It was my life’s dream and pleasure to see the Broadway musical RENT. Among the top 13 shows to have the longest run on broadway, RENT is a favorite of so many, including this girl. The Curran Theatre of San Francisco is the two week home for the show.
This is a very special treat because two of the original cast members, Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, reprised their roles as Mark and Roger. Their voices made the musical feel like home, but that is not to say that the people casted into the other roles were not up to par. Though it took some time for me to warm to them, Michael McElroy as Collins, Justin Johnston as Angel, and Lexi Lawson as Mimi were standout performers. From the first drum beat on his bucket to his final death scene, Justin Johnston stole the spotlight with a high energy performance and falsetto notes that women would be envious of. I was. His portrayal was hilarious and Lexi Lawson was a stunning Mimi. If you’ve never seen “Out Tonight” performed, you must imagine it big. Well, actually, Lawson was given a small space on the back of the set where she sang and effortlessly weaved through a railing and still owned the stage. It was horizontal pole dancing and the audience was definitely impressed.
The Director, Michael Greif, did some interpretation of the script that I found incredibly effective. He brought out so much humor in the blocking that is his own touch to the story. I could tell there were differences in the story told in the movie than the stage. Not monumental, but enough that if you’d seen one first and then the other, you’d go, “Hmm. Interesting choice.” The only choice he made that I didn’t agree with was with the character of Benny. This could be me, but I never saw Benny as a completely awful human being, but Jacques C. Smith’s performance suggested a direction from Greif to play him as sleazy and disgusting as possible. Totally disappointing to see when it’s obvious to me that Benny has more layers than that. Another character that didn’t come off the way I expected was Joanne’s played here by Haneefah Wood. I feel the choice was uber-butch lesbian where as I thought her to be hard for a woman, but not quite a man. That is definitely not as bad as Benny, but it didn’t feel right to me.
Rent’s music speaks for itself, but the ensemble didn’t let one harmony, any sustained notes, or the solos fall out of place. It started off a bit shaky, but by the fifth big number, all the voices were warmed and tuned to blow our minds and sooth our ears. The chorus was so apart of the experience. All the performers had strong vocals. The dancing was little but enough to satisfy. Whoever designed the set managed to create all the locations and the shared space between them without ever needing to move huge set pieces. That’s economical thinking. The lighting design was simplistic, but appropriate for the fact that these are people living on a minimum. Minimum of money, hope, life. The band was spot on the entire time. They were not in an orchestra pit, but tucked into the set where they could be forgotten and brought back as often as you as an audience member could remember you were watching a show. For some people, the sound level was right, but I felt it could have been more penetrating. Still, a nitpick-y observation.
So much about this night of RENT was just breathtaking. I found myself breathing in some of those lyrics as Adam Pascal begged for his glory. Pushing tears and hearing audience sniffles as Michael McElroy mourned Angel’s death and loss of a new lease of love. Laughter and smiles when Nicolette Hart mooned the audience as she bet her ass to La Vie Boheme. All Anthony Rapp had to was walk on and off the stage again and the audience would have gone nuts. They did. It was nostalgia and entertainment as newcomers and veterans came to see, what is no doubt going to be hailed as a classic, RENT the musical. If you’re in the Bay Area, buy a ticket before the week is out.
Some cast members are working on their on solo music projects. Some to check out might be Justin Johnston myspace.com/justinjohnston, Nicholette Hart myspace.com/nicolettehartmusicsite and Lexi Lawson myspace.com/lexigirlmusic.
