Opinions On Current Rent Cast

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 5:37pm

Hi, I will be seeing Rent next Saturday and I was wondering who I will be seeing in all of the parts. I know I could go to the site but I'm not sure how recently it has been updated so I'd rather hear it from ya'll. So, yeah... can you tell me who I'm seeing in the roles, and ur opinions of how good they are, and their character choices. Thanks!

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 5:48pm

Anyone?
Updated On: 9/16/05 at 05:48 PM

[timote316]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 8:05pm

Cary Shields as Roger and Karmine Alers as Mimi = perfection. I don't think there was a single aspect of their performances that I didn't like.

Matt Caplan as Mark... not so much. I really didn't like him, but I've heard mixed reactions. I think he's too goofy and bored, but don't listen to me - form your own opinion lol.

As for the rest of the regular cast:
Tom Collins: Destan Owens - Alright. I prefer Marcus Paul James, who I saw on tour, but Destan was very good too.
Benjamin Coffin III: D'Monroe - I saw an understudy.
Joanne Jefferson: Merle Dandridge - I LOVED her. Very powerful voice.
Angel Schunard: Justin Johnston - understudy (Enrico Rodriguez - he was great)
Maureen Johnson: Ava Gaudet - Wasn't Maureen when I saw it. She's hot, and I've heard great things about her.
Mark's mom and others: Nicolette Hart
SOL Soloist #2: Marcus Paul James - excellent Collins, but also a good soloist.
SOL Soloist #1: Frenchie Davis - amazing soloist. I actually got chills.
Gordon: Colin Hanlon
Steve: Enrico Rodriguez
Paul: Shaun Earl
Alexi Darling,: Mayumi Ando

[rentheadcagofan12]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 8:12pm

Cary, Ava, Merle and Matt were my favorites. They all had incredible stage presence and had fantastic voices-- Merle especially. She totally blew the idea of 'Joanne is SO boring' right out of me.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 8:14pm

In very simplistic terms, I'll say this:

Individually, they're very talented. And they often have good chemistry in small bundles - like Mark and Roger, or Roger and Mimi, etc, etc.

But as a whole, they just.... they feel like actors doing their jobs. That sense of community... it's just not there. They don't feel like a unit, like the RENT cast should. And a few of them (*coughMattCaplancough*) just look bored. It's too obvious, and that's bad.

Updated On: 9/16/05 at 08:14 PM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 8:21pm

timote316, I totally agree with your Marcus Paul James endorsement. He was amazing; I honestly didn't know how much I could love the character of Collins until I saw him in the role.

[YankeesFan175]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 10:45pm

cary is amazing. i saw matts understudy, jay and he was great! i also saw karmines understudy krystal l washington, and she was just amazing, she actually made me like the character of mimi. merle was great, everyone was great!

PS- when did kelly leave?

[zepka102]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:38pm

i agree with what has been said. Merle stood out as a favorite for me also... she is a perfect Joanne. love Cary as Roger, D'Monroe is great as Coffin... don't see too much difference in how that character is played. and i think i'm the only one to say i'm not impressed by Ava. i saw her on the tour and thought she was alright. luckily i had Caren Lyn Manuel as Maureen and i thought it was definitely a role she could pull off easily.

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:43pm

Marcus Paul James needs to be Collins right now. He's amazing, and much more fitting in the role than Destan Owens (who is fine, just doesn't really work for me). I'd love to see Marcus get the role if/when Destan leaves.

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:45pm

The current cast if AMAZING! Cary, Karmine, and the current Benny. Merle made me like the role of Joann a LOT more. I didnt see the current Maureen when I went, though.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:50pm

YankeesFan, I think Kelly left only last week.

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:50pm

I have to very respectfully dissagree with Emcee on this one. The cast I saw Tuesday totally felt like a community, and I felt they all worked grea ttogether. Yeah, Matt is goofey, but he didn't seem BORED to me, he just make Mark more of a goofball. A lot of people complain about Matt except for people who've never seen the show before Judging from Tuesday, the show is in GREAT shape! (says the diehard fan who would never say anything bad about any cast member if her life depended on it!)

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:57pm

I've seen most of this cast twice - with one or two individual exceptions. My theory goes that since many of them ARE so bored, their community-feel is sort of on a night-by-night basis. They definitely fluctuate. While I didn't feel "it" entirely either time, they were certainly better one time than the other.

[LifeOfThePartytd]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:59pm

The current cast is really good, i just got back from seeing it, everyone is AMAZING!!!!!

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 9/16/05 at 11:59pm

I admit, I'm a bit perturbed by the "I'm a diehard fan and will never say a bad thing about the cast" comment. If anything, fans should be able to be objective about the things they like.

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 12:30am

"And a few of them (*coughMattCaplancough*) just look bored."

I couldn't agree with you more, Emcee. He was so sarcastic and acted so bored.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 12:31am

I need a cough drop, sorry!

[BroadwayBaby315]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 12:36am

I saw the cast a few weeks ago and Merle is a highlight... but in my humble opinion, Cary is not. He was not as... edgy as I think Roger needed to be.

[BroomstickBoy]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 12:37am

Oh don't worry bout the recent Mark. I'll just put on some Mark glasses and take my scarf and go to NY to one of those famous "open call" auditions and I'll replace his bored lil ass

Seriously, I'd be a pretty good Mark. Same with Roger but I like Cary :-p.

How long has Matt been with show ??? It seems like Rent has been a big part of his theatre life for the past couple years.

Posted: 9/17/05 at 1:08am

i LOVE matt as mark. i didn't think he looked bored at all. but hey, we are all entitled to our opinions.

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 9:52am

Technically, Matt's been in the show since 1999. He started out as a swing on the Benny tour, and then became fulltime Mark there when Scott Hunt left. He closed that tour in July in 2001 and came to Broadway as a swing in October, and was fulltime Mark on Broadway by May of 2002. He was Joey Fatone's standby for the five months he was in the show, then was back to fulltime until Drew Lachey came in during the summer of 2004, and then came back again after that. So he's pretty much been in the show for the past 6 years.

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 10:32am

"I admit, I'm a bit perturbed by the "I'm a diehard fan and will never say a bad thing about the cast" comment. If anything, fans should be able to be objective about the things they like."

er, sorry, I just meant that i'm SO biased, I pretty much can never bring myself to say anything negative lol No offense intended.

[Me2]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:28am

i have seen the show many times and i would consider myself a renthead and i definitely think that it is time for matt to move on. yes, he makes me laugh but he seems so freakin bored up there and his silliness just starts to annoy me after a while. Cary is amazing, i love the man's look, his voice, his everything. Karmine as mimi is also freaking unbelievable. the woman has mimi DOWN. she has the complete mimi look and voice. i LOVE this woman's voice. and her solo cd rocks. Destan as collins is eh. i've seen better... much better. Justin as angel is soo great! he has so much energy and he is a great actor. he knows what he's doing in this role and he never disappoints. i also love d'monroe as benny. he has an INSANE amount of energy that just really works. and he reminds me a lot of taye. i havent seen ava as maureen so i cant really say anything but i've heard good things. saving the best for last, merle dandridge as joanne if UNBELIEVABLE i love this woman's voice sooo much.she is so powerful and a great actress. she is by far my favorite in the whole cast, probably one of my favorite broadway actresses, period. she is an amazing talen and while i dont want her to leave RENT, i am excited for it because she doesnt get the credit she deserves in that show.

[neomystyk29]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 3:03pm

I've heard bad things about Ava's singing voice. That she screams rather than sings the songs. Anyone else hear this?

Also, I heard Karmine is moving to a swing for some reason. Anyone else hear this? Will she be on when I go on saturday?

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 3:10pm

I saw Ava on tour and she was good. And she did sing, not scream. I don't know why she gets such a bad rep, she's definitely one of the better Maureen's I've seen (which, granted isn't that many, but still).

Karmine Alers is being demoted to swing after October 16th, so yes she will be there this Saturday.