CUTC's RENT Rocks!

A Review of Jonathan Larson's Rent

By James C. Dobbs

Jonathan Larson may not have created the perfect modern rock musical, but he came close. His work bridged the gap from the rock operas of the sixties and seventies to themes truly contemporary in his time. His subject matter treated issues such as AIDS, homelessness, the Arts, drug addiction and same-sex relationships, and also exposed the seedy reality of the downside of la Vie Bohème- the impoverished and marginalized lives of artists in American society at the end of the Twentieth Century. He shone a light into the darkness and showed us real, lovable, admirable humans performing the very difficult task of living, loving and finding happiness from day to day under the shadow of a death sentence in the form of AIDS. Larson's life and work and the History of “RENT” are very well-documented elsewhere. His tragic, untimely death just before RENT's opening has passed into Broadway legend. He himself lived in poverty and worked in a diner until two months before his death. The characters and story seem so real precisely because they are real.

Let me precede my remarks with this simple imperative – GO SEE THIS SHOW! Now let me tell you why you should do so.

The Champaign Urbana Theatre Company opened RENT Thursday night at Champaign's Historic Virginia Theatre and they exploded onto the stage with what Larson called “the power to ignite the air” - hot, smart, polished virtuoso performances by absolutely everyone not only on the stage, but also in the Orchestra Pit, backstage and at the lighting and sound consoles. This production of RENT is as good as and possibly superior to both professional touring productions I have seen. Director Jeffrey Chandler set out to faithfully recreate the look, sound and feel of the original Broadway production, and succeeded wonderfully. As Jeff stated in his program notes, “A director simply can not ask his actor to go somewhere or do something without helping them understand why they would do that…” In other words, accomplishing this feat required a sensitive, thorough understanding of the show from the ground up – blocking, choreography, costumes, hair, make-up, set, lighting, music are not “copied” but rather are fantastically recreated.

The cast included new faces and brought terrific talents to the Virginia stage. Nebbish Cinéma vérité filmmaker Mark was portrayed to perfection by Mark Perry, whose professional credits include Chicago Shakespeare and the Philadelphia Theatre Company. His superior vocal performances stood out on the frenetic, kinetic “La Vie Bohème” and “What you Own”. Archie Messersmith was convincing as dissipated HIV-positive ex-rocker roommate Roger – showing range and ability that took us from quietly withdrawn and depressed to full-out Rock and Roll. Duet “Without You” and solo “Your Eyes” were particularly heartfelt and beautiful. Archie has many professional credits including Broadway-based and European tours. Heroin-addicted exotic dancer Mimi Marquez was brought vividly to life by CUTC regular Maddie Knight, who commanded the stage from singing the soft “Light My Candle” to the incendiary “Out Tonight”. Alternating from hard, bold and sexy to soft, shy and vulnerable, her performance is not to be missed. Teacher/philosopher/anarchist Tom Collins was given depth and dimension by Eric Clausell, who besides being a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Illinois and a veteran performer in the area, also happens to have a Presence on stage that Commands your attention, and a deep, rich basso profundo that is Simply. To. Die. For. His duet “I'll Cover You” was remarkable, his smooth, warm delivery on “Santa Fe” impeccable and his rendition of the reprise of “I'll Cover You” was a rare moment when an entire audience is transfixed - owned - daring not even to breathe. His cross-dressing, flamboyantly effete lover and life partner Angel Dumatt Schunard was played by three-time CUTC and regular Parkland performer William Anthony-Sebastian Rose II, hereinafter referred to as She (Angel) and Will (William) successively. Angel is a challenging and complex character who must be played realistically and believably while being extreme, all without crossing over into caricature. Will accomplished this admirably, his singing amazing on duet “I'll Cover You”, trio “Santa Fe” and of course “Today 4 U”. Angel's death scene will make you forget Bambi's Mom completely. I know I cried. Like a baby. Attorney Joanne Jefferson was played capably and very well indeed by Jennye Stirlen, a native of St. Louis, Missouri who currently resides in Peoria, Illinois. A solid, strong singer, Jennye shone on duet “Tango Maureen” as well as duet “Take Me Or Leave Me”. The other singer of said duet - Joanne's lover, performance artist Maureen Johnson, was incandescently delivered by third-time CUTC performer Melissa Milanak. Melissa, a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology (is CUTC recruiting there?), projected the strutting confidence of the bursting-with-hormones Maureen with a strong singing voice and believable acting. She was terrific in the zany performance artist's opus, “Over The Moon”. The lead characters were provided with conflict by Corey Flournoy's villainous Benjamin Coffin III, whose deep, rich voice was perfect for “You'll See Boys”.

The dance chorus is often called the backbone of music theatre, and this reviewer would be remiss to fail to mention this production's fabulous ensemble players. Their singing, dancing and acting performances truly MADE the show. Larson's music uses thick, complex vocal textures that practically require a Gospel Choir for effective realization. Here the ensemble was expertly coached, tuned and well blended with the principals by Vocal Music Director Tom Mohr. Veteran choreographer Monica Samii obviously put a great deal of study and effort into recreating signature dance segments and highly memorable moves and actions at key points in the show, in addition to the creative process of adapting the choreography to play to the talents of the players, and the no doubt arduous process of teaching them the specific movements for each scene. None of the singing or dancing would have been effective without a Killer Rockestra playing the music with the strength, edge and sensitivity written into the score, and this production had such a group, performing under the Direction of the show's excellent Conductor, Aaron Kaplan, last seen conducting CUTC's recent fabulous “concert” version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. All this fantastic array of musical ability would have come to nothing without the usual painstaking and highly effective sound design of longtime CUTC supporter Douglas Pugh, who dedicated his bio in the program to a very personal Memoriam of CUTC Pillar and longtime wireless microphone mistress Mary Claire Smith, to whom Chandler also dedicated the show. Pugh also had the excellent judgement and good fortune to secure the services of legendary local sound man made good (he does sound for Bonnie Raitt!) Doug Gherna, whose work on this show was his best effort to date for CUTC. The sound was mixed like a live rock show, with every nuance of the music, both vocal and instrumental carefully showcased and clearly and evenly projected. The set captured the look of that of the bare-bones original shoestring production, and was built under the supervision of nearly-beloved CUTC fixture Jim Dieker, who also played a cameo role, as did Lauren Denofrio, whose dual characters were both cute and funny. Chandler and Samii pulled all this together with perfectly appropriate costuming which helped to give a specific character to each member of the cast. Serving with his additional talent for hair and makeup design was versatile and many-talented Director Jeffrey Chandler. Veteran Mistress of properties Cindy Havice kept a steady stream of strange, unusual, yet highly appropriate props flowing onstage. The lighting design by CUTC actor/singer/ techie Matthew Eberle and CUTC's engaging and capable Company Manager Mike Galloway was quite good, with numerous specials and sectional lighting including seldom-used but powerfully effective side lighting from the wings and augmented in front by spotlights (almost a necessity at the Virginia, due to its design during the Vaudeville era, at which time theatres relied heavily on footlights and spots for general lighting). Adding a final, professional touch of polish to the production was “Mark's Movie” – the montage of shots supposedly taken throughout the year by Mark and projected against the back wall of the set near the end of the show, which was actually shot, edited, created anew for this production using CUTC cast members by WCIA television's talented Producer/Videographer, DJ Roach.

Go see this show. Call the Virginia Theatre at 217-356-9063 to reserve your seats. Now. If you know and love RENT, you will NOT be disappointed. If you are unfamiliar with RENT, this is an excellent opportunity to see a quality production of a moving, powerful show. RENT contains mature subject matter, so young children, sheltered teens and the Very Pious should probably stay at home. (My 14-year-old boy saw it, loved it and seems to have sustained no permanent brain damage as a result). The message of RENT puts me in mind of the immortal closing words of Indiana poet Max Ehrman's masterwork Desiderata, “Strive to be happy.” For those of us who lived through the advent of AIDS and lost precious friends to the dread disease, RENT reminds us that we must LIVE even in the shadow of death, LOVE despite the difficulties and disappointments of imperfect human relationships, and finally, remember the most precious wisdom given us by the late, great Jonathan Larson - “No day but today!”

-James C. Dobbs for The Pamphlet

Editor's note: There are only two performances of Rent left, tonight and tomorrow afternoon (3-13-2010 and 3-14-2010).