Rent

Synopsis

A musical based on La boheme. The musical updates the plot to modern day New York where a community of East Village dwellers battle to fulfil their aspirations against the tide of reality. The show opened off Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop in February 1996 for a two month run before transferring to the Nederlander. 35 year old Jonathan Larson never lived to see the success of the musical, dying of an aortic aneurysm shortly after the final dress rehearsal. Winner of four 1996 Tony Awards, (including Best Musical), the film rights were snapped up by Robert de Niro and Miramax.

Our Review:

10 September 2012

Rent is an iconic piece of musical theatre originally produced in the 1990s. With book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, it was intended to be a retelling of the opera La Bohème set in modern day New York. Stories of love, tragedy and revolution are intertwined to highlight a changing world in which Aids and drugs so commonly take lives.

Unfortunately Paul Taylor-Mills' production of Rent at the Greenwich Theatre fails to capture the essence of what Jonathan Larson created and, instead, has moments when you feel that you are watching the Glee version of the musical.

There are some strong performances from the principal cast. Gary Wood as Angel is one to watch for the future. He fully inhabits his role giving a ‘real’ portrayal of one of Larson’s characters. Benjamin Stratton as film-maker M...

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Latest User Review

David Baxter - 17 September 2012:

Following Ragtime in the park I can now tick Rent off my list of must-see musicals and this production offered the advantage of a Sunday in Greenwich before the show at a very civilised 6.oo pm. There is a huge cast of 28 which makes for some really impresive ensemble numbers, made up of some reasonably well known names such as Steph Fearon and Zoe Birkett, but many others with very little professional experience but they are not short on talent. As it is based on a Puccini opera Jonathan Larson's remarkable musical contains more than it's fair share of tragedy and misery and I would agree with the WoS reviewer that this sense of desperation is not fully conveyed - everybody seems far too cheerul. Some elements of the story are also submerged and anyone who has not seen it before or who is not familiar with the CD or film would struggle to work out what is going on with the protests against a landlord who seems to fluctuate with each appearance. However that was not an insurmountable problem amongst a fantastically enthusiastic crowd of Rent-heads and friends of the cast, plus the actor who played Mark in the film which caused much excitement at the interval. My problems lie with the direction of Paul Taylor-Mills but there are no complaints about a terrific ensemble who do their utmost with such a vast range of characters and do full justice to Larson's incredible score which is infinitely better live than on CD. Some qualifications but nevertheless a great evening....

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