Do you think it's important for Rent to have a multiracial cast?

I recently saw Rent performed at a local college, and went with a couple of friends who were legitimately upset because there were only white people in the cast.

The overall quality of the production was okay, nothing spectacular, a few of the actors had nice voices and a few didn't, but I wasn't expecting anything of high quality anyway.

But I'm mostly wondering if their opinion (that Rent is essentially required to have a multiracial cast) is one that's popularly held, because I didn't think it was such a big deal.

Ditto. It's not about race. A multicultural cast is always nice, but not a necessity.

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Mimi Marquez is latina, too.

I'm unsure about the student version, but the character break down for the franchise certainly indicates their ethnic background.

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Mark Cohen (Caucasian, 20s)
An aspiring Jewish film-maker. Never leaves home without a camera. Roger's best friend and caregiver. Casually narrates the show.

Roger Davis (Grunge Rock, up to Ab, plays guitar, 20s)
Struggling musician who discovered he had AIDS in a note his girlfriend left when she dumped him. A recovering drug addict. Extremely depressed untill he meets Mimi. Sexy, young, good looking leader of a rock band. Brooding and aggressive with a gentle side.

Mimi Marquez (Rock voice with high belt, Latina, 20s)
Benny's ex-girlfriend, now in love with Roger. A dancer in a sex show, a heroin addict with AIDS. Extremely sexy, optimistic, likeable but with dark secrets.

Benny Coffin III (Pop baritone/tenor, African American, 20s)
Married to Alison Grey, from the rich Wesport family (she is never seen on stage). He used to live with Mark and Roger, but is now their landlord.

Maureen Johnson (Soul voice, Caucasian, 20s)
Mark's drama queen ex-girlfriend. An actress and Joanne's new girlfriend. Young, spunky, quirky & funny. Innocently sexy.

Joanne Jefferson (High rock belt, African-American)
A lawyer and Maureen's girlfriend. Smart, mature, wry humour, politically connected.

Tom Collins (Low blues Baritone, African American)
Old friend and roomate of Mark and Roger. Computer teacher/philosopher & AIDS activist. Angel's boyfriend. AIDS. Mature, warm, strong, and open personality.

Angel Schunard (High Tenor/Falsetto, Latino/Asian, 20s)
A street-dummer drag queen with a heart of gold. He loves wearing dresses he makes. He also has AIDS. Key line: "I'm more of a man than you'll ever be and more of a woman than you'll ever get."

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I'm curious, blaxx, where did you find that breakdown? The licensed version from MTI doesn't have ethnicities listed:

ANGEL DUMOTT SCHUNARD
A transvestite street drummer infected with HIV. Increible dancer with a magnetic personality.
C3 - A4 (Tenor)

BENJAMIN COFFIN III
Wealthy landlord of Mark and Roger's building. Benny wants to start a multimedia studio.
Eb3 - F4 (Tenor)

JOANNE JEFFERSON
A headstrong public interest lawyer, and Maureen's lover.
Bb3 - E5 (Alto)

MARK COHEN
A filmmaker and video artist, determined to capture "real" life on film. Roger's roommate.
C#3 - G4 (Tenor)

MAUREEN JOHNSON
A performance artist and Mark's ex-girlfriend.
C4 - F5 (Soprano Belt)

MIMI MARQUEZ
A dancer with AIDS and a drug problem. Desperate for a place to feel safe and protected.
F#3 - E5 (Alto)

ROGER DAVIS
An edgy, struggling musician who's HIV+. He hopes to write one last meaningful song before he dies.
B2 - A4 (Tenor)

TOM COLLINS
An HIV+ computer genius who has recently returned to New York after an absence. Has a deep capacity for love and understanding.
F#2 - A4 (Baritenor)
There is only one high A (A4) for this character. It is of short duration.

http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000281

~Steven

The show's book mentions absolutely nothing about their races in reference to their daily struggle. But I do believe the racial thing brings a different aspect of thought to the audience and to the actor's performance. And professional casting companies would most certainly not cast a white Collins.

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Random website, actually. I thought it was a breakdown from where they had equity auditions, but I do remember the ethnic background listed.

I'd think MTI wouldn't put up the background so groups wouldn't feel restricted, but those are the racial backgrounds used to cast the professional productions.

Mark being Jewish and Mimi Latina is in the book. I'm not sure about the Asian/Latino of Angel or the African-American of Joanne, Benny or Collins, but I'm sure that somewhere in the book/lyrics, their background is at least implied.

Did MTI change anything to make the musical more PC?

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Yes, what blaxx posted is the breakdown they used to have at the equity casting calls.

I saw an all-white production of RENT and had some fits of laughter when Joanne's mother yells to Joanne's dad "Remind her those unwed mothers of Harlem need her legal help too!"

Clearly the Broadway company would adhere as closely as they could to the original direction/casting choices. Notice how they always had an Asian-ish girl in the ensemble, etc. They did start to open Mimi up to black actresses (Tamyra and Mel B come to mind) and Angel to black and/or Asian actors. Other than Mark being Jewish (or half-Jewish? His mother does call him on Christmas...) and Mimi being Latina (and 19, but old for her age), there are no references to race or age in the show. Sure, to be more authentic, it should be multiracial. But as with most shows, it's not essential to the plot. This ain't no Show Boat or South Pacific. Race, although an added bonus, isn't integral to the plot. As JoeKv said, if you can have a colorblind Christmas Carol (or any other classic show for that matter), you can have a colorblind Rent.

MTI licenses the show as is, with some very bad typos in the score... There are probably hundreds of productions praising "BBC" instead of "8BC," two wildly different things to exclaim.

~Steven

I agree with Blaxx. The book doesn't mention anything or it wouldn't be ruined per se, but I would have a hard time buying a bunch of white suburban kids as people struggling with life in the East Village.
I don't think it'd much matter if Mark was Latino or African American, but I can't imagine having an all white cast....

"Other than Mark being Jewish (or half-Jewish? His mother does call him on Christmas...)"

A real Jewish mother uses any excuse to call her children multiple times per day; even Christian holidays will do.

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I believe that in the Rent bible, Bernie Telsey discussed that originally, they were looking for caucasian men to play Collins. There is nothing in the script referencing his race, so I think he can be played by a white actor. I think that professional productions should try to have a multicultural cast, but it doesn't feel too important which characters are played by minorities, except when specified in the script.