by Travis Holder
Entertainment Today
February 12, 1999

This is the fourth viewing for me of the remarkable, groundbreaking rock musical Rent and, I must admit, except for the inclusion of the original Mimi, Daphne Rubin-Vega, I probably would not have gone again quite yet had it not been for the fact that my friend JayTee, a virgin Rent-er, offered me everything including his first born if I could score us a pair of seats for the show's current run at the Shubert.

Am I glad I did. Even an old veteran like me can be redazzled and certainly this is the best cast I've seen so far in this piece - and that includes productions in New York, La Jolla and its first run here at the Ahmanson last season. Mark Leroy Jackson is happily back again after appearing in all three of the above locations and his gorgeous voice is even stronger than ever, performing a true showstopping version of "I'll Cover You." In two of the most noteworthy roles, Trey Ellett does an impressive job as Mark, as does Shaun Earl as Angel, but I do have to admit I will always remember Neil Patrick Harris' bravura turn as the show's spiritual anchor and Wilson Cruz as the doomed drag queen. Cruz is currenty appearing in the role on Broadway, leaving the next spot open, one would hope, for the massive talents of Zac Hudak, now appearing regionally to stellar reviews as the Emcee in Cabaret at the Theater 8:15 in Canton, Ohio. Producers take note: Hudak is soon free to join this cast at a moment's notice.

Oddly, seeing this production has made me realize one thing I hadn't before: that with a truly excellent pair of performers appearing as the star-crossed AZT-popping lovers Mimi and Roger, suddenly the entire play blossoms into so much more. Always before, less interesting performances in these pivotal roles has left me thinking how ungratifying the roles themselves were, leaving the actors playing Collins, Mark and Angel the ones to remember. But Rubin-Vega quickly lives up to all her rapid fame, glowing reviews and many honors as Mimi. She is blessed with a spectacularly large, raspy voice and a sweet, highly incongruous physical fragility which poignantly hides the rough spots and emotional bruises of the junked-out lounge stripper in love. Dean Balkwill is also the best Roger I've yet encountered, as are Erin Kenney as Maureen and Kamilah Martin as her frustrated lover Joanne.

Rent is of course based on Puccini's La Boheme, presenting a bleak urban portrait of the youth-oriented counterculture existence in the concrete bowels of New York's East Village Alphabet City district. The makeshift, ragtag family of street kids struggle to endure the harsh realities of their lives as they alternate between a roach-infested tenement squat and the park as a place to survive the winter. This is not a glorified piece of Kerouac-inspired, hippie-mutated splendor these kids from Scarsdale, Phoenix and the Bronx find together; it's a place of hunger, cold, loneliness, and the rampant spread of HIV.

Michael Greif again brilliantly recreates his original energetic and whimsical staging, the perfect compliment to the wondrous book and driving rock score by the late Jonathan Larson, who sadly died of an aortic aneurysm literally days before his show's New York debut. Don't mistake this current return run for yet another stale roadshow plopped into the Shubert. This is the best ensemble of Rent I've been lucky enough to see perform - and seeing it is an extraordinary experience whether it's your first viewing or your fourth.