This past weekend, I went to see Anthony Rapp’s one man show Without You, which is based on his memoir of the same name. I went with Melis and her former students Taylor, Lauren, and Sandy. Afterward, we sprinted 14 blocks (14!!!) to the Cheesecake Factory (portobello burger – yum!) for dinner with Eric, who is prone to hyperbole, and Andy, who can run like a gazelle.
Before the show, when we were standing outside the theater waiting for Lauren, Anthony came walking up the street to the stage door. Sandy looked up and said, "Is that him? I think that’s him!" We all turned and Melis said, "Yeah, that’s him." It was one of those moments where you could be really cool and say "hi" or "break a leg" or something, but instead I just looked away and squealed like the dork I am. Well played, Stombaugh.
The show was all about the making of Rent, meeting Jonathan Larson, hearing those songs for the first time, creating a cultural phenomenon, losing Jonathan Larson, and about Anthony’s relationship with his mother, by all accounts a sweet little firecracker of a lady. The show was great. We had fabulous seats (I could have reached out and touched the stage) and he sang lots of Rent songs as well as some new ones he wrote for the show. It was cool to hear him sing "Without You" and "One Song Glory" because his character doesn’t sing those songs in the show. He also sang an early draft of the lyrics for "Rent" and that was cool to hear how the song evolved.
Afterward we met Anthony and got him to sign our tickets and Melis’ book. Just like when I met him in New York, I told him that I love Adventures in Babysitting, once again hoping he’d respond with "Ya think?" and once again being disappointed. (Well, we can’t have it all. However, this will, in no way, deter me from dropping to one knee and intoning, "Oh Thor, mighty god of thunder," should I ever meet Vincent D’Onofrio.) Anthony was very kind and gracious. We told him about our cousin Kristen and my friend Chris who are big fans of his, and he was very sweet listening to me prattle on.
The show’s run is finished now, but Anthony hopes to tour with it in the future and do a run in NYC. If you love Rent, definitely see it if you get the chance. If you don’t love Rent… well, what’s wrong with you?
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5 comments:
You went to this?! I heard about it a while ago and toyed with making the 6 hour drive, but I came to your same conclusion that it'll have to show up in NYC eventually. Do you know if he plans to release the new songs? Massively envious right now.
No idea if he's planning to release the songs. He's got a MySpace page that talks about his plans for the show, so he might say something on there.
We did tell him about you, if that helps with the massive envy. We said you loved his work and that you had gone down to meet him at the Philly bookstore. I should have said, "She was the adorable girl with the mop of curls" and he surely would have remembered immediately, but I was too starstruck to think properly. I am such a dork.
Thank you for talking about me. I hope it makes it to Broadway!
Oh yeah, his Myspace is actually how I heard about the show, so I'll have to check back and see about recordings.
Thanks for talking me up! Perhaps if you had reminded him that I was the girl who left him with the very lasting and unique comment of "I really liked your book..." Smooth, Gibson. Apparently we have similar starstruck reactions.
You both get it from your mothers! I've never actually seen my mother act this way, but I can picture it. Yours I've seen in action--more than once!
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