Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent

At first there’s mainly talk about Rent as Anthony’s one of the original cast members from the workshop production before it went on broadway. It was great to read about those early days of the show and how much changed. One of the roughest parts to get through was Jonathan Larson’s death. Jonathan Larson was the creative genius behind Rent. He died the night before their off-broadway opening night of an aortic aneurysm. He was young and talented and full of life. It was a very emotional section.

I hoped that it was the most emotional part of the book, I was wrong. Through most of the book Anthony’s mother fights a long, and, in the end, losing battle with cancer. In the early days of Rent she relapses from her remission and her show more deterioration is a major part of the book.
When the cancer won the battle, I was so glad I was at home. Up until then I was reading it in the car and at work, fighting back the tears. I could just let them fall as I read about how he got through it and dealt with the grief. If you read this book, have a box of tissues close at hand!

This is a great book for anyone to read. Although, if you don’t like Rent, I wouldn’t pick it up as it is a huge part of his life. He’s been a part of the show in every stage it’s been through. I don’t think I’ll ever listen to or watch it the same way again. show less

[review written 2011]

So today I finished Without You by Anthony Rapp. I got this in New York as a rather large fan of the musical RENT but after reading it within a day (and even taking it with me to the Metropolitan Museum of Art) I realized it was much, much more than just a memoir of my favorite musical. It deals with Anthony’s mother’s battle with cancer, his relationships with friends and family, and of course with the musical as well. I loved the book as soon as I got it, and I’m grateful since it was a spur-of-the-moment purchase. It was inspiring and gave me chills, and Anthony Rapp’s writing style is powerful and flows really well, unlike this sentence.

I just finished Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical RENT by Anthony Rapp. Anyone who knows me will testify that I'm a devout RENThead. And as much as I love Jesse, both on Law & Order and his role as Collins in RENT, and as much as I think Adam Pascal is a total hottie, I've always loved Anthony Rapp. There's something so approachable about him. So reading his autobiography was interesting.

The title was aptly chosen. Besides being one of the most mournful songs of RENT, Without You is also the theme of the book in general, the parts of Anthony's life he's choosing to show the world. The book begins with Anthony being late to his audition for RENT because he was at a friend's memorial -- the first real loss of his life. show more Then, the night the play previewed, Jonathan Larson (the writer, and Anthony's friend)died. Throughout the book, Anthony is dealing with the impending death of his mother from cancer, the inability to communicate adequately with any of his family members, and watching the original members of the cast of RENT -- his adopted family, in a way -- all leave the show to pursue other venues. Also, a little more abstractly, he deals with his own problems with adult loving relationships, his bout of self-destructive behavior after his mother's death, his need to not be alone while all this was happening, not for a single night.

The whole book was very touching, very real, and most of all -- it was totally unglamorized. Anthony was NOT afraid to show the times he messed up, the times he was uncertain, the times he let people down. This is the story of a normal man, living his personal life as best as he can. His status as a Broadway A-Lister is never mentioned -- in fact, once the show becomes a hit, he avoids mentioning it or his own popularity at all, prefering to focus on his internal and personal life, retreating the book from the stage where it began.

I'm now actually kind of upset that I missed the chance to go to the NYC Borders for his book signing. I wish I could sit and chat with him, even for ten minutes, get to know this really amazing man. show less

If you enjoyed the musical RENT you will probably enjoy parts of this book.

I really loved the parts of the book about RENT and learning about how the show came together and some backstage information about the production and how they all reacted to Jonathan Larson's death and the show's wild success.

A huge section of the book is about Anthony Rapp dealing with the death of his mother and that will either work for you or it won't. It didn't work for me other than gaining some insight into how stressful his life was during the early days of the show.

Another big component of the book revolves around Rapp's romantic life which is filled with drama. Again, many people might enjoy that, but I didn't. I have very low tolerance for people who show more thrive on relationships that are nothing but arguments and making up again and Rapp is definately one of those people!

So, Rent parts good, personal life parts not so good. Overall an OK book but nothing special. show less

I loved the first half of this book. Anyone who is a fan of RENT would enjoy reading about the birth of the musical. I could’ve done without the author’s first sexual experiences in the middle, but I could certainly identify with some of the grief he experienced when he lost his mother. All-in-all I’d only recommend it if you are a big fan of RENT.

I really think the title says it all when it comes to this book. Anthony Rapp was one of the Original Broadway cast members of RENT. The memoir starts with Rapp’s first audition for the workshop of the show through the beginning of the filming of the movie, and while the book does cover a lot about the musical, a lot of the focus of the book is also on his famly and personal life.

The book was very well written, very bittersweet, brought tears to my eyes at all the right moments, and made me actually feel that I was there witnessing some of the events. It’s made me wish so much more that I had a chance to go to see the show on Broadway when it first got big, and I know that the next time the show comes anywhere near here, I’ll show more definitely make a point of going to see it.

Oh, and by the bye, I really ought to stop getting books from the library that are going to make me cry, because then you can’t really enjoy the fact that the book is bringing tears to your eyes as you’re too busy worrying that you might get tears on the pages, therefore making the pages all wrinkly. It’s not as much fun that way. show less

As someone who is a huge fan of 'Rent', I though I knew a lot of what there was to know about the first productions of Rent. I knew I was wrong once I read this book. Anthony Rapp tells this story in such a compelling way, weaving the subject matter of 'Rent' with the loss of Jonathan Larson and the death of his mother. It's a beautifully told story that made me cry a lot