And the Show Goes On…

20Oct09

A marquee promoting 'Rent' hangs above the crowd outside the Curran Theater.

I hadn’t really cared about Rent till the 1996 Broadway rock opera by Jonathan Larson became a 2005 big-screen ordeal by Christopher Columbus, though I heard things here and there about the original musical. When I saw the movie, I immediately became hooked. The music, the characters, the story about friends struggling and pulling together, and the message that there is indeed “no day but today” made me wonder, “What the hell have I been missing?!” And so became the start of my Rent fandom: I watched the movie in theaters two more times, met original Broadway cast member and star in the film Anthony Rapp at a book signing, bought the DVD on its first-day release, and caught the stage show twice – on its tour stop in San Francisco in 2006 and on Broadway with my mother in 2007, starring Rapp and Adam Pascal in the roles they originated on stage and in the film and featuring Tamyra Gray from the first season of American Idol. When the show closed on Broadway in September 2008 (It is the seventh longest-running show on Broadway, with a run of more than twelve years), I weeped, but I knew it wasn’t really the end. And it wasn’t: when the final performance was released as a limited-run cinecast, I went. When I found out that the show would go back on tour, I spazzed in excitement, only to be disappointed when I didn’t see a stop in the Bay Area…till there was.

Rent came back for a limited run, from October 6th to the 18th, in San Francisco’s Curran Theater during its Broadway tour. This tour once again featured Rapp and Pascal as Mark and Roger, respectively, the roles they created in the original production and recreated in the film. Gwen Stewart, an original ensemble member best known for her remarkable solo in “Seasons of Love”, also came back for this tour.

I attended the final show of the San Francisco run, the evening show on Sunday, October 18th. I rushed to the box office at 8:30 in the morning where some 20-30 other people were already in line (I talked to a couple of people who stayed overnight), hoping to score $20 orchestra seats in the first two rows. Such practices are typical for Broadway shows and tours, either as this style of first-come, first-serve basis or in a lottery. Unfortunately, the rush had already filled up for those trying to buy rush tickets for the matinee, but luck was still in store for your blogger. After nine grueling hours relieved by conversation with fellow rushers, a Starbucks Mocha, an Ultimate Cheeseburger from Jack in the Box, reading the latest issue of Seventeen, writing in my journal, listening to music, talking to my best friend who I was going to buy a ticket for, a Sandra Bernhard sighting (Who is playing at the nearby Rrazz Room in the Hotel Nikko), and me giving pretty much my whole coin purse to a bum, I got my tickets – first row in orchestra right.

The show was just as wonderful as the two times I’ve seen it live, if not more. One thing I’ve loved about each time I’ve seen Rent, even in the cinecast of the final Broadway show, is that it’s always been different. The different casts always make each show their own and bring something new to the characters they’ve played, yet keep in the essence of those characters and of the show. Also, sitting very close to the stage had its advantages in allowing me to take in every scene and notice some things that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to see if I were sitting further away. The San Francisco crowd was livelier than I remember from the first two times, cheering and laughing throughout most of the show and supportive of all of the cast.

It’s an automatic that Rapp and Pascal were excellent, but I also award standout performances to Justin Johnston, who captured the role of street-drummer-turned-drag-queen Angel with a vivaciousness and perkiness, in both the character’s male and female forms. Nicolette Hart, who played the role of Maureen, delivered the best “Over the Moon” monologue I had seen.

For this performance, the role of Mimi Marquez, originally by Lexi Lawson for this tour, was played by an understudy, Caren Tackett. While I applaud the loads of work understudies must have to go through and the responsibility that they may have to perform under pressure, I can’t say I enjoyed Tackett in this role. “Out Tonight” (See Renee Elise Goldsbury’s performance from the final Broadway show) and “Without You,” two crucial Mimi numbers, are two of my favorite songs in the musical, and I felt that Tackett lacked the ‘fierce’ factor in “Out Tonight” and the raw emotion in “Without You.” However, she redeemed herself with the chemistry she shared with Pascal in “Light My Candle” (See Pascal and Rosario Dawson in the movie version of “Light My Candle”) and with the emotion she did release in “Goodbye Love.”

After the curtain call, I lined up with hundreds of fans in hopes of getting autographs and some interaction with the cast. I received autographs from Pascal (He looked happy) and Rapp (Looked like a lost puppy dog and stayed silent), as well as Hart (Who is a goddess in person and looked pleasantly overwhelmed at the compliments people were throwing at her) and an ensemble member, John Watson (Who I think got confused for playing the role of Tom Collins by the autograph seeker next to me). My friends wanted to leave after that, so I left, but can’t say I was disappointed after experiencing everything that I did.

It was some long hours and little money well-spent to experience my favorite musical live once again. And it further made me realize that I am a Renthead for life.

To find out more about the musical and see where the tour is headed to next, visit the site for Rent: The Broadway Tour.

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Tags: adam pascal, anthony rapp, musicals, rent