no day but today

I have a little trick I use to break myself out of my blues. And it works like a charm.

No matter how down, sad, lonely, or just plain tired I am, I lay down, close my eyes, and play the soundtrack to Rent, the musical. Some days I only need a few songs, some days the whole soundtrack.

Mind you, I may live in New York but I am not a theatre person. I barely tolerated Miss Saigon, have no desire to see Hairspray, and just plain did not like the theatre version of Chicago. Dramatic theatre? My money is better spent on beer.

For those of you unfamiliar with Rent, it is the tale of various artists living on the Lower East Side of New York, struggling with their art, their poverty, and the AIDS epidemic. It is a modern day adaptation of Puccini’s opera, La Boheme. The resounding theme, at least to me, is to appreciate every day of life; you never know when it may be your last. In short, "no day but today." This is even more poignant as the creator of the musical, Jonathan Larson, died of a brain aneurism on opening night. The timing and the unpredictability of his death are overwhelming. For more detail, the play synopsis and the story of its creation is available on the website.

If you have not been fortunate enough to see the play, take heed, it is finally being converted to film! Even better, most of the original cast has been contracted to appear in the flick as well - including some faces you the common TV viewer will recognize . I am absolutely ecstatic about this news, and can't wait to see it in the theater and own the DVD.

In the meantime I still have the actual soundtrack to listen to, and it’s nice to know that I'm only two hours and six minutes from inner peace.