RENT Ultimate Cast — Page 3

I'm such a loser sitting here with all my playbills...

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Ah but Wilson can get away with being older. The OBC will always rock! I'm so glad that most of them are returning for the movie though I do wish Daphne were in it. But I have high hopes for Rosario Dawson. She seems like a very good choice for Mimi.

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The original Canadian cast was by far the best group of talented castmembers ever assembled for the show.

Correction, Steeler Jim. DRV was not Jonathan's first choice to play Mimi. Karmine Alers was (I believe she wasn't available at the time or something). Who knows what he was thinking otherwise?

ETA: Also, just because someone was in an OBC doesn't make them the ideal person for the part. I'd argue that half the men who have played Roger did it better than Pascal.

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Updated On: 3/1/05 at 11:00 AM

Fair enough. That's why when someone asks for an "ideal" cast, I mix and match my favorites, and would hope they had good chemistry together.

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I'm surprised by the extreme OBC love. I suppose the IDEAL cast would be the OBC, since they were the first people ever picked to do it. Personally, I got over the whole OBC thing once I started getting more into Rent and seeing other performers portray the roles. While I'm not sure who exactly would be in my ideal cast, I can tell you none of them would be from the OBC. I really can't say that the OBC did it BETTER than every other person ever in the show, even if they were hand-picked by Jonathan. Who's to say that people who came along later wouldn't have been chosen by Jon as well? And what's strange is that when questions like this are often posed in specific Rent forums, the OBC is rarely mentioned as well. Maybe it's a being more familiar with other performers thing?

I think, for this show, the OBC just had this chemistry that no one could match. Its sad to say this but I think that Larson's death brought them closer together then they were before. After it opened there was a whole Rent craze that they went through together.

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I feel like original casts always have more of a chemistry than those who follow, because when you think about it, the original cast of a show is the only group that goes through every single step together, from the first rehearsal, to previews, to opening night. After that, replacements are brought in and are usually trained alone and whatnot. The sense of the community that is usually evident in an OBC is part of the way things work, and while it was certainly strengthened by Jonathan's death, like I already said, performance-wise and interpretation-wise, it's hard for me to say they were the best. Especially since I feel that sense of community among people who do national tours together. Becuase really, living, working and basically only knowing the people you work with? That's bonding! But that's just my opinion.

I saw both the OBC and the original Canadian cast, and then 2 touring casts that didn't impress me...

So my picks would be -
Mark - Chad Richardson
Mimi - Krysten Cummings
Angel - Jai Rodriguez
everyone else - OBC
:)

this is so hard!!! I love the obc but i don't know!
roger- adam of course! Second choice would be Jeremy Kushnier
mark- man tie btw matt caplan and anthonny rapp
mimi- drv
maureen- Idina
joanne- merle dandridge
angel- jai
collins- mark richard ford
alexi- mayumi
gordon- colin hanlon
rest i guess obc

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must keep Adam! I love the OBC, but I also recently saw the tour cast, and they were fantastic. So maybe a combination of the OBC and the current tour cast lol.

carymetorent2~ that's a good cast! I approve!

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Y'know, looking back on the posts in this thread, it struck me how nobody ever mentions Jesse Martin's work as Collins in the OBC.

I saw the show on Broadway four times, and Martin was in all four shows. And, in all four shows, the tears flowed freely as he sang the I'll Cover You reprise. He was simply incredible.

I can't WAIT to see this scene in the movie. I'm sure my wife and I will have some tissues handy.

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