by Alexander Stevens
Town Online
June 22, 1999

There are a lot of things to complain about in this world, but the musical "Rent" isn't one of them.

And yet somewhere between the time "Rent" won the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1996 and the time it hit the road with its first national tour, a curious backlash occurred. Some critics turned on the show.

But the fact remains that "Rent" was an inspiring burst of theatrical energy when it debuted in New York; it was a worthy and vibrant national tour that made its first stop at the Shubert Theatre in Boston in 1997; and it's a thoroughly entertaining version that has returned to the Shubert, now though July 25.

The spine of the show continues to be a string of dynamite songs that composer-lyricist Jonathan Larson unleashed in the first act, each segueing gracefully into the next - "Rent," "One Song Glory," "Light My Candle," "Today 4 U," "Tango: Maureen." Larson's softer touch is just as effective, as reflective ballads like "Life Support" and "Will I?" cut right to heart of his story. The spectacular first act ends with the rousing ode to the Bohemian lifestyle, "La Vie Boheme."

The show is road-tested at this point. The songs have proven they have impact, so it's all about the cast that delivers them, and the producers may have cast the beautiful people in the wrong roles in this show.

Christian Mena makes a hunky Roger, the HIV-positive rock guitarist who shares the New York apartment with his friend (and the show's narrator) Mark (Scott Hunt). But Mena is almost too good-looking for the role. He looks more like a tenant at Melrose Place than a squatter at a ramshackle, unheated apartment in Alphabet City. And his choir boy good looks never convince us of his drug-scarred past.

Maureen, on the other hand, is usually played as a knockout, but Cristina Fadale offers a plainer sex siren. Although it's a performance that grows on you, she doesn't pack quite the same punch when she sings - in the brassy love duet "Take Me As I Am" - that she's immediately irresistible to all the men and women she passes on the street.

But good voices abound in this cast, perhaps none quite so magical as the one belonging to Danielle Lee Greaves. She plays Maureen's lover Joanne, and she's featured in two of the highlights of this show - the aforementioned "Take Me as I Am" and "Tango: Maureen," in which she forges a charming friendship with Mark, based on their shared roles as both lovers and victims of Maureen.

Another subtle change in the show: This version seems a bit raunched-up. The explicit sexual play - especially in "La Vie Boheme" - is not only cheap and unnecessary, but it distracts from the show's charm.

But there's lots of charm still there. And energy. And punch. And even a little food for thought. This show has audiences - especially young people - leaving the theater buzzed by a musical. Who can complain about that?

Sure, the show has its flaws. Not one of the struggling artists in the show demonstrates a whit of talent. Mark's "film" is a series of goofy shots of his friends, Maureen's performance art piece is so bad it's funny (that's the joke Larson was shooting for), and Roger has it right when he finally unveils the song he's been working on all year, and he describes it as "not much."

And elements of the plot are still murky for those who are seeing the show for the first time (the synopsis in the program should clear up the major plot points).

Still, these are just quibbles, and it's interesting to speculate whether Larson, if he were still alive, would have addressed any of these issues if he had had more time with his musical.

But Larson's death may have stunted the show's growth in more ways than one. Ironically, it now blurs everyone's vision of the musical - critics of the show argue that the power of "Rent" is inextricably woven with the creator's sad demise (he died days before the show's staggering success began on Broadway). Ironically, it's only now that Larson has started to recede as a presence in his own show that his musical's true place in history is starting to emerge. Some may waiver in their support.

Not me. "Rent" rocks.