I had similar thoughts, in some ways, after seeing a semi-updated A Chorus Line. ACL's Broadway doesn't exist anymore--the place is different, the actors are different, the shows are different. This production threw in odd updated stuff, such as changing the characters' birthdates and substituting "Johnny Depp" for "Steve McQueen". This seemed to miss the point in so many ways. You can't change these things and expect the audience to accept ACL as a current story, because of the things I mentioned above. I think you have to present it as a period piece--and yet, the important thing about ACL was how contemporary it was. (The Music Man was historical fiction; West Side Story was never terribly realistic, as far as I understand; Guys and Dolls works as a period piece, IMO). I almost came to the conclusion that ACL shouldn't be put on anymore, because it'll never have the same meaning.

Rent is, in some ways, a 1990s Chorus Line--I don't think it'll ever mean as much again. Just as in ACL, the exciting thing about Rent was that it was a musical about Real People Now. I think it has a better chance that ACL, though, of making it as a period-piece musical.

Now, would Rent have gotten as much publicity/success/applause if it weren't for Jonathan Larson's death? I've heard impassioned arguments on both sides.