Jaystarr's 10/10 Report on ReNT (with theater and stage door photos)- Page 2

[scaryclowns223]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 8:29pm

Jay,

Thanks for the review. Its been a number of years since I've seen Rent (the last time was with Drew Lachey, who i actually sort of liked). Glad to hear its not in totally abominable shape, and I just knew Will Chase would make a good Roger.

Thanks for posting pictures of the theatre, because MAN is it in bad shape.
I smell a Longacre-esque renovation!

[myshikobit]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 8:34pm

By the way, what was that mark right above Adam's lip?

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 8:45pm

Thanks, Jay. Where did you get that shirt?! I want one! :)

~Steven

[brettystar]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 10:32pm

Thanks for another great review Jaystarr

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 10:42pm

Updated On: 5/4/09 at 10:42 PM

[MovieGuy1031]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 10:58pm

What a skanky looking theater...

But great report, as always - even if I am dismayed to hear about Eden.

[little_sally]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:01pm

Wow, I never knew they were giving Tamyra Gray top billing.

[gregj63]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:04pm

I saw Rent a few weeks ago, and agree with your comments. One issue I noticed was that the whole show was over-amplified; I could almost imagine that the cast was just lip-synching the words, it was hard to connect the sound with the person singing it. It also seemed they were rushing through the songs, very lifeless and robotic. I saw it before about 10 years ago, and don't remember it being that way then.

[george95]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:18pm

That was a great review. It's a weird thing about RENT--I love this show to death, and it was a huuuuge huge huge part of my coming-of-age phase, and I've seen it about 20 times, but every time I see it, there is something wrong with it. The Roger is good, but the Mark is terrible. They let the girl playing Mimi have short hair (sorry Tamyra fans but its just not right!!) The mics go in and out, or the band somehow gets out of time with the actors. Props are dropped. Actors go out of character. However, despite all that, I still loooove the show.

[lakezurich]

Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:56pm

When I saw the pics that showed what a sorry state the Nederlander is in, it made me sad.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 12:08am

I agree, they should NEVER let ANYONE with short hair play Mimi. That is SO wrong.

[george95]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 12:13am

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume youre not being a sarcastic jerk (like we have any of those on bww). Its not that an actress with short hair cant play Mimi, its just that Mimi has always has long hair, whether its a wig or not.......well anyway I feel like the bww bitches are going to come after me now for daring to bring up something that isn't up to their standards......so bitch away


p.s. jay* sorry I messed up your cool review thread by bringing their negative element in here.

Updated On: 6/3/08 at 12:13 AM

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 12:18am

Oh, it was messed up way before that. You just helped make it worse.

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 11:05am

1. the new graffiti on the nederlander is absolutely appalling. It's such a shame and I mean they just painted over the old stuff. I don't get it. And I really don't get how the producers endorce it. makes no sense.

2. You are very lucky that you got to see will. He is a fabulous roger (and pretty to look at too ) Of all the Rogers i've seen I can definitely say that Adam and Will were the best (and Tim Howar, but that's just because I'm biased)

3. Oh man, that's too bad that she hasn't made the character her own... maybe in time she will, i've seen that some actors when new to the role often start out copying previous people in that role until they make it their own.

4. ugh tamyra grey is he worst. She can not act, it's olay if you close your eyes, but yeah she just is not a convincing mimi. And why would they even stunt cast her, its not like she brought in that many people...

5. I'm suprised you didn't like Justin, I think he's a really great angel and very convincing. Oh well, maybe it was a bad day for him.

6. I like adam kantor a lot, I mean he's not my favorite makr but i think he definitely does a great job.

7. What did you think of Merle? Just wondering

8. Who took you to the backwall, and why was it dated 2007?

9. Wow whoever that girl is writing on the PHOTO OF THE OBC... I want to smack her.

10. great review

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 11:27am

As always, an amazing, thoughtful and (IMO) accurate review with glorious pictures

Thank you!!!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 11:39am

Thanks for your review! Keep posting your 10/10 reports!

[jakebloke]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 11:51am

You said something about the cast just singing their songs without character. I feel that's how RENT has been for years. It was such a great show 12, even 10 years ago. But after that, it's just been a cast of people trying to outsing eachother, losing the emotion of the show. I am tempted to go check it out one last time before it closes though. I just don't want to be totally disappointed.

[thatgirl712]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 12:43pm

Hi Jay, great as usual

[jerseyboyschick2]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 1:20pm

Jay, thanks for the great review, as always:)
The pics of the theater's condition really make me sad though.
Great stage door pics!

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 4:29pm

The Nederlander Theatre has never been in great shape, even before RENT opened. The Nederlander Organization needs to take a cue from the Shubert Organization which keeps its theatres in good shape and refurbishes them when needed, for example the Broadway, the Winter Garden, the Imperial, the Booth, and the Shubert.

The Nederlander Organization used to own the New Amsterdam years ago and started to restore it only to stop part way through and leave the roof of the theatre open to rain and snow, causing enormous damage to the auditorium. It took Disney to take over the New Amsterdam and restore it to its original splendor, a remarkable achievement. Once Disney took on the restoration, 42nd Street rapidly changed forever.

[Glory]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 4:39pm

i need to go see Rent for 3 reasons:

a.)I need to see it before it closes
b.)I want to see Eden and Will
c.)I want to watch Mark's part carefully since i'm playing him in the school edition in July! :)

[exedore]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 4:41pm

Not surprised at all about Eden - she's way overrated thanks to the Shizzheads and just does not float my boat.

Also sad that you didn't get to see the wonderful Marcus Paul James on as SOLoist #2...or better swinging in as Collins. The man is amazing, and while Michael McElroy can be awesome, Marcus is just a force of nature on stage and it's disappointing that the producers brought someone else back rather than bump him up.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 4:46pm

Wow, I never realized how bad the theatre looks- inside and out.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 4:49pm

I saw Rent last weekend, for the first time since Adam and Anthony's last. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't weird. But, I actually enjoyed most of the cast members; they're not working together as a team quite yet, but that's probably because they've been swinging new people in on such a staggered basis. I think once they've had some time to gel, this could shape up to be a really nice closing cast.

I saw Will the last time he was back with the show, and he quickly became my favorite Roger. (Now second to Adam, but still.) I'm thrilled to have him back again as the last. Caren Lyn Manuel was on as Maureen (this was before Eden started), and I was surprisingly impressed. I didn't even realize she was back, but after a long, long run of Maureens who were getting it all wrong, it was nice to see someone who got it. Adam Kantor looks very young, but I thought he was really good. He's a sweet Mark, but not overly silly; I thought he gave a solid, earnest performance.

Updated On: 6/4/08 at 04:49 PM

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 6/3/08 at 4:52pm

thats because caren lyn manuel is fierce. her mimi was one of the greatest performances i have ever experianced.

Updated On: 6/3/08 at 04:52 PM