Pascal and Rapp don't disappoint in RENT's tour

RENT was at its best with original cast members Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp leading the company on a powerhouse performance of strong vocals and honest acting that left the audience laughing and in tears throughout this roller coaster ride of a production.

Jonathan Larson’s RENT, produced by Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum and Allan S. Gordon, was part the 2008-2009 seasons at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. The Broadway touring musical focuses on a year in the life of eight friends living in Bohemian New York City in 1990.

Roger and Mark, played by Pascal and Rapp respectively, are roommates in an Avenue A apartment near a tent city which is soon to be liquidated by their old friend Benny, played by Jacques C. Smith, who married into a wealthy family. Benny plans to demolish tent city and build a cyber studio.

Maureen, an actress played by Nicolette Hart, protests Benny’s idea with an original agitprop performance along with her stage manager and new girlfriend, Joanna, played by understudy Trisha Jeffrey.

Stripper and Roger’s love interest, Mimi, portrayed by Lexi Lawson, constantly battles a drug addiction and AIDS, but Roger, also suffering from AIDS, struggles to fall in love after he lost his last girlfriend to suicide.

Tom, played by Michael McElroy, a recently fired university professor, meets his soul mate Angel, portrayed by understudy Shaun Earl, in an alley on Angel’s way to a life support meeting to talk about his fray with AIDS. Tom joins because he is also enduring AIDS.

All of the friends meet and share a journey dealing with love, hate, disease and death that changes their lives forever.

Although he played the part off and on since the rock opera premiered in 1996, Rapp delivered an amazing performance that showed his deep knowledge of the character and how meaningful RENT has been to his life. His acting is superb and honest. Rapp captures Mark’s loneliness as he witnesses his friends argue and slowly deteriorate from the AIDS virus perfectly. His portrayal is so real and it is easy to tell that he relates the events of the show to his real life as stated in his New York Times bestselling memoir Without You.

Rapp made every emotional moment count with his powerful singing voice that his a strong as the original cast recording, but not tired or repetitive because he added new vocal variations to the lyrics any diehard fan would know by heart. He exemplified his acting talent during “The Tango Maureen” when his microphone suddenly screeched and went out and Rapp used a hand held mic forcing him to dance the tango with one hand. He played it off perfectly, never faltering and adding unexpected humor to the musical number.

On the contrary, Pascal’s performance showed signs of routine. There were however moments of extreme passion during songs like “Another Day” and “Your Eyes” which made up for the sometimes habitual articulation of his lines. Although it was slightly routine, his performance is still hugely entertaining and worth a watch. His rock star voice seemed to improve over time in comparison with the original recording.

Rapp and Pascal together make a great team that years of practice and chemistry can only provide. For example, their true friendship was palpable during “What You Own” when they embrace in a hug and share perfect harmonies.

A surprising caliber performance by Hart left the audience in uncontrollable chuckles as she brought a new sense of humor to the Maureen character which made her shine above the other supporting players.

Lawson and Earl proved to the weakest vocally. Earl excelled in dancing but unfortunately left his singing breathy and hard to hear. Lawson’s voice started out rocky during “Light My Candle,” but by the second act her tone greatly improved causing the audience to cry through ‘Without You.” However, Lawson Earl’s duet in “La Vie Bohéme” was out of tune and hard on the ears.

Choreographer Marlies Yearby creatively incorporated every day, common gestures and turned them into innovated dance moves that helped maintain the musical genre of RENT, which can sometimes be lost with a deconstructive style of the rock opera.

The two hour and 45 minute production, including a 15 minute intermission, flew by thanks to the fast paced transitions from song to song, and unique uses of lighting, such as candles and spotlights, that constantly changed the viewer’s focus on the action.

With an overall outstanding cast featuring three original members in astounding musical and acting performances, the Broadway tour is any Renthead’s dream come true.

RENT ran from March 25th - 29th, 2009.

For more information visit the Hennepin Theatre District website.

Recommendation:

Gordon's adaptation proved worthy with strong ensemble cast

A well-supported ensemble cast of professionals delivered line slips and spry musical numbers, while a chorus of community actors and university students joined in a finale rhythmic stomp routine that quickly became mundane in David Gordon's Uncivil Wars.

The world premiere of Uncivil Wars: Moving with Bretch and Eisler at the Walker Art Center McGuire Theater in Minneapolis was Gordon's new adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's 1936 play, Round Heads and Pointed Heads. The satire about a fictitious country called Yahoo pins the citizens with round heads against the people with pointed heads in order for rulers to maintain their control over the land.

Gordon sprinkled the script with excerpts from Brecht's theatrical theories and portrayed the theories in this Pick Up Performance Co. Inc. production. Longtime British actor, dancer, Gordon's wife and creative partner, Valda Setterfield, played Brecht and served as narrator along with pianist Hanns Eisler played by Gina Leishman.

Each actor in the eight person ensemble performed multiple parts, which they introduced in the opening scene, in accordance with Brecht's theatrical ideals. In addition, they wore simple, black jump suits and utilized a plain set with basic pieces such as tables, chairs and ladders, in complete Brechtian style.

Surprised by the professional company's line slips, Gordon reassured the audience it was a "stylistic choice" during the talk back. Like Brecht, he did not want his actors to be perfectly memorized because he wanted to remind the audience that the actors are merely representations of the characters.

Although the lines were not memorized word for word, the ensemble had precise and clean transitions between all of the scenes and songs showing they worked well together.

As a whole, the cast was strong, but John Kelly and Charlotte Cohn clearly shone out above the rest. Kelly's portrayal of the female Madame and Mother Superior characters was spot on with perfect comedic timing as well as a vibrant energy and an understanding of the text that made his characters hilariously unforgettable.

Both Kelly and Cohn lead the company in the vocal performances as well. Cohn's melodic voice surpassed all the other in beauty and even coaxed the audience to sing along during a song.

Setterfield's years of experience and extensive resume did not prove evident in her bland performance of the legendary playwright Brecht. While her powerful voice was very articulate, her characterization lacked any luster in comparison to Kelly and Cohn, and her moments felt dull and dry.

Leishman's extreme musical ability to play four different instruments, some simultaneously, made up for her dearth of acting talent.

Running 90 minutes without an intermission, the 11 scenes moved along rapidly until the final scene. The large chorus joined in a tad-too-long, choreographed stomp routine which seemed to be ill-fitting with the rest of the production and lead to an unclear ending.

The 25 person chorus served little purpose in the production. For 75 of the 90 minutes, they sat in folding chairs in the background and contributed nothing to the performance. Finally, the lengthy series of stomps and claps left the audience bored and confused. With only five rehearsals to learn the routine, some members took a few missteps and could be seen counting the number of steps aloud, making the audience unable to concentrate on the changes in rhythm.

Uncivil Wars ran March 12-14 at 8p.m. For more information visit the Walker Art Center.

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