by Bill De Young
Gainesville Sun
January 26, 2000

By turns vibrant and melancholy, celebratory and tragic, "Rent" is the sort of musical they couldn't make in the '40s or '50s: You're never sure where it's going, and the resolutions are never easy.

But getting there, with a road map of inspired and often brilliant songs, is more fun anyway.

"Rent," which began an eight-performance run at the Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday night, has its roots in the 1960s, specifically in that generation-bashing, culture-clashing "Hair." Like that pioneering piece of theater, "Rent" -- which took the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for drama -- celebrates an American subculture that many audiences simply won't understand.

While "Hair" was about hippies, Jonathan Larson's play is about a ragtag group of friends and strangers living day to day on New York's bohemian East Side.

They're trying to cope with poverty, depression, drug addiction and, most significantly, AIDS. The specter of the dread disease hangs over them like a black curtain, blotting out the sun.

That's not to say that Roger, Mark, Collins, Mimi and the rest can't celebrate life -- this they do frequently, only it's not the kind of life that Rodgers and Hammerstein, or even Andrew Lloyd Webber, celebrated.

These people are simply glad to be alive.

This national touring company features numerous performers who make Larson's ebullient material shine. Of particular note is Shaun Earl as Angel, the show's comic relief. Angel, a transvestite, looks like Eartha Kitt, talks like Michael Jackson and sings like The Artist formerly known as Prince.

One of the most beautiful ballads in "Rent" is "I'll Cover You," sung by Angel and Collins, who develop a sweet and tender relationship in the face of adversity.

It's a safe bet that Rodgers and Hammerstein never wrote a love song for two men to sing.

Saycon Sengbloh plays Mimi, a 19-year-old junkie, with a tragic grace.

Mimi's devotion to Roger, the failed rock musician who never recovered from his girlfriend's suicide, is truly moving. When she's electrified, which is often, Sengbloh has the voice of a seasoned rhythm 'n' blues musician.

Other standouts include Michelle Joan Smith as Maureen, a performance artist, and Jacqueline B. Arnold as her lover and "manager," Joanne.

The large cast interacts seamlessly on the wrought-iron and brick set, and their ensemble vocal work on Larson's more inspiring songs is frequently breathtaking.

Like other so-called "rock operas," "Rent" doesn't include a lot of dialogue. Jonathan Larson's story of finding friends among the rubble of life is told effectively -- and heartbreakingly -- through music that seems to seep from the soul of each of his characters.