by Diane Windeler
San Antonio Express News
December 6, 1998

Scott Hunt performs as filmmaker Mark Cohen in one of the opening numbers of 'Rent' as the Broadway musical opened its run Tuesday night in San Antonio.

"Rent," Jonathan Larson's hard- driving, provocative, profoundly moving pop-rock musical explodes with life despite dealing with a wildly diverse group of young artists coping with poverty and AIDS.

A cast member confided that the touring troupe performing the show at the Majestic Theater this week is known as the "love company." Perhaps that helps to explain how they convey intimacy and a genuine sense of community in a world where, in the bitter words of one song, "you are what you own." 

It is true that Larson's shocking death on the eve of the show's opening in 1996 adds to the drama, but even those not knowing about it must be stirred by the images of young people trying to make every day count when hours and minutes are numbered.

"Rent" is, of course, based on Puccini's opera, "La Boheme," plunked in the middle of Manhattan's grungy Lower East Side, with its junkies, street people, HIV-infected lovers and others. Just as the opera is a collage, from fragments of a short story collection, so is this, but the central theme remains a search for meaningful connections and love amid chaos.

The show was effectively staged by its original director, Michael Greif, of La Jolla Playhouse. Against Paul Clay's towering industrial set of scrap-metal girders, platforms and an on-stage combo, an unusually strong ensemble cast reveals characters and issues vastly different from those in any other musical.

That is not to say that the show is entirely bleak. In fact, much of it is celebratory or ironically funny, with numerous references to the original that operaphiles will relish. The most obvious occur when musician Roger (hunky, satin-voiced Christian Mena) first meets Mimi, the S&M club dancer (lithe, sexy Julia Santana).

Both have HIV; her hands are cold and she asks him to light her candle (i.e., help her with her fix). This takes place shortly after Roger's heart-felt "One Song, Glory," about writing one great song "before the virus takes hold." His opening guitar licks mirror the first phrase of "Musetta's Waltz."

Later, the completed ballad, "Your Eyes," is sung in counterpoint with a gritty electric guitar version of the familiar aria.

The most heart-rending love story is that of philosophy teacher Tom Collins (Alan Mingo Jr., displaying a lustrous baritone) and Angel (compellingly played by Owen Johnston II), the warm, funny drag queen whose AIDS death re-ties some fraying emotional bonds within the community.

Scott Hunt is bright and sassy as Mark, the documentary film maker and narrator of the piece. He shines in a tango duet as he compares notes on his old flame Maureen (Leigh Hetherington) with her new lover, Joanne (Monique Daniels), the lesbian lawyer. Hetherington is devilishly funny as a performance artist poking serious fun at her "craft" as she tries to embarrass the landlord, Benny (Brian Love), who married money and got out of the slums.

The score runs the gamut from funky to reggae to hauntingly lyrical; sometimes lyrics are overpowered by driving instrumentals, but the emotions usually come through. A good portion of the score is done in recitative style, with Larson offering words to ponder or chortle over.

Consider the command, "Start hoisting, wench," as a rope is tossed, or a homeless quartet caroling on Christmas Eve about "no Santa, no loose change, no room at the Holiday Inn."

Gratefully, since the characters all have tangled-up pasts, the program book includes a plot sketch and a graphic detailing who used to be with whom and what their connections are now.

Check it out, then prepare for a singularly affecting theatrical experience.