To stage an internationally renowned musical, not as an imitation, but as something unique, takes a special kind of creative vision. Sam About Town was privileged to speak with Co-Producers of RENT, Benjamin Maio Mackay and Matt Ralph about their creative vision for the production and the processes involved.
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 and will be showing in Adelaide in October.
Bringing this esteemed production to Adelaide has involved a process which began in December last year. Benjamin and Matt have a professional relationship spanning more than 7 years and a mutual love for musical theatre. Over a couple of Christmas drinks, the idea to stage RENT was spawned. Full of creative concepts and enthusiasm, they applied via Music Theatre International for the rights. Upon receiving application success, Benjamin recalls that suddenly, “The penny dropped and it all became very real.” Both they and Matt concur that they are loving working on the production and that, “it still feels as fresh, surreal and exciting as it did months ago.”
RENT is a show that means a lot to both Benjamin and Matt for many reasons. Benjamin says, “As a queer person, RENT is a show that means everything to me. The passion, vitality and meaning behind the show is so significant not just to me, but to the wider community.The writer, Jonathon Larson wrote it about the people he knew who were living with AIDS/HIV and we want to honour the people the show was written about.” The show is raw and gritty and heavily grounded in realism. To that end it was crucial to form a creative team and cast who could bring this vision to life. The show also reflects broader messages in society and Matt draws a parallel between the recent media coverage of the Monkeypox outbreak; “It’s 2022 and we are hearing the same style of reporting as we were about AIDS/HIV in the late 80s and early 90s. Sadly we’ve not necessarily grown as a society, with the same types of comments and assumptions being made.”
Once the show’s rights were assigned, the next step was building the creative team. Producer, Matt, is also the Technical Design Director, whose responsibilities include set and lighting design as well as holistically designing what it all looks like visually. Co-Producer and Director, Benjamin, who is also a cast member, focusses creatively on the structure and how the cast works within it. Benjamin and Matt began speaking with other creatives with Choreographer, Nina Richards coming to mind immediately. Upon being asked, she accepted straight away, much to Benjamin’s and Matt’s delight. Subsequently, the Musical Director Jesse Budel was appointed, with responsibilities for overseeing and directing the music within the show. He also engaged a 5 piece rock band, consisting of 2 keyboard players, guitar, bass and drums.
To begin casting, Benjamin and Matt asked a few actors whom they already knew and that they felt would be perfect for various roles. The next step was arranging open auditions for the rest of the cast members. Following 2 weeks of Facebook promotion of the show itself, the engagement was so high, that they used the social media platform, including private Facebook theatre groups to advertise the auditions. The 55 audition slots were snapped up within only 1-2 weeks, such was the enthusiasm and interest in performing in this production. Spoilt for choice with so much talent on offer, Matt says, “There was a fantastic cohort of younger performers with incredible talent, who hadn’t had a chance to perform due to the pandemic.” Benjamin adds that the cast is a mix of emerging as well as established actors and that “we are so privileged to have the talent we do. The cast just floor me on a weekly basis.”
Not many well known musicals or stage productions have strong queer storylines. One of the reasons this show is so popular with queer actors is that it offers an opportunity for them to give a rendition of themselves, honestly. Part of the casting process was looking for people who fit the roles naturally. Due to the realism of the writing, Matt says, “It makes sense for them to play themselves, or a version of themselves. We need people to play real people.”
The casting process involved 3 elements; a 15-20 second dance piece, a 2 minute song and a 30 second monologue. There was a huge variety of material presented including, poems, songs from musicals, monologues from plays and even a scene from ‘Twilight’. Benjamin’s directing style for this show utilises people’s personalities, and draws upon them to form the characters, encouraging the actors to express themselves authentically and to explore what each person is potentially capable of.
This creative collaboration and inspiration is evident across the whole production. The casting process was smooth. Benjamin explains, “The unanimous gut reactions from the entire creative team were consistent. A few surprises along the way led us to think about things a little differently.” This flexibility of thinking has been very valuable, with even fully formed ideas embellished and re-formed due to fresh ideas.
It has been incredibly important for Benjamin and Matt not to replicate previous productions of RENT but to create a unique production. Whilst staying true to the script and the songs, the staging is very different. Inspiration for this whole new look has come from a variety of sources. Both Benjamin and Matt gather inspiration from the creative media they consume around them, both seeing as many musicals as possible within the last few months. A typical interaction between them could see one of them watching a show and having to phone the other one right away to discuss incorporating a lighting cue into their show. Illustrating how shared their creative vision is, invariably the other party immediately can see the idea working. A few days of mulling it over, discussing, sharing and tweaking ensues, and a new idea is born.
At the moment they are in the early stages of rehearsals but the bonding amongst the cast is already very strong (full cast and creatives list at end of article). Some of the heavier songs require emotionally letting go and Benjamin explains that part of the bonding process is, “Having our hearts come on the journey with us. The first time the 18 strong ensemble came together to casually sing through, was stunning. The way they electrified the room gave me goose bumps. It was a very special evening and Matt and I knew we had made the right decision.” They continued, “This is our child. We’re co-parenting a musical. I feel very protective of it creatively and also of the people in it. We are starting to see the bonds really strengthening and our family forming.”
Benjamin and Matt have enjoyed the whole process so far. Benjamin says, “There has not been anything about this that has not brought a great level of joy. We hope audiences will enjoy the very different creative vision we are bringing to this show and that is something we are both very excited to share.”
RENT previews October 6 and runs for a strictly limited season, October 7-15, at The Queens Theatre in Adelaide. Tickets start at $35.00 and are on sale now from rentadl.au.
Musical Director: Jesse Budel
Choreographer: Nina Richards
Technical Director: Matt Ralph
Ensemble: Natasha Green, Vaishnavi Rajaramanan, Wirra Benveniste, Chloe Fusco, Liam Phillips, Jack Raft, Ciara Fahy & Shalee Madelaine Vicencio.
