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| by Michael Eck Times Union June 8, 1999 |
Special to the Times Union<p>The Broadway smash 'Rent'' hasn't had any problem paying its own rent since it took New York by storm three years ago. Tuesday, the popular
'Rent'' moved just off Broadway with a tour stop at Proctor's Theatre that has the
Alphabet City gang -- including Roger and Mimi, Maureen and Joanne and Angel and Collins
-- in town through Sunday. "Rent'' may be loosely based on Puccini's opera "La Boheme,'' but its contemporary musical settings, its barrage of brief tunes and its urban characters have more in common with '70s rock operas like "Hair'' and "Godspell.'' And its subject matter -- AIDS, drug addiction, rent wars and the quenchless thirst for fame -- is taken straight from today's newspaper. Tuesday night the show's young cast bristled with energy, strutting their stuff to "Rent's'' tough beats and singing through creator Jonathan Larson's parade of rock-inflected but still showy songs (including the title tune) the bopping "Today 4 U,'' the bittersweet "I'll Cover You'' and the signature number, "Seasons of Love.'' "Rent'' is not a perfect show, but it is an interesting one, and Larson's layering of love stories keeps things moving, despite the show's epic -- and frankly, a bit wearing -- length. Again, these are modern-day love stories of romance between junkies and transvestites and wannabe artists, but they are love stories all the same, and when coupled with some of Larson's key tunes -- "Without You'' and "Light My Candle,'' for example -- they pack quite a wallop. Julia Santana, as beautiful junkie Mimi, made quite a moment out of "Candle'' Tuesday night and took things straight over the top with a manic, gymnastic take of "Out Tonight.'' The lead cast was in fact strong throughout, with sometimes stellar performances by Santana, Christine Fadale, Pierre Angelo Bayuga and Scott Hunt. Fadale, as the fickle bisexual performance artist Maureen, dazzled with her silly squatter's protest "Over the Moon'' and bared more than her soul during "La Vie Boheme.'' Bayuga offered many of the night's finest comic and dramatic moments as the flamboyant transvestite street musician Angel. Bayuga delivered "Today 4 U'' with the wit of a vaudeville comedian and the poise of a geisha. Hunt offered a nerdy counterpoint to his hipper friends as would-be filmmaker Mark, a sort of video-age Greek chorus. While "Rent's'' version of rock and roll may be a little tepid, its look is not, and the show is a visual feast, from Paul Clay's concrete-and-steel tenement set to Angela Wendt's funky, on-the-fly costumes. The show continues
through Sunday at Proctor's -- a newer, cooler Proctor's that debuted its new
air-conditioning system to a thankful house on Tuesday. |
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