by Amy Chozick
The Daily Texan
April 7, 1999

Julia Santana plays Mimi Marquez, a sexy S&M dancer in Johnathan Larson's Rent, which runs through April 11 at UT's Bass Concert Hall

After being protested in Providence and picketed in Cincinnati, Rent, the Broadway pop-culture hit of the '90s, brings issues of homosexuality, AIDS and drug addiction to Bass Concert Hall.

Conservative Austin theatergoers greeted the much-talked about spectacular with skepticism and dismay: exactly the reactions playwright, Jonathan Larson intended.

"People are pretty uneasy when they see two men kiss or hear the words 'lesbian' and 'fuck,'" said Scott Hunt, "but they get over it and realize that this is how these people are." Hunt brilliantly plays the narrator, Mark Cohen, in the traveling production of Rent.

"Jonathan Larson has brought serious and sad issues to life with a very fun and humorous touch," Hunt said of Rent. Unfortunately, Larson died suddenly the day before his play was performed in 1995, never seeing it reach Broadway and achieve huge status as a traveling show.

Hunt's character is largely based on Larson's own life. Cohen, a struggling Jewish documentary filmmaker, records and explains all that goes on among his circle of friends in their industrial loft in New York City's East Village.

Rent is based largely on Puccini's classic opera, La Boheme, except that the characters are fighting AIDS instead of tuberculosis and live in New York City instead of Paris.

Roger and Mimi are two characters dealing with AIDS in a love story for the '90s.

Cohen zooms in on his roommate as he sings, "Close on Roger/ His girlfriend April left a note saying 'We've got AIDS'/ Before slitting her wrists in the bathroom."

Roger, played by Christian Mena, is an aspiring musician and the love interest of his sexy, next- door neighbor, Mimi Marquez (played by the seductive Julia Santana). Her well-choreographed dance numbers, along with Mena's powerful voice, fully express the emotions of two HIV-positive people trying to make a relationship work while confronting their own mortality.

The actors playing these colorful and inspiring characters -- they themselves struggling actors and musicians -- feel a personal connection to the roles they play. "I remember seeing a Newsweek article about Rent and telling my mom that I was going to play Mark because I am a skinny, nerdy blonde guy too," said Hunt, whose theatre credits include a role in the Broadway production of Les Miserables.

"It was fun playing with guns every night in Les Mis, but Rent hits much closer to home," said Hunt, who recently found out one of his best friends tested HIV-positive. "I take this play home with me every night," he concluded.

The cast of 21 includes the talented Dwayne Clark, who plays Tom Collins. Collins is the "Computer Age Philosopher" who finds true love in Angel Schunard (Pierre Angelo Bayuga), an HIV-positive drag-queen and street musician with a heart of gold. Clark's performance dominated the stage and brought his enthusiastic and inspiring character to life.

"Collins is the type of person who wants to live for the moment; he expresses the underlying meanings of life, death, happiness and disease," said Clark about his character.

Collin's heart-warming relationship with Angel probably shocked the audience more than anything else in the play (not often do upper-class, middle-aged Texans see a drag-queen kissing another man). Shocked whispers went on throughout the beginning of Angel's performance, but eventually this kind-hearted character convinced audiences to open their hearts and their minds after the hilarious song, "Today for You, Tomorrow for Me," during which Angel gives money to her needy friends. This light-hearted feeling distinguishes Rent from other plays dealing with similar topics.

Now that the show is traveling, it faces the challenge of gaining acceptance from audiences not used to this kind of content. Regardless of its racy subject matter, Rent is an exciting and fun show with a talented cast and an amazing musical score.

"I enjoy performing to people other than young, open-minded teenagers because it allows Rent to spread its message to people that are not our core audience," said Hunt. "People have to recognize talent, whether they agree with it or not."