Opinions On Current Rent Cast

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!

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

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.

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

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?

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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.

YankeesFan, I think Kelly left only last week.

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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.

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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.

I need a cough drop, sorry!

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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.

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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.

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.

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.

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