In a Mac-Haydn season filled with great shows, Rent is the best one yet. In fact, it’s the best show I’ve seen in years. So much so that I recommend seeing it twice. Partly, because every song is a banger and partly, because the cast and crew have created an expansive, rollicking good time that simultaneously inspires and devastates you that you will want to watch it multiple times just to discover all the nuances.
I believe there are two types of people in the world: those of us who grew up listening to the Rent soundtrack on cassette tape until it gave out on us (raising my hand here) and those who never were exposed to it. For the latter, I’m sorry for your loss, but here’s your chance to discover a phenomenon.
Rent premiered off-Broadway in 1996, by which point the AIDS epidemic had decimated New York City and elsewhere. Jonathan Larson, who did the book, music and lyrics for the show, passed away unexpectedly just weeks before it opened; he never saw his work come to fruition or – like many talented artists – receive the accolades he deserved in his time. The show moved to Broadway mere months later where it ran for another 12 years.
I was a theater kid who had the good fortune to get on a bus upstate and be carted into New York City shortly after Rent went up on Broadway, seeing the original cast create the magic that is now legend in the theater world. I immediately purchased the aforementioned cassette tape and, if our life is to be measured over time, there’s probably 1% of Lodro Rinzler that is just Rent as a result.
Let’s talk about the cast. The Mac-Haydn brought back the best actors I remember in recent history and added new talented stars to the mix.
Andrew Burton Kelley (who was incredible in Xanadu) plays Mark, our point-of-view character who hides behind his camera, documenting the lives of his found family. Good lord this man is talented. It’s worth going just to see him move through the emotional arcs of the show.
Photo by Ann Kielbasa
Jared Goodwin as Roger is trying to write one great song before he dies of AIDS…and yet is surprisingly fun to watch. Goodwin recently played Tony in West Side Story and sang the most beautiful version of “Maria” that I have ever heard. Given that, I steeled myself not to cry and yet he got me by his opening solo, “One Song Glory”. This man has the voice of an angel.
Our Mimi is new to the MacHaydn and boy, what a find. Anna Viveros brought an incredible balance of wild, sexy and dangerous to the role of Mimi, offering a truly electric performance. She made some big acting choices and I was delighted that every single one of them hit.
One of the fun things about the Mac-Haydn is that you can see these stars around town. I was at Peoples Pub recently and spotted Anthony Michael Velez. I grabbed my wife and said, “It’s the guy from Chorus Line!” While he was fantastic there, today Anthony plays Angel, a star amongst stars and the glue of this found family. Anthony is versatile; he can slowly undulate his body and you are witnessing the best modern dance you’ve seen in some time and then throw on some heels and do a song and dance number that has you roaring in laughter.
Marcus Jordan brings unbridled joy to the role of Tom Collins in the first act and beautiful sentimentality in the second; it’s a marvel to behold. Amber Mawande-Spytek plays Joanne and just f-ing nails it. Mawande-Spytek is an incredible actor who balances the multiple aspects of Joanne simultaneously with grace and ease. Josh Walker plays Benny, our villain turned hero and they are so fun to watch over the course of the show; it’s hard to take your eyes off them.
When our Maureen (Adeline Trivers who you might remember from her fantastic performance in The Marvelous Wonderettes) takes the stage it’s after a long build up and she opens with the best version of “Over the Moon” I’ve ever seen; it had me riveted and then mooing (you have to go to understand).
The entire cast knocked it out of the park; I found my eyes, when not watering, consistently drifting to one of the actors on the outskirts of the stage – the homeless man singing his heart out or the flustered waiter who does not want these Bohemians taking over his restaurant.
John Saunders has been doing masterful work all season in the realm of directing and he and Elizabeth McGuire took some risks in the choreography of this show that paid huge dividends. Bethany Marx tackled costume design with aplomb, bringing a fun nostalgic flare for any of us who lived through the 90s. And of course I have to praise Eric Shorey who, as Music Director, pulled off an incredible feat.
At the end of the dress rehearsal, the cast took their bows and rushed off-stage. The audience heard a big whoop and then laughter and the exact same joy we just witnessed on stage. The party continues. And you’re invited.
Rent is an outlier for the Mac-Haydn. Some fans might gravitate toward the classics like West Side Story while others want fun, slapstick comedies like Xanadu. Both are grand, but give me something with a whole lot of heart, courage and bravado any day. That’s Rent, a show about love, found family and hope in the face of insurmountable odds.
While the show can get a reputation for being melancholic (when compared to the previous show at the Mac-Haydn, Sister Act, for example) it ends on a message of hope. It is not about whether you die young or old, but how much you take advantage of the time you do have here and how much love you share. This is a message that was not just relevant to the AIDS-ravished 90s but one we desperately need to hear today. Thank you, Mac-Haydn, for sharing it.
For ticket information, please visit the Mac-Haydn Theatre’s website.
– Lodro Rinzler is the author of a handful of books on meditation including “The Buddha Walks into a Bar” and “Take Back Your Mind.” He lives in Kinderhook with his wife and one year-old daughter.