Broadway’s “Rent” comes to Smule
With future Broadway productions on hold, many enthusiastic performers are searching for a way to continue contributing to the world of music. Smule community members Megan Meyer, Pepe Monar, and Darci Wong came together with an innovative plan to bring back the joy and delight of a Broadway production—virtually. Monar reached out to seven other singers to recreate “Rent” with the help of good timing, cleverly placed props, and, of course, Smule. That RentonSmule group has strategically worked across different time zones and different “backgrounds” to create a virtual musical masterpiece.
“The way the app brings people together from different parts of the world is amazing. I don’t think there’s a better way of bringing people together than through music,” said Monar. And while the mighty team behind this unique version of “Rent” has been performing together for the last few months, each came to the app separately and for different reasons. Wong, for example, initially tried the app to do a simple recording for a commercial and ended up staying for over 4 years.
Wong recalled, “I had no idea the community that was behind this one app and now this app is a treasure on my phone.” She now considers her Smule group to be family and friends. “Every time I log into it I have all my friends that love music and my friends that love theater.” What began as a one-off recording has become an opportunity to share the love of music with a welcoming community. And from what we can tell, it seems like this is only the beginning of what this group is going to accomplish together.
