Rent has reached the status of a classic. The audience at the Merriam Theatre of the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia treated it that way as the national touring production opened for a five-day stand, with wild applause and whistles greeting the entrance of individual characters, even though the performers do not have familiar names or faces.
More than twenty years since its premiere, Rent holds up as a poignant story about poverty, and death, and friends who provide support. This new production adds considerable athletic movement, which makes for a lively show, and several of the young performers are exceptional.
The increased emphasis on choreography does produce one unintended result. While we are entertained by the frenetic steps (including high kicks and several leaps onto tabletops) this takes away some of Rent’s gritty realism.
In this is re-imagining of La Bohème, Puccini’s painter, Marcello, becomes Mark, a filmmaker, and the poet Rodolfo becomes the aspiring songwriter, Roger. These Bohemian artists share a loft in Manhattan’s East Village which has similarities to the place occupied by Rent’s composer and lyricist, Jonathan Larson, and several of his friends. Just as in Larson’s real life, some of the roommates have AIDS, but — unlike Roger — Larson did not have that illness and he did not have premonitions of an early death. He died unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm on January 25, 1996, the day of Rent’s first preview performance.
To read about how his life connected to Rent, click this link https://theculturalcritic.com/jonathan-larsons-life/ .
The characters in Rent celebrate non-conformity and reject materialism, with a rock score that also includes homages to tango, waltz and the opera. It’s a dazzling display of Larson’s talent, as the young people sing about dreams that may not be fulfilled (“No day but today,” “One song before I go”) and the show builds to a heartbreaking climax.
Cody Jenkins is an especially tender Roger, who normally is played as a hard rocker; Jenkins supplies welcome vulnerability. Javon King is a wonderfully warm Angel, the big-hearted drag queen. Devinre Adams is strong as Collins, and so is Lyndie Moe as performance artist Maureen, especially in the big second-act number, “Take Me or Leave Me.” Another highlight is “I’ll Cover You (with a thousand sweet kisses)” by King and Adams.
They are the best. Logan Marks pressed too hard as Mark, and didn’t seem natural. Deri’Andra Tucker has a powerful voice but is miscast as Mimi, the exotic dancer with a heroin addiction, who should appear to be fragile and sickly. Matthew DeMaria leads the five-person on-stage band and precisely coordinates the tricky ensemble scenes.
Rent maintains a timeless quality, as Mimi’s heroin addiction relates directly to today’s opioid epidemic. I’d just like to see more understatement and naturalness from all the cast members.