by Judith Egerton
Louisville Courier-Journal
July 15, 1998

Louisvillians got an invigorating look at contemporary New York musical theater with last night's opening of "Rent," the smash New York hit that began a two-week run at the Kentucky Center for the Arts.

An exciting first act, spiked with 20 songs (several of them memorable), was followed by a less powerful, somewhat confusing second act that seemed longer than it was. Even so, this modern musical makes others seem dull and insipid.

"Rent" was inspired by Puccini's "La Boheme," an opera about the bohemian subculture of Paris in the early 1800s. The musical, created by Jonathan Larson, pays specific homage to Puccini's work by capping its first act with the bawdy and boisterous "La Vie Boheme," sung by all 15 cast members.

This contemporary tale of doomed romance begins in an abandoned loft in Manhattan's East Village on Christmas Eve. There, a group of artists and addicts struggle -- not against tuberculosis as in the Puccini opera -- but AIDS. Four of the seven main characters have tested positive for the AIDS virus. Besides the disease, they also battle a landlord who has evicted them.

The cast, supported by a five-piece band conducted by Robert Sprayberry, performs on a stage decorated with metal chairs, silver railings and scaffolding, which gives the space an industrial warehouse feel.

The two-act play with music and lyrics by Larson centers on three couples: exotic dancer Mimi and ex-junkie rock musician Roger; drag queen Angel who loves computer whiz Tom Collins; and lesbian lawyer Joanne, who links up with outlandish performance artist Maureen after she has broken up with Mark, a filmmaker and the character who leads the audience through the story.

Unlike most offerings in the PNC Bank Broadway Series, this show contains profanity and brief nudity when one character moons another. Surviving poverty in New York, along with homosexuality, promiscuity and drug use are the issues. That apparently bothered a number of people who left after the first act.

It could not have been dissatisfaction with the cast. Each of the key performers gave solid performances. Monique Daniels as Joanne, the fast-talking Harvard-educated lawyer, dances with Mark (Kirk McDonald) as they sing the funny "Tango Maureen." Later Maureen (Leigh Hetherington) enacts her performance piece, "Over the Moon," a comic political statement, and then squares off with Joanne for the slick and sexy "Take Me or Leave Me."

But it was Adrian Lewis Morgan as HIV-infected Roger, whose solo "One Song Glory," about his desire to write one great song before the sun sets, that gave the first act its lyrical and visual highlight. As he sang, a huge shadow on the wall behind him reinforced his desire to be remembered after he's gone. Julia Santana as Roger's lover, Mimi, Andy Senor as the doomed transvestite Angel and Mark Leroy Jackson as Angel's lover, Tom Collins, also had sparkling moments.

The exuberance and true-to-life reflection of a young artist's life in New York made "Rent" instantly popular with audiences and critics. The show won the Tony Award for best musical, as well as three Drama Desk Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for drama. However, the show's 35-year-old creator didn't live to see its phenomenal success. Larson died of an aortic aneurism just hours after the musical's final dress rehearsal.