Review: RENT takes stage in the College Theater

Community, love, life, sexuality, drugs, singing, dancing and rock ’n’ roll.  If you are still here after reading that, then chances are MHCC’s winter musical “RENT” will appeal to you.

“RENT,” a fairly well known musical written by Jonathan Larson, takes place in the late ‘80s to early ‘90s in New York’s East Village. The story centers around eight friends all struggling with their own combinations of AIDS, drugs, heartbreak, friendship and paying the rent. The play has been on and off Broadway and was made into a Hollywood production in 2005.

At a Wednesday night dress rehearsal, the actors gave it their all while only one rehearsal remained before the show opens tonight in the College Theater.

The cast of 27, including the eight main cast members, danced and sang beautifully. The rehearsal ran smoothly without any noticeable glitches; other than a few sound hiccups and actors forgetting a verse of a song, it was smooth sailing throughout.

The minimalist set, including a large piece set up to look like a Christmas tree and several platform structures, do not deter the production. Instead, it worked in their favor as the cast is so large anything more elaborate would add clutter to the stage during the large choreographed scenes.

The costumes, including lots of winter coats, army-style jackets, hats and scarves, help develop the idea that they are in New York at Christmas time. As for shoes, Doc Marten-style boots or tall black boots helped add to the rock ’n’ roll feel of the show.

One irritating point, however, was the brand new Converse shoes worn by Matt Rowning’s character “Mark” and the TOMs worn by ensemble member Caitlynn Didlick. TOMs are a more recent addition to the fashion scene in the last few years, and most certainly were not available at your local Nordstrom in 1989. Both new types of shoes should have been rubbed in dirt before the actors took the stage. Most of the ensemble are supposed to be homeless and the leads are all very poor, hence the title of “RENT.”

In the early going, Mark, who acts as the narrator, tended to talk fast and needed to enunciate a bit, but after the first few scenes that set the plot for “RENT,” he seemed to relax into his character with few problems. His character is supposed to be a bit on the self-deprecating side, because he is afraid of losing his friends to AIDS, but sometimes it was hard to follow when Rowning portrayed a rollercoaster of emotions.

Much of the dialogue is through song, so for prospective audience members should keep an open mind and not let that deter you from seeing the show, as the cast does a good job of making it easy for an audience to follow, even during scenes when there are several melodies happening at once.

One of the less enjoyable aspects of “RENT” was the “answering machine” scenes. In these scenes, family members leave messages on the answering machine of the lead characters, in song. It’s pretty hard to follow and honestly, a bit nauseating.

As for the dancing, a few of the ensemble members were off-rhythm during the first few numbers. But this was a rehearsal, and as it turned out, the dancing improved as the show wore on, as did nearly every other aspect of the show.

Cole Hampton’s “Roger,” a singer–songwriter with AIDS, was stiff and very focused on hitting the correct notes and not missing his lines. But he was so focused he was nearly emotionless. Hampton tended to over-sing in a few places, although since his character is a grungy rocker, the roughness of his voice worked for him. He should embrace it to develop Roger into a strong character.

Peter Molof portrays a wonderful “Angel,” a drag queen who is in a relationship with Tom Collins (Jeremy Wray). Angel is a character who seemingly brought everyone together and had great chemistry on stage with Wray. There are a few great scenes where “she” dances in a drag queen version of a Santa suit.

The many highlights of the show include a wonderful duo scene with Rowning and Mariah Leewright, as Joanne, as they do the “Tango: Maureen.” The pair was great during the song and dance about their frustration with Elizabeth Sanchez’s character Maureen.

A song by the entire cast, as Angel is dying, is one of the more comical scenes. As he dies, the remaining characters sing “Contact” as they either have sex with one another or dry hump the stage. It is done so well that it will leave you speechless and probably giggling.

“RENT” deals with mature themes and lots of emotions. Many songs are so chocked full of raw emotion that it is impressive that college actors can portray the emotions of characters dealing with so many struggles. The most well-known song, “Seasons of Love,” was sung flawlessly and featured solos from three ensemble members, a nice differentiation from most of the solos sung by the leads.

“RENT” is a performance well worth seeing. It was put together in only six short weeks and the cast, crew and MHCC instructors have worked hard to bring this show to life. Since Wednesday’s performance was only a dress rehearsal, it’s likely that tonight’s opening performance will be spot on.

Performances will be Feb. 22 – 23 and March 1 – 2 at 7:30 p.m.; and Feb. 24 and March 3 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for students and seniors and $15 for adults and may be purchased at the box office. The box office hours are Mondays 2:30 – 6 p.m., Tuesdays 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Thursdays from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. and Fridays, 2:30 – 4 p.m. and before each performance.