by John Mandes
Out Front/Colorado Springs
April 5, 2000

Ryan Meisheid has just the ticket for having fun on the day of his senior prom - he's not going.

Instead, the 17-year-old Regis High School senior will be doing something he feels is much more worthwhile. He'll be on the road to Colorado Springs to see the hit musical "Rent."

Meisheid, who won't be buying his tickets in advance, hopes he'll have a chance to score "rush" tickets to the hit Broadway musical which has developed a cult-like following around the world.

"I didn't think twice about it," Meisheid said. "I can't pass up a chance to see 'Rent' again."

Senior proms are supposed to be a big deal, a rite of passage for high school seniors who are about to go on to a full-time job or college leaving their youth behind.

"I have had some friends say something to me about not going," Meisheid said. "[One of my friends] said I could go to 'Rent' any time but my senior prom comes once in a lifetime.

"But I thought, why am I going to spend all this money on a dinner and a dance and I'm not a big dancer."

To Meisheid, it's a simple no-brainer. Although his decision might be difficult for others to understand, he has the support of his mother, Nancy Meisheid.

"I know Ryan and to him this is just so more important than [going to his senior prom]," she said.

The draw of "Rent" among a young, heretofore untapped youthful theatre audience is unmistakable.

"Rent's" story follows somewhat the story of Puccini's La Boheme, a musical story peppered with struggling artists, the downtrodden and central characters living with and sometimes dying of life-threatening illnesses.

Written and scored by Jonathan Larson, "Rent's" musical style is abrupt, unapologetic, direct and immediate. Although the play's theme is clearly anti-technology, the musical's official web site is an example in the latest web building technology.

The hit musical, which won both the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for drama and the 1996 Tony Awards for best musical, best score and best book, has had its own dark clouds to contend with.

First there was Larson's unexpected death on Jan. 25, 1996 of an aortic aneurysm which denied him the opportunity to enjoy his creation's unbridled success. Then there was the legal challenge to Larson's copyright of "Rent" by the show's dramaturge Lynn Thomson who claimed that she was responsible for much of the show's content and deserved a large chare of the royalties.

Thomson lost her suit on July 23, 1997 when U.S. District Judge in New York ruled against her.

Yet, there is something about the show's energy, immediacy and core message that has touched young people as few, if any, Broadway musicals ever have. And although Ryan Meisheid's enthusiasm for "Rent" and his decision to pass on his senior prom may seem extreme to some people, it makes prefect sense to Matt Caplan. Caplan is the 20-year-old actor who plays the role of Mark in the Benny Tour company of "Rent" which will be performing in Colorado Springs April 11 - 16. Mark is "Rent's" primary character and narrator.

"I never went to my senior prom either," Caplan said in a phone interview from his Phoenix, Ariz. hotel room. "I think Ryan made a completely understandable decision. Good for him."

In fact, Caplan said, he had just discussed his experience missing his senior prom the day before during a television appearance on "Good Morning Phoenix." "For me it was more of just feeling like I didn't fit in with the crowd," Caplan said. "I always felt like I was more of an observer than a participant. In a way, that's one of the reasons I feel so close to the
character of Mark." Meisheid said he also feels closest to the character of Mark.

"[Mark] holds stuff back, he hesitates and doesn't know quite what to say,"Meisheid said. "He's a historian catching everything on film for others to watch."

It's more than just one character, though, that takes "Rent" from being just another musical and turns it into the powerful emotional experience so many people seem to agree it is.

Toronto resident Amanda Montague has seen "Rent" 23 times and said she, too, fully understands Meisheid's decision to skip his senior prom. "If it was up to me and I had a choice between seeing "Rent" and going to a senior prom, I'd definitely go to see 'Rent.'" There is no way a senior prom could ever compare in value and meaning to seeing "Rent," she said.

"Every word in that show has meaning," she said. "The people on stage aren't just characters. They are real people from today's world.

"It inspires me every time I see the show. It gives me hope that in this crazy world people can still stay together and find happiness."

Montague said of the 23 times she has seen "Rent," seven of those performances were by the Benny Tour cast with Caplan as Mark.

"He's wonderful," Montague said. "He is one of my favorite Marks. He brings such a sense of humor to the role yet we can still see the angst-ridden Mark." Caplan said that he appreciates what Montague was able to see in his performance.

"I have always tried to find the humor in Mark even among the more serious aspects of his character," Caplan said. "And there is humor."

One of the more humorous parts of Mark's character is his awkwardness, Caplan said. That is something he knows a little about.

"Well Mark's a bit of a nerd and I'm a bit of a nerd," Caplan said. Montague said she agrees that Mark is a bit of a nerd but it's one of the things that makes his character so meaningful to her and other people young and old alike.

"These characters are real," Montague said. "Teenagers can be very superficial. But when they see 'Rent' and see the stories of these characters and the hardships in their lives, you see how you need to be thankful for what you have right here, right now.

"The show is so powerful, it has changed the course of my life. It has been two years since I first saw 'Rent' and I can see my future now. I can't even imagine what my life was like before I saw 'Rent'."

Meisheid said he realizes that there is the chance that he'll get to Colorado Springs and there may not be a ticket available.

"There has to be one available ticket," Meisheid said. "If there isn't, well, then I'd be disappointed about the time I spent driving down there but not about my decision to go.

"Every time I have waited in line for the rush tickets, it has always been great. I've spent the time getting to know new people who share the same love of 'Rent' that I do."

" 'Rent' brings people together," Meisheid said. "People who might have never had anything to say, see the message in 'Rent' and it brings them together. "Besides, 'Rent' has made such a difference in my life, it's worth it," he said.