Things We Saw Today: Star Trek: Discovery Cast Sings a Parody of RENT for Nerds
File this under things I never thought I’d type: now you can watch the cast of Star Trek: Discovery give RENT’s standard “Seasons of Love” a nerdy spin, as they sing on the starship bridge in full makeup and uniform.
The in-joke that kicks this thing off is that Anthony Rapp, who plays Stamets, was one of the original cast members of RENT. Rapp played the lead role of Mark Cohen, and Wilson Cruz, who plays Stamets’ lover Hugh Culber, was also on Broadway in RENT as Angel. The two men have been friends for more than twenty years; you may have caught that reference to “La Boheme” in the first season of Discovery, which was a tip of the hat to the actors’ time in RENT.
When I had the chance to speak with the cast of Discovery at NYCC, I jokingly asked Rapp and Cruz if we’d ever get to see them singing on the show—maybe there’d be a musical episode, or a holodeck-type situation that necessitated it? They confirmed that we might, in fact, have some onscreen singing eventually. But I didn’t think I’d get to see Discovery‘s stars belting out RENT, much less having so much winking fun with it.
In the clip posted to the official Star Trek Facebook video page, Anthony Rapp (Stamets) is joined by Sonequa Martin-Green (Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), and Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly) on Discovery‘s bridge. They sing a tongue-in-cheek Star Trek-themed version of “Seasons of Love,” anchored by Rapp:
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred reboots
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred Star Trek shows to explore
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred spin-offs
All boldly going where no one’s gone before
From Shatner, and Stewart, to Whoopi and Leonard Nimoy
From Nichols, to Pine, and don’t forget Takei,
In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred Star Treks
And there’s one reason this franchise thrives
The answer is: nerds
Thanks to the nerds
Shout out to nerds
So many nerds
The cast is clearly having fun and self-identifying as nerds themselves; something about Doug Jones standing there and singing in full Saru makeup makes this even more surreal. Can we have a musical episode, um, yesterday?
(image: screengrab)
- Cardi B.’s former AP History teacher has a message for those who have told the singer not to get political: “STFU and sit down.” (via Jezebel)
- Daredevil‘s Deborah Ann Wohl has a Dungeons & Dragons show launching tonight, and Charlie Cox is set to guest star. (via Comicbook)
- Chris Pratt swears that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will be made. “I promise there’ll be a third movie, I don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like, but I know everyone on board is just eager to give the fans what they want and wrap up a trilogy in a meaningful way,” Pratt said. “We’re still circling the city of Jericho, I like to say.”(via Newsarama)
- EW’s early Oscar predictions are in. What do you think of these choices? (via Entertainment Weekly)
- “A Suspense Novelist’s Trail of Deceptions”—I just started reading this article, but I’m already hooked. (via The New Yorker)
What did you see out there today?
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com
