The Queens Theatre was a perfect venue choice for Adelaide’s production of the The Tony® and Pulitzer Prize Award winning Broadway smash hit. RENT tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in NYC’s East Village in the thriving days of Bohemia, Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/ AIDS.
Director Benjamin Maio Mackay and designer Matt Ralph, along with their creative team, transformed the Queens Theatre into a scaffold-filled, creative space transporting our imaginations and taking us into the bohemian artists’ abode. Clever lighting and the architecture backdrop of SA’s oldest theatre completed the illusion.
RENT is a rock musical with music, lyrics, and book by Jonathan Larson, loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera La Bohème, with the luscious splendour of Puccini’s world replaced with the coarseness and noise of modern New York. This an award winning, world travelled, popular musical with big shoes to fill. Having previously spoken to Benjamin and Matt, I have learned that RENT is a show that means a great deal to both of them for many reasons. The passion, vitality and meaning behind the show is significant and not only to them, but to the wider community. They felt it was crucial to form a creative team and cast who could bring this vision to life.
Passion and vitality is a highlight of this production and the aspect that I enjoyed the most. Each cast member was fully committed to the role, embodying their respective personas. Collectively the cast exuded emotion, energy and enjoyment, also evidenced in the heartfelt reactions during their finale song.
RENT cast in action
The high voltage, rock energy of the show had the audience toe tapping and engaged. Given the popularity of this show, I expect many people may be already familiar with the songs, which were performed with verve and were a mix of upbeat high energy and slow, emotional renditions. Due to the volume of the band, I did have difficulty though with hearing the lyrics clearly a lot of the time, which may not be a problem so much for people familiar with them already, but did create a challenge to follow the story as well as I’d liked. This was opening night, so I’m expecting the balance is addressed in subsequent shows.
I enjoyed the chemistry between the various characters, who in the words of Mimi (Tate Simpson) “are so unashamedly themselves, struggling to open up to each other but craving this close connection of a (slightly dysfunctional) family unit of friends which I think so many people can relate to.” Mimi and Roger (Benjamin Maio Mackay in dual role as performer and director) both figuratively and literally danced around, and with, each other as they traversed their complicated relationship.
The chemistry between Tom and Angel, played by Sampson Wilkop and Raul Garcia, respectively, was electric and in turn flirty & fun, and tender & emotional. Sampson Wilkop excelled with a standout performance, both in captivating stage presence and a phenomenal and accomplished voice. I hope to see him in many more performances in the future.
Vaishnavi Rajaramanan, replacing original cast member Holly Hastings,as Joanne, gave a fantastic performance and delighted with her beautiful and powerful voice as well as her engaging personality. Her humour shone through in the duet with Mark (Lindsay Prodea) as they performed the ‘Tango Maureen’, making it one of the highlights of the show.
Cassandra Haines and Vaishnavi Rajaramanan
RENT was written by Jonathon Larson about the people he knew who were living with AIDS/HIV. As producers and directors, Benjamin and Matt wanted to honour the people the show was written about. Along with the rest of the cast and creative team, they have fulfilled that goal. They have interpreted the characters with integrity and added their own personalities. This is a story that is full of the realities of life in the present day and is relatable through its message about the value of time and of friendships. It’s about love and death, appreciating every moment and cherishing those around you.
RENT runs until October 15, at The Queens Theatre in Adelaide. Tickets start at $35.00 and are on sale from rentadl.au
Photos by proshots.com.au
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