The Art of Changemaking

Rent is a rock musical that tells the tales of impoverished, sometimes homeless, young artists and musicians who are struggling to create and survive amidst the gray grittiness of the very Bohemian Alphabet City.

Its main protagonists are Mark Cohen, a young indie filmmaker who sees the world through his camera’s lenses; his roommate, Roger Davis, a young songwriter who is struggling to write “one song to leave behind; Mimi Marquez, an exotic dancer who develops a relationship with Roger; Tom Collins, a philosophy professor; “Angel” Dumott Schunard, a drag queen who becomes Tom’s lover; Maureen Johnson, a performance artist and activist who is protesting the closure of performance spaces in Alphabet City; Joanne Jefferson, a Harvard grad and lawyer who is also Maureen’s production manager–and partner; and Benny Coffin, the local landlord who also happens to be the ex-roommate of Roger, Mark, Maureen, and Tom.

What makes Rent more interesting than your usual “coming-of-age”, “life in the Big City” love story is that issues of homelessness, homosexuality, and AIDS are very integral to the story. With these taboo issues as part of the backdrop, Rent becomes not only a terrific theatrical piece but also a powerful social commentary. It forces us to park our prejudices out the door and see life’s underbelly for the passion and the color that it can produce. This Manila run is also timely because the sharp rise of HIV/AIDS among young professionals has been headline fodder for some weeks now.

While this is not meant to be a review of the musical, I’d have to say that I loved every part of it and found the songs very moving and well-executed by our uber-talented Filipino cast members.  I also found the performances of Nicole Laurel Asensio (who played Mimi last night) and Carla Guevara (Maureen) very powerful and passionate. (Kudos to everyone who made RENT Manila possible! :>)

What I’d like to share here are some lessons I had learned from the musical’s songs. Being the music lovers that we all are, I’m sure it won’t hurt to add some of these songs to the playlists of our lives and be reminded every day of how fragile and how precious life truly is.

One Song Glory

(”One song / Glory / One song / Before I go / Glory / One song to leave before I go”)

Sung by Roger, the AIDS-stricken songwriter who has been living mostly as a recluse because of his “baggage”, this is a painful reminder of what we’d all like to leave behind in life. Will it just be one song? Why not two? Why not more? Instead of using pain, loss, and despair as our excuses for letting the days just fly by, why can’t we use them as fuel for creativity and for reclaiming the life that’s meant to be lived and enjoyed while we can?

Another Day (”No day but today”)

(”There’s only us / There’s only this / Forget regret / Or life is yours to miss / No other road / No other way / No day but today”)

How often have we let moments pass us by only to realize later on that we were too late–in loving, in forgiving, in letting people into our lives, in letting go? In the context of the musical, when something like AIDS brings death closer to your door, there really is no other day–to live, to laugh, to love, to hope, and to act–but today. But why wait for something tragic to strike when you can fully live every moment and make the most of the time that you’ve got? Indeed, there is really no other day but TODAY.

Over the Moon

(”To jump over the / Moon / [Leap of faith] / Only thing to do is / Jump over the moon”)

This is a really funny part, and Carla Guevara as Maureen performs it sooo well. Over the Moon is a performance art piece that features Elsie, the cow, and her admonition for us to “jump over the moon.” When life sends challenges raining over your head and when you feel like all hope is lost, there’s really nothing else to do but summon all the remaining courage and will that you’ve got and just jump over the moon! If Elsie the cow can do it, so can we.

Seasons of Love

(”Five hundred twenty-five thousand / Six hundred minutes / How do you measure the life / Of a woman or man? … Measure, measure your life in love”)

Who doesn’t know this song, right? Seasons of Love reminds us that, more than the grand accomplishments and the big wins, it’s the little things that count most in life and in relationships. (Daylights, sunsets, midnights, cups of coffee; inches, miles, laughter, strife…) When you look at your life and what you’d like to leave behind, think in terms of  the love you want to share. Measure your life in love and you’ll see just how much there is to be grateful for.

And so I leave you on this Sunday morning (or whenever you’re reading this) with a beautiful reminder of how life truly ought to be lived.

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For show dates and ticket information, click HERE