to be HIV-positive.
Now: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as
1.1 million Americans are living with HIV.
TREATMENT
Then: •
Only one anti-HI V drug, AZT, was available. Studies showed that AZT monotherapy was
largely ineffective and that the virus was quickly able to mutate defenses against the drug.
Now: •••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Twenty-seven antiretroviral drugs are available in four separate medication categories .
Treatment typically consists of three anti-HIV drugs, with one either a potent protease
inhibitor, first available in December 1995; or a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase
inhibitor, first available in June 1996. (Two drugs will be taken off the market by 2006,)
DEATHS
Then: As of the end of 1989,85,128 of Americans with AIDS had died.
Now: As of the end of 2003,524,060 Americans with AIDS had died.
Death rates declined sharply after protease inhibitors became available. -Bob Adams
SOURCE: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 'Jennifer Ruth Jruth@cdc.gov,
and THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRA nON (treatment)
Leguizamo about starring in the Rent movie-just the sort of people
you'd expect to find in a glitzy film of a hip Broadway show. "I got the last shot of the movie," says Rapp. "It was just a little
pickup shot of me riding my bike through the backlot of Warner
Bros. in L.A. and singing, 'We're hungry and frozen.''' He laughs. But Lee moved on, Columbus stepped in, and stunt casting was
out. Columbus sought out the original performers. "I said, 'Please
tell this man I don't need a pity meeting,''' says Menzel, who quite
reasonably doesn't much trust anyone from Hollywood. "I literally
said, 'I'm really busy and really tired. I understand if I'm too old.
But I don't want my own time to be wasted.'" Columbus had to
work to track down Heredia, who had taken a self-imposed one
year hiatus from acting and was tending bar and working in a video
store. Rapp, an old friend, needed no persuading.
Guided by a seemingly magical power only a director of Harry Pot
ter films could wield, the movie went before cameras in early 2005
with much of the Broadway cast in place, right up to the final shot. "I knew it was the last shot [to be filmed]. I'm ready; let's do it.
But as soon as they called it a wrap, I kind of broke down a little. I
didn't try to hold it in, I didn't know how I was going to feel, but it
was very overwhelming . Maybe I'm a sappy, sentimental guy in
some ways, but I went right up to Chris and said, 'Thank you.'
"I mean, I really needed this to happen in my life. I needed to be
a part of this again and see it through to the end and have it be for
ever. It's one of the greatest gifts I could ever imagine to be given
that opportunity ." •
Giltz writes for the New York Post and other publications.
56 November 8, 2005 www.advocate .com THE ADVOCATE
F OM THE READERS 1----1 - ----- --
Rent to own
Thank you so much for writing such an
in-depth story about the movie version of
Rent ["Rent Gets Real," November 8]. As I
have read many other articles regarding
the upcoming release, they all seemed
like sound bites compared with the histo
ry that was put into your story. As a self
proclaimed Renthead, I can't tell you how
excited I am to see this life-changing story
brought to the big screen. With most of
the original cast in place, I believe it will
do exactly what the original play set out
to do-open eyes, pull the heart strings,
and preach the power of love.
JASON STODDARD San Jose, Calif.
No excuses
Jerry Davis states that gay Spokane
mayor James West is being asked to "step
down" because of his ''hypocrisy'' [First
Person, November 8J. Wrong. He's being
asked to step down because he attempted
to sell City Hall jobs for sex. That's illegal;
hypocrisy isn't. I despise West's antigay
bills, and I wish society were tolerant
enough to allow him to feel comfortable
living his life openly. But to blame society
for West's wrongs is silly. His wrong is
illegally using his government position,
not being gay or being a hypocrite.
SHANE ABMA Portland, Ore.
In the pink
The use of Baker-Miller pink as a calm
ing influence is well-known in the crimi
nal justice and psychology fields ["Locker
Room Dustup," November 8]. It is not
surprising that an athletic coach chose to
14 December 6, 2005 "I can't tell you how excited I am to see Rent
brought to the big screen. With most of the original
cast in place, I believe it will do exactly what the
original play set out to do-open eyes, pull the
heart strings, and preach the power of love,"
use it in the opponents' locker room. It's
called the home field advantage. It has
nothing to do with gays or women but
rather with the subliminal ability to calm
or defuse those in its presence. Any
knowledgeable colorist is well aware of
its psychological properties. The research
is well-documented.
MERLE H. SYKORA via the Internet
Of course pink is being used to imply fem
ininity or weakness, but let's show a little
more sense of humor and rise above P.C.
bullshit so we will be taken more serious
ly about the real issues facing all of us.
SAM MOLLOY Lexington, Ky.
If the color pink angers visiting teams, it
only serves to make them more adversari
aI, not less. The University ofIowa is not
homophobic, being the first public univer
sity to offer partner benefits and the first
to offer a gay studies course (which al
ways had a waiting list). I attended U.1.
during Hayden Fry's tenure, and we had
a good football team. Big deal. His sup
porters threatening [ErinJ Buzuvis [a vis
iting law professor who accused the school
of perpetuating negative stereotypesJ
with rape and death? Get a life, morons.
DOUGLAS MAAG via the Internet
Road rage
I was feeling proud and uplifted after
reading "We're Here to Help" [November
8J about gay and lesbian relief workers in
New Orleans. Then a few pages later I
wasn't feeling so proud anymore and my
heart sank after reading ''Why I Love My
Car." In addition to the owners saying
how great their cars are, you should have
listed the gas mileage for each vehicle. Of
the four late-model cars pictured, only
the VW Beetle gets somewhat decent gas
mileage. Jennifer Macey has the right
idea about looking forward to hybrid and
more environmentally conscious models,
but in the meantime her vehicle is get
ting senseless and horrible gas mileage.
There's nothing "hot" or "sexy" about
www.advocate .com -JASON STODDARD, San Jose, Calif.
driving a gas-guzzling vehicle. Where
was the Mini Cooper convertible (which
has the highest EPA rating for gas
mileage) in your road test of convertibles?
We in the gay community should be set
ting examples of responsible and intelli
gent vehicle choices and not getting
caught up in the SUV size wars (size
queens, indeed) and the myth that "big
ger equals better," since in reality ''bigger
equals more irresponsible" and is totally
not "hot."
BRENT REED San Francisco, Calif.
Church and state
Regarding your November 8 Cross Coun
try item that reads, "Catholic leaders
launched a petition drive in churches
across [MassachusettsJ on October 2 in
an effort to gather the 65,000 signatures
necessary to get a same-sex marriage ban
proposal on the 2008 ballot"-has anyone
called the IRS to check on when the
Catholic Church's tax-exempt status in
Boston was being withdrawn for getting
involved in politics to this degree? All
they do is collect money for those fat cats
who hate us, and now this!
MICHAEL O'DONNELL Tucson, Ariz.
Baby steps
After reading Chris Rice's column titled
"Friends Like These" [November 8J I felt
overwhelmingly compelled, but perhaps
not in the sense he'd like his readers to be.
Perhaps many younger gay men and
women feel as he does, that the gay mar
riage movement has been "thrust" on the
national stage, but I disagree. For us folks
who are a bit older, this sudden identifica
tion on a large scale isn't something that
I've seen appear out ofthin air. What I
have seen is a marriage movement that
has been created by thousands of small
stories massed to bring on a movement.
To disregard that fact is to devalue the
efforts of thousands of us who have for
many years been pushing for equality.
What compelled me even more than
this sudden phenomenon theory was ~
THE ADVOCATE