A Look at Disney: My Favorite Songs From RENT (Play & Movie)

Well, I'm taking a break from Disney to bring you this special cross over. I've stated in the past that one of my all time favorite movies is RENT and this is the one musical, I've always wanted to see. I've brought up my love of this musical in the past quite a bit and today, I've decided to count down my Top 8 favorite songs from RENT. Now I'll be looking at both the original Broadway play and the movie for this.

8. Seasons of Love (Play)

Now there was no way, I could leave this off my list and that is part of the reason, why I extended the number to 8. While I love this song and this is the song, that RENT is best known for, I do think there are other songs that are better but I will be honest and say that the emotion is very raw and powerful in this one. Great song. I just love it for what it is.

7. Happy New Year (Play)

This song is just a lot of fun, at this point Mark and Roger have been kicked out of their apartment and are now squatters. I just love this song, it is just so much fun and so full of life. Like Christmas Bells, which is also my list, it's a great showcase for all of the characters. They all get a great moment to shine.

6. Tango Maureen (Movie)

It is Tango Maureen and here in this song, we have Mark (one of my favorite characters and his exes' new flame, Joanne). In the song, they are talking about all the ways, they fell for Maureen and her antics. It's a lot of fun and I could've gone with the OBC (Original Broadway Cast) or the film version but I had to go with the film version because of how elaborate it is. I mean when the dance starts, we see the studio Mark and Joanne transform into a ballroom. Here look.

That to me is just so cool, and it goes so well with this number. This was one of my favorite things in this film. Just the idea of the rundown studio turning into a ballroom as these two talk about the same woman, they loved but have also been scorned by was a neat touch.

5. Christmas Bells (Play)

As stated in Seasons of Love and seen throughout both the film and the play, the story spans over a year and there are three songs reflecting this. One of them being Christmas Bells, which comes rather early in the play as when the story starts it's Christmas Eve. This song is just a great moment for the character such as my favorites Angel and Collins to shine. Along with Mark and Roger as well. I think part of the thing, I like with this song is how it feels like you are listening in on what is happening with these conversations and in a way, it makes me feel like a fly on the wall. Also, it's one of my favorite Christmas songs.

4. Goodbye Love (Play)

I hope you enjoyed those two on my list as they were the fun songs, because the rest are a bit heavy. This comes in the second act after Angel had passed away and this song always makes me bawl especially listening to Collins as Angel was the love of his life and with him, gone he doesn't know where to turn to and these friends were more then friends, they were family and Angel was the glue that held them together but Angel's death tore them apart. The death of Angel has put a fracture in this family and you can see how much they've been through and how they don't want to face reality because they're scared of what might happen. Also Mimi who also has AIDs, what Angel died from is getting worse and at this point, it doesn't seem as though she'll make it. This is one of the most tragic songs in the play because you can just feel how much this family has been hurt.

3. I'll Cover You (Reprise) (Play)

This is one of the songs, that I knew had to be in the top 3, to set it up, this song is a reprise of an earlier song when Collins and Angel sing about how much they love each other. This reprise takes place at Angel's funeral and Collins isn't ready to let go of the love of his life. It was clear that Angel was his love and with Angel gone, he just broken. One of the big moments in this number that always gets to me is when they show Collins at Angel's casket as he's singing this. As though, he's trying to protect Angel.

2. Halloween (Play)

Okay so this is from a different performance and it also includes Goodbye Love but I'm here to focus on Halloween, which is heard in the beginning. It's one of the shortest songs in the play. I've always looked at Halloween as being Mark's breaking point and wondering what happened to his family of friends that he love and why these events occurred the way, they did.

1. Will I? (Movie)

I knew as soon as I came up with this list, what had to be number one and honestly, it could be either version here but seeing as I saw the film first, it felt right to go with that one. This song asks such a simple question, Will I? referring to these people dealing with having AIDS/HIV. I think it shows so well, that they are scared and don't know what to do. As I've said all throughout this movie/play can make me cry and this song was perhaps the first thing I cried to because I've made it no secret that I have epilepsy, or seizures if you will and even though, I know people do care about me, there are still days when I ask myself this question. Sure, it may seem a bit silly to some but that is a question, I've often asked. Will I?

Before I end, I'd like to say thank you to this show's creator, Jonathan Larson who is sadly no longer with us. He sadly died in 1996, one night before RENT opened. Thus he never got to see his labor of love realized. Well, Johnathan Larson, you may no longer be with us but thank you for creating my favorite musical and my first love of musicals. I have seen other musicals but this one has stayed with me, the most throughout my life. As I said throughout this entire article, this film/play can easily get to me.

It is clear to me, how much time and effort went into making this play. Which if you wanted to learn more about it, there is a great behind the scenes book that details the history of the play, has the entire script and character bios in it as well.

Lastly, if you like me haven't had the chance to see the play, the movie is good but I also highly suggest RENT: Filmed Live on Broadway aka The Final Performance to see what the play is really like as it is just amazing.