Thirty years ago the musical Rent took Broadway by storm, receiving massive critical acclaim and becoming an instant classic phenomenon that brought a new generation to musical theatre.
Today, after four Tonys, a Pulitzer, a film, a live TV broadcast, a cult following, innumerable national tours and regional and high school productions later, the musical that opened up possibilities within the rock musical genre still has the power to move its audiences to laugh, cry, think, and feel real empathy.
Rent is particularly special to The Barn Theatre where the third production of the musical in its history opened Thursday night. The show’s creator, Jonathan Larson, who died at 35 of an aortic dissection the night of the last dress rehearsal before the Broadway opening in 1996, graced the Barn stage in 1980 and 1981.
Producer and Director Brendan Ragotzy described him as one of the most successful musical theatre talents to come out of The Barn. The intimate connection to Larson is especially poignant in this production’s loving homage to Larson and Barn history for its 80th season.
Loosely based on Puccini’s 19th Century opera La Boheme, through a series of scenes and musical vignettes, Rent follows a year of life on the edge for a group of aspiring bohemians squatters in New York City’s East Village at the turn of the last century during the height of the AIDS crisis. Their lives are rife with breakups, near evictions, mad hustles for cash and for finding the next fix, as well as devastating illness and death; but they also exuberantly embrace new romance, joyful performance and celebrations, art and love making, sophisticated cultural critique, and an unstoppable spiritedness in the pursuit of dreams.
And this, ultimately, is the lasting impact of this group of friends and lovers against the inevitable obstacles life presents: they live in the moment, make the most of what they’ve got, and rage against the dying of the light by creating and loving in spite of their troubles. They may live on the margins, but in no way are they marginal. And in that, this motley crew of wildly beautiful characters represent and calm the parts of ourselves that live in fear.
Much as “Hair” will resonate most deeply for the flower children of the 1960s, Rent will undoubtedly do the same for Gen X and those who came of age during the devastating era in which AIDS was a death sentence. And though it in many ways has become a period piece, it’s the profound themes, gorgeous music, and heartfelt characters that make Rent not only relevant, but still powerfully moving.
Especially at The Barn, where the audience Friday night leapt to their feet in standing ovation thanks to excellent technical elements that effectively create layers of texture, emotion, and time and place as well as fine performances.
Ryan Parody is a surprisingly relaxed Mark, the budding filmmaker and narrator of the show whose girlfriend has dumped him for another woman. Luke Ragotzy wonderfully captures the high stakes and yearning of Roger, Mark’s roommate, the HIV-positive former junkie who longs to write one glorious song before he dies.
His morality and conflictedness is palpable with Sophie Sonntag as Mimi, the junkie exotic dancer next door, and though there isn’t any real heat between them, their relationship grows nicely through the twists and turns of the score. She slithers, writhes, sildes, twirls, twerks, and spreads her legs in every possible way all over the fine multi-level, gritty-looking set by Eddie Doerr in “Out Tonight.”
Choreography by Mychelle Hopkins is also most notable for Calvin Means as Angel, the percussionist drag queen living as gracefully as s/he can with AIDS and creating merriment in her white platform go-go boots everywhere she goes. Means’ tabletop prancing like a foal in “La Vie Boheme” is especially comedic.
Also comedic and a powerhouse is Hannah Kurczeski as a fully committed and utterly embodied Maureen, the fiery woman who left Mark for a lesbian lawyer, particularly in the hilariously absurd “Over the Moon,” and she has real chemistry with Jamila Joiner, who’s a fierce Joanne, in “Take Me or Leave Me”, as well as everyone else she flirts with on stage and in the audience.
The 42 musical numbers drive the narrative and are especially grand when the whole company graces the stage. “Seasons of Love” and “No Day But Today” are every bit the crowd pleasers we’ve come to expect from this now classic show, and they sound terrific with sound design by Troy Benton and accompanied by the excellent four-piece band led onstage by Musical Director Matt Shabala.
Visually this show is a delight, thanks to the aforementioned set that allows for wonderful movement and varied locations with evocative lights that effect mood and time shifts by Mike McShane and projections by Lucy Mulloy. Sidra Sundberg’s Boho-chic period costumes offer plenty of plaid, leather and pleather, chains and studs, shimmer, color, and animal print.
Such fabulous little details abound in this show, and help bring to life the brilliant, now classic, award-winning book, music, and lyrics by beloved, long-mourned Barnie Jonathan Larson, in a way that allows this very special 80th season production of Rent to honors the legacy of The Barn Theatre as well as the show itself: with the power of community, artistry against all odds, and Love with a capital L.
Rent
Barn Theatre
July 23-August 2
barntheatreschool.org
