Rent
Musical Theatre West presents Jonathan Larson’s RENT in Long Beach at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center.
(To My Fellow Rent-Heads, I scribe this review.)
This production marks my 98th live viewing of RENT. On the day the original cast performed on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, I instantly fell in love with the music from this Broadway cult favorite (a modern day La Bohème) about friendship and love in the era of AIDS. For the first two years of my adult life, my addiction to this Pulitzer Prize-winning music phenomenon changed me in more ways than I can possibly share. I traveled to New York, Chicago, Saint Paul, Detroit, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Louisville, Evansville, Indianapolis, and Columbus. I saw it everywhere I could. Most of the time it was luck, as I was also on tour with a children’s theatre troupe, and RENT often coincided with my own tour schedule. I remember when my friends and I would sleep on the sidewalks (for several days) of the various theatres in which RENT housed itself. (Saint Paul, Minnesota was a TEN-day line for its closing night in 1997, and I was there, singing songs with other people my age, making friends, loving life, and being spontaneous.) I remember sitting in the empty second balcony in Chicago’s Shubert Theatre with Tony Award winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia while he watched his at-the-time girlfriend in her premiere as Mimi.
While watching this specific production, I was taken back to those days. The applause as the first actor walks on stage continues to give me the same old feeling of thrills and chills. Although, as a reviewer, I must maintain a professional demeanor, the need to stand, scream, applaud, and yell was still there with my younger self. This production brought me back to the days that made me happy to be an aspiring artist watching artists portray aspiring artists. I suppose I can say that RENT has been my life’s muse. Jonathan Larson inspired me to become an artist. A writer. A creator. His death of an aortic aneurysm the night before the opening of his own show is one of the great tragedies in the world of entertainment. He never knew that his show was going to become a phenomenon.
That all being said, I must confess that this production is the best there will ever be while out of the hands of Michael Greif, who directed the show on Broadway and its national tours. Although “Robin Hooding isn’t the solution,” director Nick Degruccio understands that Greif’s original staging is very important to the storyline. Degruccio’s creation process focuses on smaller moments within the storyline, giving his audience many more comedic moments when needed. Here’s an example of a change to the blocking I rather enjoyed: Following Maureen’s eulogy for Angel, Roger attempts to speak, cannot find words, so instead hands Angel’s coat to Collins. The moment was well worth the change.
The casting was mostly perfection, with talent that Bernard Telsey would have loved to have seen come through his office a few years ago. Beau Hirshfield takes on the lead role as narrator, Mark, tuning into the filmmaker role nicely without making any wrong moves to piss off regular fans of the hit show, still adding his own touches now and again to make the role his own. Jai Rodriguez (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, but his resume is not limited to just that show) plays Angel. Having already played the role on Broadway, Rodriguez knocks this performance out of the ball park. Like many Angels before him, Rodriguez creates a character we admire and care about, making his death emotionally riveting. Callie Carson’s Maureen is a bit over the top, as expected, with some added shtick intertwined. This actress has the comedic timing of any great musical theatre performer. Nicole Tillman plays Joanne Jefferson as strong and powerful as needed with a bit less of the “hard-ass bitch” we’re used to. It works for her, as the choice makes Maureen a bit more in control of their relationship. Carson and Tillman perform “Take Me or Leave Me” like I have never heard before. Just absolutely stunning talent. Sabrina Sloan is, without doubt, the best Mimi Marquez of all time, and that includes Daphne Ruben-Vega and Simone (the daughter of the great Nina Simone). Sloan’s fascinating take on the drug addict was sexually alluring and, like her counterpart, Griffith, she possesses a powerhouse voice envied by her audience.
Although an absolutely astounding rock singer, P. J. Griffith’s drug-induced performance of recovered addict Roger is in need of a rabies shot from Sanford Meisner. In addition, Griffith’s silly quirkiness in the ensemble song “Rent,” sidelined by his shrill sobbing throughout “Goodbye Love,” are just two examples of many disturbing choices this actor has made for a character supposed to be depressed and emotionally brick-walled. (I won’t even mention the fact that he pranced around the stage like his legs were asleep. Oops, I just did.) The remainder of the ensemble is respectful of the material and rocks it as deserved; however, be prepared to see some skin never before needed in Angel’s death scene, “Contact.”
Michael Paternostro did a fantastic job as the musical director. I would imagine that he was thankful for the talent around him, making his job much easier than it could have been. Lighting designer Steven Young’s artistry deserves kudos for his intricate detailing.
Special thank you to Paul Garman for taking on—and succeeding—with the difficult task of producing such a challenging show and for choosing Nick Degruccio to direct. For, if it were anyone else, I would have refused to go. Nick Degruccio fails to make mistakes, and I think everyone involved in theatre in Southern California knows it.
For all you RentHeads, this is the closest you’ll get to the original. See it while it’s here.
For more information go to Musical.org