RENT

The well-known, award-winning Broadway musical “RENT” opened in Russell Auditorium on Wednesday. Rock ‘n’ roll music pounded through the air as actors, dancers and singers of GCSU’s theater department filled the stage with their presence and nervous excitement fluttered backstage from the crew. The audience flooded in and mingled in a loud, sophisticated manner, ready to see if “RENT” would meet its expectations.

” ‘RENT’ is a story about relationships and how they are affected by love, loss and hope,” said Scott Howard, a senior theater and mass communication major.

Howard plays the role of Benny in the musical, the landlord of various other characters that have trouble paying their rent, living “La Vie Bohéme (The Bohemian Life).”

Presenting a musical is a long and tough process, but presenting a well-known musical such as “RENT” has new challenges for GCSU’s theater department.

The cast started rehearsing over winter break during what it called

” ‘RENT’ boot camp,” a week before classes started for spring semester.

“Everyone had to be here every day to rehearse,” Howard said. “It was long, but well worth it. Now we can get on stage and have a blast.”

Howard said that participating in a well-known musical is “refreshing.”

“We (the GCSU theater department) try to do unheard of shows to challenge the actors, but big-name shows we don’t get to do so much. When we do, it’s a real treat,” Howard said.

As a principal actor of the show, the challenge of presenting “RENT” is “living up to ideals that people have set for the show, but also living up to our own goals to embrace the beautiful message of the show and have fun with it,” Howard said.

“RENT” presents rewards and challenges for both students and faculty involved.

Ross Daniel, a freshman theater and mass communication major, is part of the ensemble of the show.

“I get to beat someone up in the beginning,” Daniel said about his character as the policeman. He also sings and dances in the show.

“Blocking and memorizing singing parts was the most challenging,” Daniel said. “But seeing everything put together and full out is so rewarding – it’s beautiful.”

On the other side of the lights however, the technical theater crew works hard to make “RENT” actors and the production itself look good.

Keith Bergeron, a technical theater major with an emphasis in sound design discussed the challenges of the production from behind the scenes.

“Our (GCSU theater department) funding is so poor, so finding the right equipment to get the sound done was a major challenge,” Bergeron said.

Bergeron completely remade the sound system in Russell Auditorium for the production in order to make it sound high quality.

“RENT” has quite a hype to live up to, but the cast is confident that GCSU students will love the show.

“We are not on Broadway and college kids put it together. It is challenging, but we make do,” Bergeron said.

Howard agreed with Bergeron about the show being a success.

“It will live up to expectations. We are going to rock Milledgeville’s socks off.”

colored lights, but until you see Nic Marrone appear as a cross-dressing Santa Claus to woe the emotions of a gay philosopher (Bren Thomas), you haven’t even begun to feel the authenticity of who these characters are. I’m not even going to hint at the details of a special lap-dance that is bound to send the auditorium into an eruption of laughter.

Another notable duo that shines in the opening act is that of Roger (Marc Osborn) and Mimi (Hannah Schumacher). From the moment they first meet, Mimi is willing to do (or show) whatever it takes to “connect” with the depressed guitarist, and even when it requires her to grind her body on several pieces of the set, Schumacher plays every aspect perfectly like a predator of seduction. What a performance.

Before the lights dim on the happier side of the story, we are introduced to Maureen (Caleigh Allen); a bisexual character who remains only mentioned for much of the first hour. I have seen Allen in several different productions over the last few years, and while they were all great, I can honestly say that this is by far her shining moment as she stands tall under a swarm of pink and blue lights describing a dream. The music comes in small doses throughout the monologue, but the physical narration backed by Allen’s sharp tone just completely sets the stage on fire. By the time it’s over, you almost want to applaud the piece as she garners a roar of “moos” from the crowd. It is at this point that “RENT” achieves one of the golden rules of stage production: making the audience a part of the show.

The second act again opens strong with everyone on stage, but unlike the earlier segment that covered only one night, this one chronicles an entire year. A lot can happen over the course of one year, but the bigger story is the effect it leaves on the characters as things shift to a more serious mood.

While the plot may start to feel a little convoluted in the latter portion, it is still the performances that make the effort memorable. In reprising an earlier segment called “I’ll Cover You,” watch closely as Bren Thomas leads the entire cast into the rest of the piece. This actor has always had a gift for selling his roles by the mere expression on his face, and in just a matter of two minutes, one can see it in his eyes as he sinks deep into a more sensitive level.

By the time it reaches the finale, “RENT” showcases all of its glory by once again uniting the entire cast for one last song. Behind them is a projected culmination of what they have all worked hard for, and as we sing and clap along with the crew, we know that like every other production done in the GCSU department, this is one effort that truly came from the heart. In her program address, director Amy Pinney refers to the play as “a love letter.” Whether it be to victims of AIDS, or any community of outcasts who can relate to its themes, this is one letter that demands to be read.

And since we’re on the subject of love letters, I guess now’s as good a time as any to say that this here is my love letter to the cast and crew of “RENT,” and all the wonderful thespians in the theater department who will be truly missed next year. Well done guys!

Posted by Rachel Moldovan on Feb 26 2010. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry