To Rent or not to Rent

Even though I spent much of my teenage-hood in hopeless drama nerdiness I still never quite became enamored with Rent. The musical always seemed like a hopelessly campy take on a complex and heartbreaking topic, sort of like "Angels in America" as adapted by the Muppets.

Add to that that I've always felt the show lacked truly standout musical numbers (the closest being "La Vie Boheme") and it just lacks appeal for me, someone who is in general fairly tolerant of musicals.



In any case I have elected not to see the touring production in Portland but would be interested to hear the take of anyone who did.

Thoughts? What's the mysterious attraction behind this thing?