RENT at the Eccles

I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a RENThead but I absolutely love the musical RENT and I have seen it many times (when PTC produced it several years ago I saw it three times during the run).  Last night I went with my sister Kristine to see the 20th Anniversary Tour at the Eccles Theatre and it was one of the best productions of this show that I have seen!  This musical is a modern version of Puccini's La Boheme, which is one of my favorite operas, and it tells the story of one year in the life of Mark Cohen (Logan Marks), an aspiring filmmaker, and Roger Davis (Joshua Bess), a musician, and a group of their friends as they try to stay true to their art, find love, struggle to pay their rent, and deal with the devastation of HIV/ AIDS.  The story about living every day to the fullest is incredibly powerful and the music is fabulous.  I judge every production by the actor playing Roger (I listen to the Original Broadway Cast recording over and over because I love Adam Pascal, who originated the role) and I really liked Bess.  His characterization of Roger was very different from what I've seen before but I liked it and his voice was amazing.  As soon as he started singing "One Song Glory," I was enthralled by his performance.  I also loved his version of "Your Eyes" and, while Deri'andra Tucker was not the strongest Mimi I've ever seen, their version of "Without You" brought tears to my eyes.  The rest of the cast was also incredibly strong and I especially enjoyed Lyndie Moe, as Maureen, and Lencia Kebede, as Joanne, when they sang "Take Me or Leave Me" and Devinre Adams, as Tom, when he sang the reprise of "I'll Cover You."  Javon King, as Angel, absolutely stole the show with his rendition of "Today 4 U" and I really loved his dancing (in high heels).  I'm so glad that I got to see this fabulous production.  RENT runs at the Eccles Theatre through Sunday and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets) with the proviso that it has very mature content (some people left at intermission).

Note:  I have my students read at the beginning of every class period.  One day a student asked me how long we were going to read and I answered by singing "Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes" from "Seasons of Love."  Most of the students looked at me as if I had lost my mind (a common occurrence) but the theatre kids all recognized it!