New Rep's RENT

by Frank Furnari, New Rep Reviewer

I love RENT. There, I said it. I’ve loved from the first time I saw the Original Broadway Cast in 1996 through the many incarnations I have seen since. Now that we have established my bias, we can talk about New Rep’s production. The performance opening night was uneven and while there were many strong points, there were others that still need to be addressed. Director Benjamin Evett and Choreographer Kelli Edwards make a real effort not to duplicate the Broadway production (let's not mention the movie) – some of the choices work, while others didn’t seem necessary.

Nick Sulfaro’s Angel was wonderful, from the time he enters early in act one, you’re drawn to his character and the warmth, love, and later vulnerability and pain emanating from Angel. His two big numbers, “Today 4 U” and “Contact”, (both of which are often done with pre-recorded tracks, but were instead played live with a reduced orchestration), are two of the best numbers in the show. My other favorite moment (and performer) in this production was Aimee Doherty’s Maureen and her rendition of “Over The Moon.” One rarely gets to see Aimee in this type of a role, but she excels and brings down the house. The chemistry between Maureen and her lover, Joanne (Robin Long) was also great as evidenced in their number “Take Me.” There were other nice touches to this production that I appreciated, including the interplay during “Another Day” between the life support group and Mimi/Roger which really added to the number. Also, don’t miss the cute Monty Python reference in “La Vie Boehme.” I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Kathyrn Kawecki’s set – it was great and incorporated many elements including a cool street lamp.

While there was a lot that I enjoyed, the production was not without its flaws. Many of the issues I feel could be remedied; for example sound issues with microphones as well as issues of balance where I couldn’t hear the ensemble well. For me, this really detracted from some of the powerful moments in the show. The band in the opening number seemed muted and restrained. The opening number, “RENT” lacked the energy and tempo I was hoping for – it wasn’t the big rock number I had hoped to hear. This seemed to be the case for the majority of the first act with some exceptions. There are additional directorial decisions - the changing of the orchestration in “I’ll Cover You” and Mimi’s actions during “I’ll Cover You” which I thought detracted, but unless you are a diehard RENT fan, you will likely not notice them.
I’m glad that New Rep chose to tackle RENT and forge a new direction by not mimicking other productions. I may see this production again later in the run in the hope that what I observed in one performance were anomalies. I still love RENT and I hope if you see this production, you will share my love for the show.