While musical fans geared up to watch Fox’s Rent Live Sunday night, it turned out the live televised musical wouldn’t be live after all. Following a dress rehearsal, star Brennin Hunt (Roger) broke his foot during a practice run the night before. To accommodate his injury, the network broadcasted earlier footage from the dress rehearsal rather than have a truly live performance.
As the broadcast began, a “Previously Recorded” lower third was added to the screen. Additionally, as the show went to its first commercial break, the cast gathered live as Vanessa Hudgens (Maureen) addressed the not-so-live performance, “Last night during our performance in front of a live audience, one of our cast members sustained an injury. A visit to the hospital confirmed that Brennin Hunt, our Roger, had broken his foot and will be unable to perform tonight,” she said. Then, Jordan Fisher (Mark) revealed they reworked the final act to accommodate Hunt’s injury to perform live, alongside the entire original Broadway cast.
While actors such as Fisher, Hudgens, and Brandon Victor Dixon (Collins) soared to carry the performance, as a taped rehearsal, much of the show left lackluster impressions on viewers.
Lessons from tonight’s #RentLive:
1. Live is ALWAYS better than prerecorded
2. Give it your all during the dress rehearsal since it may be your final performance
3. Anything can happen in live theater
4. Always be prepared for the unexpected (like having an understudy)— Jeff (@jzipster) January 28, 2019
When your drama teacher instructs you to never phone it in and always go full out in a dress rehearsal, this is why. #RENTLive
— Shira (@Prncsopowr) January 28, 2019
Oh god if that performance of I’ll Cover You didn’t devastate you I just don’t know what to say. @BrandonVDixon is an absolute genius #rentlive
— Justin “Hoops” McElroy (@JustinMcElroy) January 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/Rachel_Lois0421/status/1089725138852024320
https://twitter.com/avrgschmoe/status/1089713402287538176
#RENTLive may be lacking in some areas, but at least it’s getting the story out there, a new generation, a new musical theater fan, someone who needs a message of hope. Regardless of what’s happening the message is still there.
— Kara H (@karaMhandy) January 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/theycallmeVLM/status/1089739820094705671
While TV viewers were stuck watching the broadcast of the dress rehearsal, Sunday night’s live audience were treated to special live concert of the performance, including Hunt sitting in a wheelchair onstage, as the entire crew gave their all for the live studio audience. If only fans could see that version on TV…
From tonight's cast concert rendition, here's "Out Tonight." #RENT https://t.co/ISZqmG3rtw
— RENT on FOX (@RENTonFOX) January 28, 2019
You also wish you could have seen this duo become a trio! @RENTonFOX #buythedvd #rentlive @ pic.twitter.com/iIOloUr9uL
— Alison Young (@Foreverayoung) January 28, 2019
Thanks @RENTonFOX for giving us this extra creative genius tonight! pic.twitter.com/ggIZPzR6Aj
— Alison Young (@Foreverayoung) January 28, 2019
You wish you could see this version! @RENTonFOX #RentLive pic.twitter.com/HhEbHnN3HB
— Alison Young (@Foreverayoung) January 28, 2019
Tinashe wheels Brennin across the stage during a commercial break. Crowd in the studio is going nuts! #RentLive #RentOnFox #Rent #RentLiveOnFox pic.twitter.com/xXEW7bxNvl
— Marjorie Hernandez (@HernandezMJae) January 28, 2019
The cast is still out here performing as the live stream plays on TV. #RENTLive pic.twitter.com/ThSVMXNweM
— olivia (@ginaolivia) January 28, 2019
YES. This is the spirit of theater! The show must go on!! #RENT #RentLive pic.twitter.com/wxeQZ8E5BK
— broadway.com (@broadwaycom) January 28, 2019
For the production’s final scenes, the network aired the live performance, reworked to accommodate Hunt’s injury. including the moving rendition of the OBC and their FOX counterparts singing “Seasons of Love.”
Original cast members Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jesse L. Martin, Wilson Jermain Heredia, Fredi Walker, Taye Diggs, Gilles Chiasson, Rodney Hicks, and Timothy Britten Parker brought all of the feels for the final number.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH9anUb4BBY
While the final performance had a number of technical difficulties, considering this was FOX’s first live televised musical, hopefully the next musical event will go much smoother.
Photo: FOX