I saw NPH performing this roll when Rent first came to San Diego around this time. It was the first performance "off broadway". It was weird cause I knew him as Doogie, and he was like 10 feet away. It only took about 15 seconds for Doogie to totally vanish. He was amazing in the roll.
I saw them both at this west coast debut at the La Jolla Playhouse and they were both fantastic. NPH killed it that night. so good. Christian was really into it to.
Thank you so much for sharing this!! Neil was the reason I fell in love with Rent. He was my first Mark, back in 1997. I've been lucky to have seen both Neil, as well as Anthony and Adam when they reprised their roles on Broadway in 2007. So hard to choose a favorite Mark when I've seen both!
Omg, I remember Neil and Christian... They hung out after the show. Omg, and Marc and Andy. I wonder where everyone is these days! Thanks for posting and taking me back to some good times :)
Wow. Okay. I just witnessed Neil Patrick Harris performing a song from Rent. I may now die in peace. Gotta say, I was singing along at the last chorus. Alone. At 1:30 in the morning.
Neil Patrick Harris directed the Hollywood Bowl performance of Rent - there are many clips here on RU-vid, if you’re curious. It stars Aaron Tveit as Roger, Nicole Scherzinger as Maureen, Skylar Astin as Mark, Telly Leung as Angel, Wayne Brady as Collins, Tracie Thoms as Joanne (reprising the movie role), and Vanessa Hudgens as Mimi.
I love Dr. Horrible. Neil is awesome in it. I really want to get it on dvd. I have the movie version, and the final live performance of Rent. I just watched the movie today.
Awesome doesn't even begin to cover how great this clip is, but it's a good start! My favorite song from Rent, sung by one of my favorite performers, who does an incredible job...thank you so much for posting!! :D
I knew NPH did musical theater but I had no idea he was this good. He's got an amazing voice. Despite what I'm reading here about the other guy I liked him too. Just to name drop a little..I met NPH and his partner and talked with them a bit.
Neil Patrick Harris is the best Mark EVER! I wish he was in the movie, the Mark in the movie is the best ever too...They kinda sound the same in the voice, I LOVE IT!
Believe me...Neil Patrick Harris killed it in Rent, I saw him like 4 times...On this he is ok...But watching him in character on stage....he was excellent! To this day he is my favorite Mark. He was really good. I saw this Roger to but it's hard to even come close to Adam Pascal.
ive never seen this before but OMG! NPH is an amazing singer! hes like the perfect actor. and as someone who loves rent like i do, i wish he had been in the original.
I love this! i saw anthony rapp on broadway this summer and it was amazing. i think NHP and rapp are tied in my mind. also. i LOVED the handiphone use haha.
i agree with you about Anthony, about everything. Mark's my favorite character as well and NPH does a really good job of playing him. i actually didn't even know he was ever in RENT until today, so naturally had to look it up here and listen to him. haha. i agree that he's an amazing performer and the musical is great. it would be cool to see him in it, but i think seeing it with Anthony was the best.
Neil Patrick Harris=amazing as usual.... Roger... BAD BAD Roger... I mean, I'm sure he's talented, but I cannot BELIEVE someone would seriously cast HIM as Roger...
A reason why What You Own works for me is because Mark's and Roger's voice goes and blends together, which show how they are facing similar struggles and draw a parallel between the two. NPH is great here, but his voice and Christian Mena's kind off clashed together. At the same time, Mena's voice doesn't really have a rocker quality. It's booming and like someone said, more Collins-ish than Roger's.
There are plenty of articles (just go google NPH and Rent) that prove that NPH DID indeed play this role in 1997. I can tell you that the first time I ever heard a song performed from Rent, it was on a TV talk show with NPH. And that was a long time prior to the movie, which came out in 2005.
