"That latest strategy is not without potential pitfalls. Audiences are fickle; “Rent,” an early ’90s love-and-loss story inspired by “La Bohème,” might seem old hat — it has toured extensively and a movie version came out in 2005 — even though this will be a brand-new production by the original director, Michael Greif. (Open auditions for a new cast will be held on March 18 for the production, which will start previews on July 14 and open on Aug. 11.)"
the catch seems to be that rent, while at the time awesome and daring and groundbreaking in both its treatment of its subjects (AIDS, homosexuality) and its minimal staging and on-stage "rock" band, these very aspects are what make the show seem dated in 2011 (or in 2008, when it closed)...how does one update a new production for a newer time (no AZT, for example) without ruining what was great about the original?
i can't help but remember the revival i saw in london in 2004, which was a complete disaster--the new direction was poor, the new staging was too much, they had edited and/or removed several of the numbers, and there was no noticeable improvement in the choreography.
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