Theater Review: RENT

New Tenants Come Up a Little Short on the RENT

By Lauren Yarger
The new Tenants of Jonathan Larson’s musical about friends coping with love, money and AIDs issues are using all the utilities – the heat of a passionate story, lyrics flowing with emotion and the electricity of a rock score – but the new Off-Broadway revival comes up a little short on the RENT.

Part of the problem is that most of us have seen the show (or been in it) multiple times over the years since RENT burst onto the Broadway stage in 1996 and changed the face of musicals. The original launched the careers of Broadway performers like Anthony  Rapp, Adam Pascal, Jessie L. Martin and Idina Menzel, so this first New York revival since the 12-year Broadway run ended in 2008 has a big vacancy to fill.

Michael Greif, who directed the original, returns to direct the story, loosely based on Puccini’s LaBoheme, and casts a sensational Annaleigh Ashford as Maureen Johnson, a performance artist and activist for the homeless. Her rendition of “Over the Moon” is sensational and, well, over the moon, and it’s the reason you should see this version of RENT. If only the rest of this production could have been so mooo-ving.

Vocals on a number of the other leads are lacking. Adam Chandler –Berat plays Mark Cohen, a filmmaker whom Maureen left for lesbian lover Joanne Jefferson (Corbin Reid), Matt Schingledecker is Roger Davis, Mark’s roommate, and Arianda Fernandez plays Mimi Marquez, a sex-club dancer who becomes involved with Roger.  All three spend most of their time yelling songs instead of reaching stylized belts. Roger and Mimi also don’t seem to have any chemistry as the HIV-positive couple who find love despite their baggage. He just doesn't light her candle.

Also lacking chemistry are Tom Collins (Nicholas Christopher) and Angel (Dumott Schunard), though they lend lovely singing voices to “You Okay Honey?,” “Santa Fe,” and “I’ll Cover You.” We get that Tom, who brings friends Roger and Mark food and other gifts at Christmas time and who cares for partner Angel dying of AIDS, represents compassion, but Angel’s role representing the good in mankind gets padlocked from the premises, somehow, like the characters who fail to  pay their rent. Most of the time this character evokes thoughts of an “odd” fellow, not “every” fellow. His metallic red cape, silver platformed boots, ruffled sleeves, blond hair-piece and glittered eye shadow detract from poignant lyrics like “will I lose my dignity?” (Angela Wendt, costume design, also designed for RENT on Broadway).

The small band, conducted by Music Director Will Van Dyke, housed on the second story of Mark Wendland’s truss/platform set, does a nice job with Larson’s score (Billy Aronson, original concept/additional lyrics; Steve Skinner, musical arrangements; Tim Weil, music supervision and additional arrangements). Amazing snow effects (Peter Nigrini, projection design) are visually pleasing, but watching cast members climb and hang off of various parts of the set grows wearisome (choreography is by Larry Keigwin).

Rounding out the principal cast is Ephraim Sykes as Benjamin Coffin III who owns Roger and Mark’s building and who gets tangled up with Mimi. Tamika Sonia Lawrence is notable as the homeless woman and the soloist for the musical’s best known number, “Seasons of Love.”

RENT plays at New World Stages, 340 West 50th St., NYC. Tickets are available by clicking here.

Christians might also like to know:

      ·         Show posts a MATURE Advisory

·         Language

·         Sexually suggestive moves

·         Homosexuality

·         Homosexual activity

·         Nudity