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Playbill of The Week: Rent

Nicole Cino
Feb 17, 2017
4 min read

7/53

I first heard Rent when I was a little kid, probably around 8 years old. I'm pretty sure the first song I ever heard was I'll Cover You. I remember looking up who was singing the song and being really confused. I was hearing 2 men singing, but the characters name sounded like a girl's name. I didn't really know what was going on, but that curiosity faded away and I just fell in love with the show. I learned a lot from Rent, and truthfully I think that was a great way to find out about life. The relationships and content in the show weren't scary, or different. They were the lives of characters I loved. It showed me all the different types of people I could encounter, all the personalities, sexual orientations, different genders. Nothing was weird. I understood who they were through their songs. I got it, I accepted it, and I moved on.

The first time I saw Rent was the 2005 movie version. I knew the show backwards and forwards but had never seen it live. But I was so excited to see almost the entire original cast reunited on film to create the magic they made almost 10 years prior. I couldn't believe how lucky we were as an audience to get to witness this. Obviously movie musicals are a very difficult thing to get right. Trying to translate a stage show to screen can most of the time fall flat. Stories are changed, songs moved around, characters toned down. And although some of that happened with Rent we still got those performances documented forever. I could go on about what I didn't like, but instead I'm just happy I get Anthony Rapp's Mark cemented on dvd forever. I then saw Rent in Hamilton and in New York, and ended up being in two different productions of the show.

The most memorable show was in New York, with Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal as Mark and Roger. I think I may have cried when I saw Anthony on stage for the first time. I didn't realize how much I connected with his character, and specifically his performance until I actually got an opportunity to see it live. He's so solid and grounded as Mark, the character is a part of him, you can tell it's in his bones. And I didn't get a sense that he was 'sick' of it. He seemed to have the joy, passion and energy that I assumed he had when they opened the show in 1996. If he was up for it I'd watch him play Mark for many many years to come. I have never been a Roger fan. I never felt connected to him, but again seeing Adam Pascal perform was a treat. He made me love the character, I felt things for him that I hadn't in previous shows. I understood him a little bit more. And I guess that's exactly why these guys were originally cast. They brought those characters to life in the most natural way possible. They weren't playing those characters, instead they were just sharing a part of themselves.

In all honesty I can't really talk about the other performances in that show. I was so focused on Anthony and Adam. I do know that I loved Nicolette Hart's Maureen, it was different than I had ever seen her played. More quirky, and she was a blonde, which was weird for me. I also remember loving Telly Leung and Haven Burton, who were ensemble members, but shined onstage. I also saw this show 10 years ago so my memory's a bit shaky.

Another love of mine that came from Rent is Ms Idina Menzel. Yes she is now a household name. A Disney Queen, a Tony Award Winner, an Oscar performer, and most importantly Adele Dazeem. But I remember hearing Over The Moon when I was that 8 year old kid and falling in love with the craziness that I was hearing. She had this big, brassy voice, it was something I hadn't heard , and I didn't know voices could sound like that. I was so drawn to her, which I guess is why she's so famous now. But no matter how big she get's she will always be a huge inspiration of mine. Maureen will forever be a role that I would give up anything to play just so I can do Idina proud.

Jonathan Larson gave us a show that changed a generation. He showed us a different form of musical theatre. He gave us grit, angst, rock and the reason why any waiter hates when a group of theatre kids walk into a restaurant. Wine and beer! He made us all feel safe when we listened to his music. We were allowed to feel. He gave us songs about grief and struggle. Yes when you revisit Rent as an adult you may think 'these assholes just need to get a job and grow up' and end up connecting with Benny (mooo) but why would you wanna do that, when instead you can just shout 'Viva la vie boheme!' So yes I will continue to cry whenever I hear "I'll Cover You (Reprise)", I will most definitely sing at the top of my lungs to "La Vie Boheme" and I will forever sing "Seasons Of Love" when it comes on, anytime anywhere, I will belt out those harmonies and measure my life. So thank you Jonathan Larson. I hope wherever you are, you're proud of your show, and you see how it has touched us all. Now, moo with me!