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Regional Reviews: Florida - Southern Rent
The characters in Rent are inherently less sympathetic than those in La Bohème as they seem to have chosen their impoverished plight. They defiantly thumb their noses at their financial responsibilities, as they steal their utilities and celebrate their refusal to pay this year's or next year's rent. The main characters also participate in, and/or surround themselves with people who participate in, unsafe activities, such as drug abuse and unprotected sex. We are asked to understand and excuse their behavior as the impulsive indiscretions of youth, and immerse ourselves emotionally in their personal stories as they struggle to maintain their dignity—living lives marked by the stigma of AIDS in a time when it was little more than a death sentence. The Slow Burn Theatre production is musically superb in every way. There is a perfect balance of instruments to voices. Oftentimes, the guitar and percussion elements of this show overpower the singers, but under the music direction of Caryl Fantel this does not happen. Rent is understandably usually cast with singers whose voices are more rock/pop than musical theatre, with lyrics getting lost in the riffs. Not so in this case. I understood every single solitary word. It also feels like every actor knows why they are singing what they are singing, and who they were singing it to. Pop/rock songs can be more about showing off technique, and that has to be reined in for a musical, in order to serve the lyric and the acting moment. It is a treat to see that happen consistently throughout the show. Obviously, some strong direction has been given by Patrick Fitzwater in shaping this piece from start to finish. His reward is in knowing that Rent musically surpasses all of Slow Burn's previous productions. As Mimi, Abby Perkins personifies sexual ferocity. Her energy and focus is tireless, and she handles her body with the knowing skill of a dancer as Mimi seduces her prey (Roger). Missing in her, however, is even one second of vulnerability, as even when faced with hesitation on his part she responds with a fiery temper instead of doubt. Bruno Faria as Roger adds a nice edge to the character, but plays the character as being too resentful. There should a pensive nature to Roger, as he sorts out his feelings about the loss of his girlfriend and his diagnosis. He spends a lot of time giving people the finger, and doesn't seem to even like his roommate Mark (Michael Westrich). Mark and Roger get into pushing and shoving each other during the second act scene in which Roger is about to leave town. When it resolves, with them smiling and hugging each other, it is actually the first time Roger smiles or has been nice to Mark in the entire show so it makes no sense. Though Mike Westrich's Mark isn't able to show us much of a relationship with Faria's Roger, he is charming and funny in the song "Tango: Maureen" with Christine Alexander as Joanne. Alexander is wonderful as Joanne and seems to get all the subtlety of this role. She is well paired with Amy Miller Brennan as girlfriend Maureen in their duet "Take Me or Leave Me." And Brennan masters the art of portraying a not so talented performance artist in "Over the Moon." I chuckled watching the character having to awkwardly operate some of her own sound effects on her reverb pedal in the midst of performing. As the ensemble plays many roles, there are memorable mini-moments, such as Erin Pittleman's portrayal of Mark's annoying agent, and some brief but very well sung moments by Alexander Zenoz. Their voices are uniformly strong without a weak link. Darrick Penny gives the stand-out performance of the night as Tom Collins, with his "I'll Cover You Reprise" both heart-wrenchingly acted and beautifully sung. Though he never establishes believable romantic chemistry with Bruno Vida as Angel, all is forgiven for that one sincere moment. The talented Bruno Vida never quite pulls off the superb drag queen that Angel is meant to be, and remains a boy in a dress for most of the show. Some staging opportunities are missed in establishing Angel as the loved touchstone at the heart of his group of friends, and so when he passes, we don't care nearly as much as we should. This is no fault of the actor, however, as it is a directorial choice. Highlighting Mimi and Roger more than Angel and Tom during the song "Without You," and following it with such a sexually explicitly staged version of "Contact" drains away almost all the emotional impact of Angel dying. Scenic design by Sean McClelland is sleek and industrial looking. A huge chrome face of a clock is suspended overhead like a ceiling dial. Its symbolism is obvious. It's a very slick, artsy looking set that looks a bit more like an artist's loft in SoHo than a dingy space in Alphabet City. There is a difference between being temporarily out of funds and having no money. The apartment space needs to convey more of the oppressive poverty in which the characters live. Remember, they have no electricity or heat, and steal power from an electric cord they run out their window. Costuming is generally good, though Angel's costumes don't soften him in any way. We are still very aware of the rather masculine musculature of the actor (Bruno Vida) playing the role. Also at the very end of the show Angel is supposed to come back costumed as a she not a he. Maureen's black corseted costume in the second act is very unflattering to the figure of the actress playing her. As the actress is truly lovely, costuming her to showcase that would seem rather easy. The quality of this production is commendable, but I respectfully disagree with the "new take" given the show by director Patrick Fitzwater. He has made the show all about the immediacy of the characters getting their needs met. There is far too much resentment and not enough vulnerability. We hear the "don't tell me what to do" subtext loud and clear. The characters are all very passionate, but not tender or loving. Even when the script specifically says "At the stroke of midnight Roger and Mimi share a tender kiss" we cut to Roger and Mimi nearly making out—very sexual yes, romantic no. Somehow in all of this the show is less and less about AIDS, when that was why it was written to begin with. Yes, we are living in a time when people with HIV/AIDS can live long, productive, and relatively healthy lives with the help of medication. But that was not the case when this show was written, and people's ignorance about and fear of AIDS led to those who had it being treated horribly. South Florida has been in the top two places in the country for highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS for the last decade. To intentionally direct Rent to minimize that aspect seems incredibly inappropriate. I know, I know a story about suffering is depressing, but it's not about the suffering. Rent is about the love born from the journey of sharing the pain as well as the joy. Rent had its first staged reading at the New York Theatre Workshop in March of 1993. It had a limited, three week engagement in 1994 at the same theatre, with more workshops to follow. Its official Off-Broadway opening was on January 25, 1996. The show was a huge success and won a Pulitzer Prize. Due to its popularity, and the need for a larger theater, it moved to Broadway's Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996. The Broadway production was nominated for ten Tony awards in 1996, winning for Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. Rent closed on September 7, 2008, after 5,124 performances. Jonathan Larson received the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical, the 1994 Richard Rodgers Award, and twice received The Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theatre Foundation's Commendation Award for Rent. He was granted the Stephen Sondheim Award from the American Music Theatre Festival in 1989 for his contributions to the musical Sitting on the Edge of the Future, and the Richard Rodgers Development Grant for his rock musical Superbia. In addition to scoring and song-writing for "Sesame Street," he created music for children's book cassettes, including Steven Spielberg's An American Tail and Land Before Time. The day before Rent had its Off-Broadway premiere, Larson died unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm just ten days before his 36th birthday. The Slow Burn Theatre production of Rent will be appearing through April 26, 2015. The theatre is located at the West Boca Performing Arts Center on the campus of West Boca High School, at 12811 West Glades Rd. in Boca Raton (3.5 miles west of 441). For more information on Slow Burn you may contact them by phone at 866-811-4111, 866-811-4111 FREE or line at www.slowburntheatre.com. Slow Burn Theatre Company is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) professional theatre company hiring local non-Equity and Equity actors and actresses. They are committed to bringing high-quality contemporary musical theatre to South Florida, and to proving that modern Broadway can rock. Stay tuned for their impending move to their new permanent home at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts next season. For those theatregoers who have grown accustomed to seeing professional theatrical productions at the West Boca Performing Arts Center—never fear, as it will be the new home of the Marquee Theatre Company, operated by co-founders Ben Solmor and Andrew Shultz. The Marquee will open their 2015-2016 season on September 25th with the musical Aida. For tickets and information, please go to marqueetheatercompany.com. Cast: Crew: *These actors appear through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
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