RENT

Following the sold-out, 25th-anniversary production of RENT at the Sydney Opera House in 2021, its award-winning Director, Shaun Rennie, is taking a new, exciting cast on a national tour. The opening night in Brisbane coincided, almost to the day, with RENT’s first off-Broadway performance in 1996. And, what began as an inspired idea to adapt Puccini’s La bohème into a rock opera, is now one of the top-10 longest running shows in Broadway history.

RENT welcomes us to Alphabet City in New York’s Lower East Side – a neighbourhood that was the world’s creative beating heart in the 1980s. Ten years later, it’s a heart of glass – the city rife with demolition, skyrocketing rents, and a population decimated by AIDS. It may seem an odd setting for a musical, but Jonathan Larson’s La bohème blueprint was set a century earlier during the tuberculosis epidemic – and itself was inspired by Henri Murger's semi-autobiographical ‘Scenes of Bohemian Life’ in a much earlier Paris. Larson takes all these elements and infuses his own personal story with his musical influences in pop, rock, musical theatre, opera and cabaret. In many ways, RENT was ahead of its time – it is LGBTQ+ friendly, race diverse, anti-capitalist, and gentrification averse. Like all musical theatre/rock opera, it has elements of pure genius juxtaposed with weaker moments. But, in RENT’s case, the patchwork becomes a strength when matched by superb casting – requisite diverse talents with distinctive vocal styles. In this wonderful cast, we have the ‘musical theatre lead’ Mark (Noah Mullins), the ‘smooth soul’ of Collins (Nick Afoa), ‘rock opera diva’ Mimi (Martha Berhane), ‘disco queen’ Angel (Carl De Villa), ‘rockstar’ Roger (Jerrod Smith), ‘R&B regency’ with Joanne (Thndo), ‘stage star’ Maureen (Calista Nelmes) and ‘backing blues brother’, Benny (Tana Laga’aia). RENT gives each character at least one cracking tune, backed in this production by a live band on stage, which contributes vital energy. Do not miss this production – it is an exceptional showcase for this constellation of shining performers.

The grittiness of 1990s grunge-era New York (this is pre-Friends people!) is lovingly brought to life by Dann Barber’s scaffold-and-loft-apartment set design, Ella Butler’s quirky costumes and Paul Jackson’s inspired lighting design. There are visual treats to watch out for – including a FAB-U-LOUS Christmas shopping scene, and a café long table that morphs into Leonardo’s ‘Last Supper’. Special mention must go to Sarah Enright, Performance and Concept Consultant for ‘Over the Moon’, Maureen’s anti-capitalist protest piece, which delighted the opening night audience with its recycled chic and Calista Nelmes’s zany performance.

To capture Larson’s disparate musical influences, adept musical direction is crucial. Here that is courtesy of Andrew Worboys, with spot-on choreography by Luca Dinardo and sound design by Evan Drill. Playing various squeegee cleaners and street people is a lively ensemble cast featuring Anna Francesca Armenia, Kelsi Boyden, Josslynn Hlenti, Lawrence Hawkins, Hannah McInerney, Sam Richardson, Chad Rosete, Theodore Williams, Mariah Gonzalez, and Sam Harmon.

Clocking in at a typical-two-act-musical 150 minutes, the show may seem a bit long for our post-pandemic times. But the advantage is more time spent with this exciting cast. And you certainly get your money’s worth with the constant flow of musical numbers. RENT has several standout solo and duet tracks, but the best are performed by the company: ‘Rent’, ‘La Vie Bohème’, the incredibly moving ‘Seasons of Love’ which famously measures the year in a life as ‘five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes’, and ‘Another Day’. RENT is just as relevant in our housing-and-cost-of-living-crises-riven world. The show’s mantra – No Day But Today – will resonate, and if you say you didn’t cry, I simply don’t believe you!

After the Brisbane season, RENT: The Musical will tour to Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth and Canberra.

Beth Keehn

BUT THE SCRIPT AND SCORE

Images: Pia Johnson Photography

Find out more: https://rentmusical.au

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