PRESS COVERAGE

 

Barn's rocking `Rent' rattles the rafters and stirs the spirit

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Kalamazoo

BY MARIN HEINRITZ

 

Special to the Gazette

 

AUGUSTA -- In its heyday, the Tony, Obie and Pulitzer Prize winning ``Rent'' did what no other musical of its time could do: It enthused a new, young audience of Generation X kids.

 

From the look of things Tuesday night, the first regional theater production of the 1990s Broadway hit may be doing the same thing for the Barn Theatre. Young people filled the seats opening night, and they were the first to rise to their feet and exuberantly applaud the curtain call.

 

It's a particularly sweet sight considering that ``Rent'' creator Jonathon Larson, who died tragically from an aortic aneurysm the night before the show's off-Broadway debut in 1996, got his start at the Barn in the early 1980s. With a curtain speech to honor him and an ``in memoriam''-style montage at the end of the show, the theater paid tribute to one of its own.

 

Despite a few weaknesses, director Brendan Ragotzy, in his element working in the rock-opera genre, clearly pulled out all the stops to do Larson proud and make the audience clamor for more.

 

Based loosely on Puccini's ``La Boheme'' and set in Manhattan's East Village in the 1990s, ``Rent'' examines a community of starving artists, drug addicts and HIV-positive outcasts who cling to each other and discover the joys of living in the moment with nothing to lose. The show remains groundbreaking for its sexually and ethnically diverse cast of characters and its unapologetic airing of taboo -- at least for musical theater -- subjects.

 

The apprentices playing leading roles have something to learn about committing to character from their more seasoned cast members. Longtime Barnies Penelope Alex, as Maureen, a bisexual, roller-skating performance artist, and Eric Parker, as a brooding, HIV-positive musician, are fabulous and in good voice, as ever.

 

And the real thrill of the evening is the work of the guest artists from Chicago and Los Angeles who breathe new life and power into this production. Allen Christopher as Benny, the only authority figure in the show, creates a complex character where a flat one might do, and he sings beautifully.

 

Lina Kernan as Joanne, and Jesse Dean Stanford as Collins, are soulful powerhouses in voice and presence on stage; scenes in which they are central are among the show's very best.

 

Wonderful costumes by Michael Wilson Morgan -- from a vinyl pink dress to a sparkly mock-turtleneck to plenty of grungy plaid variations of '90s vintage wear -- lend authenticity to the characters and evoke the time. Lauran Stanis choreographs movement with just the right touch that makes it seem natural and not overdone, especially on Carson Ross as Angel.

 

Act II is full of the kind of ensemble numbers in which huge voices shine and audiences can't help but be moved. This is where live performance trumps all others and we realize how privileged we are to be privy to this show, with this company, at this moment.