Current Rent Tour

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/20/17 at 9:29pm

Does anyone know anything about the current touring version of Rent? 

It’s starting a weeklong engagement here in Oklahoma City the day before I leave for my NYC trip.  Rent is one of my favorite musicals, but I don’t want to spend the time and money on this the night before my early flight if it’s a subpar touring production. Not sure how to determine if it’s equity or non-equity.                                

 http://www.okcbroadway.com/rent

 

[elephantseye]

Posted: 10/20/17 at 9:45pm

I went to their last day in Austin last week and found it to be a fairly terrible evening of theatre. The acting was so-so, the singing was consistently off-key, and the staging was ill conceived and often distracting. Everyone else in my party loved it though, including one person who adores Rent. I don't know if my expectations were too high, or if seeing it again after quite some time simply reminded me of all my problems with the book, but I personally didn't enjoy it.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/20/17 at 9:53pm

elephantseye said: "I went to their last day in Austin last week and found it to be a fairly terrible evening of theatre. The acting was so-so, the singing was consistently off-key, and the staging was ill conceived and often distracting. Everyone else in my party loved it though, including one person who adores Rent. I don't know if my expectations were too high, or if seeing it again after quite some time simply reminded me of all my problems with the book, but Ipersonally didn't enjoy it."

Thanks. That was my concern. As it’s being billed as the 20th Anniversary Tour, I wonder why they didn’t take more care with this production. I’ve only seen it live once - the first time it toured through Tulsa. But I’d love to see another great production of it again. I even love the much-maligned movie adaptation. Lol

[BwayLB]

Posted: 10/20/17 at 11:46pm

I saw the tour in Costa Mesa last January and the cast isn't half bad. This tour recreates most of the original Broadway staging.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/21/17 at 12:11am

^^^ I was hoping for more than “isn’t half bad.”  Lol

[viola13]

Posted: 10/21/17 at 2:05am

The staging is pretty much the same staging as on Broadway/other tours, but this is the second leg of the tour, with a mostly new cast.  I think the Mimi and Roger are the same but everyone else is different.  The first part of the 20th Anniversary tour ended in DC in June, and this new cast hasn't performed yet.

[Nycat63]

Posted: 10/21/17 at 10:24am

viola13 said: "The staging is pretty much the same staging as on Broadway/other tours, but this is the second leg of the tour, with a mostly new cast. I think the Mimi and Roger are the same but everyone else is different. The first part of the 20th Anniversarytour ended in DC in June, and this new cast hasn't performed yet."

I think the only new major cast members are Mark (awful) and Angel (the highlight). I may be missing one (Benny?).  However...I could barely stomach this and went only bc my 16 year old loves Rent and has never had a chance to see it live.  It is a non-equity tour, by the way.  The cast is primarily college students and recent grads, so it felt like a decent college musical theater department production but not much more.  The singing was serviceable (ish) but the acting was almost non-existent, the connections/chemistry wasn't there, it felt like they rushed every scene, and for a show that normally evokes a lot of emotion and memories for me (I saw it on Broadway in 97, and remember rocking my newborn son in 99 to sleep singing "without you" with tears streaming down my face) I literally felt nothing.  If "without you" doesn't make me cry like a psycho, something is very wrong.  

Maybe it was just the cast, but it also felt very dated, which was disappointing and somewhat surprising.   I suspect it was the cast and maybe some of the direction (or lack of?). They didn't seem to get the material, really.  We still have plenty of shows that deal with AIDS, etc that hold up extremely well - Falsettos, Angels...  This didn't seem to.  Again, maybe just a lack of connection between the characters and the subject matter.  

For a true Rent fan, there is zero reason to see this unless, like me, you are doing it for someone else.  Even my daughter was left with a "meh" feeling given how much she's listened to the soundtrack, seen the movie, the filmed 2008 show, etc. but she was at least satisfied to have seen it live.  

 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/21/17 at 10:34am

Nycat63 said: "viola13 said: "The staging is pretty much the same staging as on Broadway/other tours, but this is the second leg of the tour, with a mostly new cast. I think the Mimi and Roger are the same but everyone else is different. The first part of the 20th Anniversarytour ended in DC in June, and this new cast hasn't performed yet."

I think the only new major cast members are Mark (awful) and Angel (the highlight). I may be missing one (Benny?).However...I could barely stomach this and went only bc my 16 year old loves Rent and has never had a chance to see it live. It is a non-equity tour, by the way. The cast is primarily college students and recent grads, so it felt like a decent college musical theater departmentproduction but not much more. The singing was serviceable (ish)but the acting was almost non-existent, the connections/chemistry wasn't there, it felt like they rushed every scene, and for a show that normally evokes a lot of emotion and memories for me (I saw it on Broadway in 97, and remember rocking my newborn son in 99 to sleep singing "without you" with tears streaming down my face)I literally felt nothing. If "without you" doesn't make me cry like a psycho,something is very wrong.

Maybe it was just the cast, but it also felt very dated, which was disappointing and somewhat surprising. I suspect it was the cast and maybe some of the direction (or lack of?). They didn't seem to get the material, really. We still have plenty of shows that deal with AIDS, etc that hold up extremely well - Falsettos, Angels... This didn't seem to. Again, maybe just a lack of connection between the characters and the subject matter.

For a true Rent fan, there is zero reason to see this unless, like me, you are doing it for someone else. Even my daughter was left with a "meh" feeling given how much she's listened to the soundtrack, seen the movie, the filmed 2008 show,etc. but she was at least satisfied to have seen it live. “

 

Thanks! I’ve decided to skip it. The live production I saw was great and don’t want that memory tainted. I’ll see lots of great theatre (6 shows over five days) in NYC. 

 

[BwayLB]

Posted: 10/21/17 at 1:39pm

Miles2Go2 said: "^^^ I was hoping for more than “isn’thalf bad.” Lol"

All I can say to you left is at the end the audience was on their feet.

[ggersten]

Posted: 10/21/17 at 2:18pm

BwayLB said: "Miles2Go2 said: "^^^ I was hoping for more than “isn’thalf bad.” Lol"

All I can say to you left is at the end the audience was on their feet."

Audience ovations these days are generally meaningless as to the quality of the performances.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 10/21/17 at 2:20pm

Well I can respect your perspective. I almost always give ovations depending if I enjoy it of course

[Nycat63]

Posted: 10/21/17 at 2:27pm

BwayLB said: "Miles2Go2 said: "^^^ I was hoping for more than “isn’thalf bad.” Lol"

All I can say to you left is at the end the audience was on their feet."

People stand up for everything these days, though...not being snarky, it's just the way it is.  I stood up too, only because I felt badly not doing it when everyone else was (I'm not the obnoxious type to sit there in silent protest), so I'm not sure that's necessarily indicative of how great the show was.  

At least where I live, it seemed clear that most of the audience had never actually seen a performance of Rent, so for them, I'm sure it was fabulous - which is great.  For me, though, it holds too special a place in my heart among musicals for a number of personal reasons, so maybe I'm more picky (I'm also admittedly more picky than the average audience member here because I'm a theater geek).  And, while I missed the entire OBC by a month, I saw it on Broadway with Anthony Rapp and a phenomenal replacement cast including Norbert Leo Butz as Roger and Wilson Cruz as Angel, and I also saw the first two national tours so those are tough shoes to fill. I wouldn't have gotten tickets but for my daughter, and really hoped I would enjoy it, but I just didn't.  It made me sad, and not in the right way.

For what it's worth, I read reviews afterwards (didn't want to go in with preconceived notions of whether or not I'd like it). They tended to align with my thoughts.  I think the cast is working really hard and putting their hearts into it, but they just aren't ready to take on a show like Rent - at least not for those of us who know what a really great performance of the show can evoke. I think one critic (forget the city) used the title "All Guts, No Glory".  Aside from the clever play on "One Song, Glory", I thought that nailed it.

I will say, the new Angel was superb (I read that the first one was great also), and I'll be watching for his name in the future. With some work on his stamina he could be a force someday. And the guy who plays Tom Collins has a really beautiful, unique singing tone and had some nice acting moments where he did disappear into the character, at least briefly.  But as a whole, it just never came together.

 

 

 

 

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 3/13/18 at 6:26pm

I’m heading up to Pittsburgh on Easter weekend to see the 20th Anniversary Tour of RENT. Right now it’s spending a few weeks up in Cleveland before it moves this way. Has anyone seen this particular show recently? I’ve read the comments above, so I’m not holding out high expectations since it’s a non-equity tour compared to what I may have had for the prior National Broadway Tour shows I’ve seen.

I also started listening to the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack last night. Definitely a lot different (louder?) than any show I’ve ever seen so far, but I’m not sure this is the best playlist order based on the actual Broadway show. Does anyone know or have a musical numbers list from the tour or Broadway show? 

Updated On: 3/13/18 at 06:26 PM

[GoblinKing2]

Posted: 3/13/18 at 7:12pm

My daughter saw the production in Cleveland last week. She’s 23 and was in several school musicals and in community theater, and would probably have been in the local production of Rent a few years ago had she not opted to get paid as a choreographer on another project. I told her to go in with low expectations because it was non equity. That all said...she thoroughly enjoyed it. She raved about mark and roger and thought Joanne was excellent as well. She had a number of issues with Mimi but that seemed to be her only real problem with the show. But as always, your mileage may vary...

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 3/13/18 at 8:00pm

I saw the tour in January when I was in Madison, WI for work. Lucked out and even got $25 rush tix. I loved some performances more than others but my favorite by far was Aaron Alcaraz who plays Angel. I was able to message him on Facebook and thank him for his performance afterwards as it was so poignant and reminded me of so many friends that are gone now. I’m so glad I saw it!!! Go in with muted expectations and I’ll think you’ll be glad you saw it. I actually was more emotionally invested and moved than when I saw the first excellent equity tour when it came through Tulsa years ago. It probably helped that I was more familiar with the score and book from that previous stage experience, the cast recording, the movie and the soundtrack.

Also, I’m not home this week (on the road again for work; hoping to snag tix to Lincoln Nebraska production of Avenue Q tomorrow night) so I don’t have the program listing of the songs but it’s the same as the Original Broadway cast recording. The movie soundtrack is fairly close but they did change the order of some songs, most noticeably Seasons of Love. 

Updated On: 3/13/18 at 08:00 PM

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 3/13/18 at 8:53pm

GoblinKing2 said: I told her to go in with low expectations because it was non equity. 

That's silly- in this day and age, the only difference between young Equity and non-Equity performers is that the non-Eqs haven't lucked into getting union membership yet.  The only difference would be when age comes into play, as it's harder to find older actors who are not yet in the union.  But for anyone who would be in "Rent," it's all about luck/connections.

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 3/13/18 at 8:57pm

I would skip it. I saw it in Costa Mesa as well and I found the cast to be trying so hard to act but it came across as eager high schoolers on their very first show. Little harsh but it wasnt that good.

[catmandoo]

Posted: 3/13/18 at 11:59pm

Caught the show in Cleveland this evening. First a preface- I saw the OBC (Minus Idina and Daphne)  on my first trip ever to New York in 1997... and have seen the show ~17 times since then...

I have to say this was super disappointing. I did not enjoy Mark or Roger at all. Maureen, Benny and Mimi (I believe she was an understudy) were ok. The highlights were definitely Angel, Joanne and Collins (His I'll Cover You (Reprise) actually brought me to tears. The supporting cast was just fine.

As I was watching, I was thinking to myself... it would've been a really great community theater production, but for a professional touring show, it just wasn't quite up to par.

As a sidenote- A friend at work saw it for the first time and loved it. So it might be good for a first timer, but for someone with a deep love for the show just not quite there.

 

[antonijan]

Posted: 3/14/18 at 2:44am

The actor playing Mark was Gordon on the previous tour.

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 3/14/18 at 4:52pm

THANK YOU for all of the replies. I bought the ticket several months ago, and as a 1st Timer I’m sure I’ll have a much different view/end view as seasoned RENT “veteran”. I’m looking forward to seeing the show, and hopefully it doesn’t disappoint.

For those who have attended the show recently, did they have a souvenir stand, sell window cards, etc.?

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 3/14/18 at 5:13pm

dmwnc1959 said: "THANK YOU for all of the replies. I bought the ticket several months ago, and as a 1st Timer I’m sure I’ll have a much different view/end view as seasoned RENT “veteran”. I’m looking forward to seeing the show, and hopefully it doesn’t disappoint.

For those who have attended the show recently, did they have a souvenir stand, sell window cards, etc.?"

Yes, they had a pretty good array of items. I bought a program, magnet, mug, and stocking cap. They also had Christmas ornaments and t-shirts. If memory serves correct, I believe they also had windowcards, hoodies, and CDs (OBCR). 

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 3/14/18 at 5:17pm

^^^ THANK YOU!!! Will definitely buy something, at least a window card to add to my ever growing collection.

[QueenTwinnied]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 7:29pm

I saw the tour a few weeks ago and was impressed by the cast. It was my first time seeing a live production of Rent, so I didn't have super high expectations going in. 

Most of the cast is very young, some still attending or fresh out of college. What they lacked in experience was made up with an abundance of energy and heart. Lyndie Moe and Jasmine Easler were incredible as Maureen and Joanne. Aaron Alcarez was also a very strong Angel. I was disappointed to see an understudy for Mimi, but she was strong for most of the numbers. 

[BenjaminNicholas2]

Posted: 3/18/18 at 10:18pm

Last time I saw it, it was a joke of a tour.  Very, very non-eq feeling.

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 3/19/18 at 7:16am

BenjaminNicholas2 said: "Last time I saw it, it was a joke of a tour. Very, very non-eq feeling."

Would you say that was, in the past 90 days? Year? How often, if at all, do they do cast changes? 

 

GoblinKing2 said: “I told her to go in with low expectations because it was non equity.l

bwaylvsong said: “That's silly- in this day and age, the only difference between young Equity and non-Equity performers is that the non-Eqs haven't lucked into getting union membership yet. The only difference would be when age comes into play, as it's harder to find older actors who are not yet in the union. But for anyone who would be in "Rent," it's all about luck/connections."

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve always wondered if people go into a non-equity performance with the pre-determined mindset to not like the show, have exceedingly lower expectations, or that of “prove to me that you’re worth my time”, and STILL come out of the performance no matter how good it was not liking the show just because it was non-equity?

My first show ever was a play by Pittsburgh Stages at the University of Pittsburgh called “The Dog in the Manger”, and I loved it. I didn’t know then what Equity, non-Equity, and just student actors were. It was the reason that I turned to Broadway National Tours for more of this new art form I had been exposed to. It was the reason for my new addiction to Broadway shows. 

I hope to go into RENT with a more open mind than those who proclaim non-Equity as a lesser ability. I’m sure there are some Equity actors out there who can’t act their way out of a wet paper bag in some of your opinions?

 

Updated On: 3/19/18 at 07:16 AM