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[0:00] Aaron Albano: You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm Aaron Albano. For many theater artists, there's the show that changed everything. A musical that, for the first time, reflected a part of the artist they had never seen before. A show that gave that young artist a glimpse into their future, into an industry and community they would inevitably be a part of. And while that experience is by no means unique, it is often the kernel of why they've made the theater their life's work. So, for The Ensemblist's 300th episode, we are turning the tables. Today, I'll be interviewing The Ensemblist's co-creator and host, Mo Brady, about his favorite musical, the 1996 Broadway phenomenon, Rent. Here's our conversation.

[1:01] Aaron Albano: Hi, Mo, thanks for coming.

[1:03] Mo Brady: Hi, thanks for having me.

[1:05] Aaron Albano: Happy 300.

[1:06] Mo Brady: Happy 300. That's really sweet.

[1:08] Aaron Albano: Yeah, this is a, this is a occasion to celebrate. If you could introduce yourself and tell me where you're calling from, that'd be great.

[1:13] Mo Brady: My name is Mo Brady, and I'm calling from Maplewood, New Jersey.

[1:16] Aaron Albano: So tell me, what's your favorite musical?

[1:18] Mo Brady: For me, like for many people, I think we have different musicals that speak to us in different ways. When I thought about what my favorite musical is, I thought about the musical that I think is a part of me more than any other musical. And for me, that is Rent.

[1:35] Aaron Albano: That's crazy, because I would have said, I would have said Cats, because you've talked about Cats so much. And so, but I love that it's Rent, and I can't wait to hear you talk about it. Tell me what Rent is about, if I didn't know anything about it, if I wasn't as obsessed about it as you are. Describe Rent to me.

[1:54] Mo Brady: Okay, so Rent is a 90s musical that is based on the opera La Bohème. Like La Bohème, it's about a bunch of struggling artists in a city looking for love and finding purpose in life amidst trying circumstances. And for Rent, the situation takes place in New York's East Village, and it takes place in the 90s under the shadow of HIV AIDS. And we meet all of these different artists, creators, I think we would call them today. I guess I should say, and also it's like a rock score. I think that in the bigger context, if you wanted to know what Rent was, you would say it came along at a time where people thought Broadway may be dying. You know, there was sort of this old style of musical, the British invasion. Rent came and said, No, we can tell more youthful stories, we can tell more diverse stories, we can use more contemporary music, and it can be on Broadway. And that I think is really, you know, shaped the last 25 years.

[3:11] Aaron Albano: Nice. And how did you encounter it? Did you encounter it singing?

[3:14] Mo Brady: I was like, you know, a youth theater kid, and we would do our summer musicals, and we would like listen to things and we would like, I mean, I like really remember in seventh grade and being in the makeup room and singing along to the Heat Is On in Saigon. And just, you know, sort of like that energy, right? Big theater kid energy.

[3:32] Aaron Albano: B-T-K-E.

[3:33] Mo Brady: And so I think there was sort of buzz about this new musical that was coming up. But I really have to give credit to one of my best friends from high school. Her name is Kate. And Kate was like a Rent head. She was so excited about it. She was so excited about it that her senior year of high school, she booked a secret trip to New York, didn't tell her mom, like stayed in a hostel, saw Rent like three or four times that weekend, right? And I want to say this was maybe like May before the Tonys, right? So there was some sort of thing that was happening between like me being, you know, big theater kid energy, one of my best friends taking this sojourn to New York, the Tonys, I really remember the Tony Award performance, watching that over and over again on VHS.

And then of course, listening to the cast album. But to go back to your original question, I think that in their ways, Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber, like also made big shifts. This show also made a big shift and it made one for me.

[5:04] Aaron Albano: Do you remember the first time you saw it?

[5:06] Mo Brady: I do remember the first time I saw it. I've never seen the show on Broadway.

[5:09] Aaron Albano: Really?

[5:10] Mo Brady: I did see it off Broadway at New World Stages. I actually saw it, I think, in the West End in like 2001. I saw the motion picture. I saw the Rent Live on Broadway movie. But the first time I saw it was the National Tour. And I think at that time, they were calling the National Tours Angel, Benny and Collins. So I think it was the Benny Tour of Rent that I saw at the Moore Theater in Seattle. When Rent went on sale, it wasn't like Hamilton and regional houses, but it was that kind of energy like, like a radio station was doing this, like you can come win tickets to Rent if you come down to the box office on opening day, and you sing. And I got my dad to let me skip two classes. He drove me down to I think it was actually another theater, the Paramount Theater.

And we waited in the line, which wasn't that crazy. And I sang part of Seasons of Love on the radio, and they gave me and my dad free tickets to Rent. So the actual first time I saw it was from this like singing on the radio promo thing.

[7:03] Aaron Albano: Who is your favorite character?

[7:05] Mo Brady: I so identified with Mark like Mark was sort of the narrator, right? You think about this whole podcast thing, like I was dressing up for Mark as Halloween, like getting a sweater and like a little like a Britney Spears headphone, like, like a microphone, like I made, you know, like Casio headphones. So you wear those over the top of your head, right? I would wear them on the back of my head for this Halloween costume. And I would attach part of a coat hanger, uh-huh, the ear down to my mouth. So you've got that mic that sits in front of your mouth. Oh, nice. That sort of Britney Spears Rent mic, right? And you cover it with foam. And I would, that was my costume for Mark. Oh, and then I would spike my hair and I'd wear sort of the Anthony wrap glasses.

That being said, I just think Angel is just magic. You know, Angel is the heart of the show. Okay. She's sort of like otherworldly. For being a drag queen, she's got the biggest balls. And I just, I just admire that. I think it's one of the reasons the show was so successful is because there's like tons of tons and tons of heart in that show. But also there's just like a character that is like literally love, like that is her whole gig. And the older I get, I think the more power I see in that ability to inspire people through positivity. I would love, I'd love to be Angel. I would love to be just like as weird as all hell and make people be able to change people's minds and see the good in others.

[7:12] Aaron Albano: Tell me how you feel like it changed you, like it shifted the course of your life trajectory.

[7:18] Mo Brady: The show came along at exactly the right time for me to be like, oh, I have to do this. I have to be part of telling stories. You know, it was, it just hit me at just the right moment. You know, one of the like sneaky, wonderful things that I see now about Rent, so much of what I love about theater and like

[7:41] Mo Brady: Welcome to The Ensemblist, where we celebrate the performances and careers of ensemble performers. Today, we’re marking a special milestone—our 300th episode!

[8:11] Mo Brady: For this episode, I’ll be turning the tables and sharing my own story about a musical that changed everything for me: Rent.

[8:31] Mo Brady: Rent is a show that reflects so many aspects of my life and my journey as a theater artist.

[8:51] Mo Brady: It was the first time I saw a musical that spoke to my experiences and the community I wanted to be a part of.

[9:11] Mo Brady: I’m excited to dive into this conversation and explore what Rent means to me and to so many others.

[9:31] Mo Brady: Joining me today is Aaron Albano, who has a deep connection to this show as well.

[9:51] Aaron Albano: Thanks for having me, Mo! I’m thrilled to be here to discuss Rent with you.

[10:11] Mo Brady: Let’s start with your first experience with Rent. What was it like for you?

[10:31] Aaron Albano: I first saw Rent when I was in high school, and it completely blew my mind.

[10:51] Aaron Albano: The music, the characters, the themes—it all resonated with me in a way that I had never experienced before.

[11:11] Mo Brady: It’s amazing how a show can have such a profound impact on us at a young age.

[11:31] Aaron Albano: Absolutely! It opened my eyes to the possibilities of theater and storytelling.

[11:51] Mo Brady: And it’s interesting how Rent continues to speak to new generations of artists.

[12:11] Aaron Albano: Yes, the themes of love, loss, and community are timeless.

[12:31] Mo Brady: What do you think makes Rent so special in the landscape of musical theater?

[12:51] Aaron Albano: I think it’s the raw honesty of the characters and their struggles.

[13:11] Aaron Albano: It’s not just a story about artists; it’s a story about real people facing real challenges.

[13:31] Mo Brady: That authenticity really resonates with audiences.

[13:51] Aaron Albano: Definitely! And the music is just unforgettable.

[14:11] Mo Brady: Let’s talk about some of those iconic songs. Which ones stand out to you the most?

[14:31] Aaron Albano: “Seasons of Love” is a classic, but I also love “La Vie Bohème.”

[15:01] Mo Brady: Both of those songs capture the spirit of the show so well.