by Christopher Rawson
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
May 28, 1998

All three certainly do in "Rent," the runaway Broadway hit of 1996 that opened Tuesday night at Heinz Hall. With book, music and lyrics by the late Jonathan Larson, this gritty, noisy, soulful musical marries the timeless to the contemporary and touches the heart as it abrades the eardrums.

The title seems to promise something sociological and "Rent" does strike fist-in-air poses about the homeless, careerist sellouts, unfeeling institutions and such. There's more detail than you can hear, hidden in the shouting. Family politics are played mainly for laughs, but the scourge of AIDS is real, and really felt.

"Rent" also cares about art. As its loose source in Puccini's "La Boheme" suggests, these scruffy kids are mainly artists, trying to find their way. But when "Rent" digs down into its truest heart and sings most feelingly, it finds life's transcendent grace in love, both companionable and erotic.

Past its noise and politics, "Rent" is a trio of intimate love stories. Given its grungy urban setting and multicultural, polymorphous cast of characters, those three couples are naturally gay, lesbian and heterosexual. For none does the course of true love run smooth.

All around me last night I heard longtime Broadway Series subscribers wondering what was going on. The first time I saw "Rent" in New York, I, too, spent much of Act 1 grumbling, "Who are all these people and why are they yelling at me?" It only started to come together for me with the Act 1 finale, "La Vie Boheme."

Decade-old rock (which is about what this is) just isn't my musical mode. But once you've figured out who is who, Act 2 makes much more sense, starting right out with the beautiful anthem, "Seasons of Love," initially accompanied (thank god!) by solo piano. With the story clear, you're free to feel the pain and hope in the different relationships and savor the nuances.

The stitched-together "family" of the story centers on Mark and Roger, singer and songwriter. Their former roommate, the intellectual Tom Collins, falls for the sweet drag queen, Angel. Mark's former girlfriend, Maureen, a would-be performance artist, has hitched up with Joanne, a lawyer. And Roger finds Mimi. Mark is left to document all this, including the struggle with capitalist Benny.

The show really starts to jell with Roger's "One Song Glory," which sidles into Mimi's "Light My Candle," one of the most plaintive sexual come-ons in musical theater.

The much-discussed Maureen doesn't even appear until the end of Act 1, when she does a parodic performance piece - one of many humorous episodes in a dark story. "No day but today," they tell each other, a counsel as much of affirmation as despair.

There's plenty of dialogue, but the musical still feels operatic in its continuities and builds, different plot lines overlapping and intercutting, keeping you engaged.

The sound is certainly more confusing than in New York, playing in a theater twice the size. There's no way the voices can compete with the steroid-laden music, but without that amplification, the music wouldn't have the essential feel of rock concert assault.

To my taste, the cast powerhouse is Julia Santana's Mimi, sexy and heart-breaking. Mark Leroy Jackson is an affecting Collins and Monique Daniels a wiry, articulate Joanne. Those three are the equals of the Broadway originals.

Leigh Hetherington is a funny Maureen, effective but without the touch of menace the part can have. Kirk McDonald is a solid Mark, too cute to start but fine later, and Adrian Lewis Morgan gives Roger vocal power and feeling. Pierre Angelo Bayuga, an understudy, is in this week as Angel, but Andy Seņor returns next week.

Everything said, "Rent" is not for everyone. Some of you might rather give your tickets to your grown children - they'll love it.