15 year reunion

RENT came to Toronto when I was 16. I have a clear memory of my friends going to see it. I didn’t know much about it besides the song Seasons of Love. Then there were full-page ads in The Toronto Star. I remember lying on my parents bed and my mom clipping some information out for my sister and I to go stand in line to get $20 tickets to see a performance. Sounded pretty easy. So my sister and I went downtown and waited in line. I can’t remember what day of the week it was but they had a weekday matinée that day. My sister and I were probably 10th in line. At the end of the show, a girl and boy walk out from the theatre and walk into line in front of us where an older woman was waiting. What the hell were these people doing? I got really mad at this girl and spoke up. In the end it was fine and we all got tickets, but that was my first encounter with a RENThead. Who knew 6 months later, I would be a RENThead. I slept on King Street at 4 am to get tickets to the evening show, I travelled around the see the show and have seen the show too many times that I would like to admit. But the most amazing thing about the show were the people who I’ve met. We are people from all walks of life who came together for the love of a show, the meaning of it and the experience. Some of us were young, some were really young and some were older. No matter what our age was, the show struck a chord, the experience of it meant something to us. For two years we talked, emailed, obsessed, travelled, obsessed some more, sang and spent tons of time together. Then the show ended, life went on and we all went our separate ways. Most of us have each other on Facebook although we might not talk often or ever, we still are up-to-date on each others lives. Some of us however, have kept in touch and have become amazing friends all because of this show.

 

Me @ 17 and Luther Creek (original Canadian cast Roger)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fast forward 15 years.

Last night, I attended an amazing benefit concert in support of Fife House where some of the Toronto original cast members of RENT performed. I was really excited about seeing the old cast perform together again. A few of us bought tickets and went to the benefit. The benefit was beautifully done in an intimate theatre downtown. It was the perfect setting. Fine, I might not have had front row seats but the show was incredible. A lifetime of memories flooded into my mind, my heart. It was incredible. There is a bond with RENTheads (sorry for the cheesiness here) have with one another, a commonality of sorts that no matter how much time has passed our inner teenage RENThead self emerges and we just get each other. We danced, sang, hugged even cried in the performance. It was nice to hear how the show affected and changed the lives of the actors as well. At the end, the performers did an encore of Seasons of Love. My friends and I were able to go on stage and sing it with them. Everything at that moment came full circle. I always wanted to sing with them on stage when I was 17 and now at 31 I was given the opportunity. It was amazing. We are now adults, people that they can relate to. Yes, we are still those people who obsessed over them, but we are more than that and yesterday confirmed some much of that. It was an amazingly special experience.

My friend Laura, Jenifer Aubry (Maureen) and Me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laura, Me, Jenifer Aubry, Karen LeBlanc, and Dani

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S stay tuned for some old pictures from the RENT days!

Comments

  1. Awww I got a little teary!

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