The theatrical community was abuzz today with talks of an innovative production of Rent mounted by the Westboro Baptist Church. The church, now famous for its unique, quirky stances on homosexuality and President Obama, has again chosen to push the envelope, reimagining one of the most progressive and groundbreaking musicals of the ‘90s as a two hour thrill-ride of hate speech and Ukulele. Director Shirley Phelps-Roper writes in the program notes: “Audiences nowadays tend to see the title ‘Rent’ and think of hippies and the homosexual agenda, but to me the show has always had a different message. I see it as a bunch of heathens, sodomites, and liberals squandering their life in sin and dying of AIDS. I think that audiences everywhere can connect with this simple, uplifting message.”

The production featured incredible performances by many prominent church members and guest actors, including a rousing rendition of “Today 4 U,” sung by the reanimated corpse of pastor Fred Phelps in fishnets and four inch stilettos. Conservative icon and amateur SCUBA diver Glen Beck lent his voice to Roger Davis in what is already being called “the most understated performance of the new millenium,” putting aside his daily life as a middling talk show host to embody the arrogant, HIV-ridden devil worshipper of PhelpsRoper’s imagination. Phelps-Roper herself brought the role of Maureen to the stage, gracing audiences for the first time in over twenty years with the pure, untapped sexual energy of a religious extremist in a corset.

Despite its groundbreaking nature, reactions to the performance have not been entirely positive. There are some who insist that the entire production is a cheap rip-off of Phelps-Ropers earlier work, in which she satirized and mocked a sinful culture that has sex and gets pregnant outside of marriage by having sex and getting pregnant outside of marriage. Still others scorned the admittedly heavy-handed set design, in which the iconic metal poles and platforms of Rent were transformed entirely into a flourescent assortment of signs reading “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for 9/11.” Still, reactions to the performance were overwhelmingly positive, with one viewer remarking “it wasn’t nearly as bigoted as I was expecting.”

The church has stated that it is currently in talks to adapt the movie Schindler’s List for the stage, but for some reason it has had trouble securing the rights.