RENT-Us TOUR- Page 6

[ClareQuilty]

Posted: 1/26/05 at 10:49pm

I saw RENT today. I was amazed at how well this touring comapany compares with the OBC. Andy Meeks sounds amost exactly like Anthony Rapp. IMHO, Dan Rosenbaum is a better Roger than Adam Pascal ever was. Mario Ferrell and Ava I can take or leave. But, Marcus Paul James received the most thundering applause at the performance I saw (I'll Cover You Reprise). I'm completely in love with Tallia Brinson! It was an amazing show made even more so by my seats, which were second row center aisle.

[jezzebelle]

Posted: 1/26/05 at 10:57pm

Marcus is the most amazing Collins I have ever seen or heard, hands down. This is such great cast, overall, but Marcus especially stands out. He's just incredible and his ICY reprise is heart-breaking.

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 1/27/05 at 12:10am

My goodnes...I can't say enough things about the Collins I saw last night-Marcus.

The freedom he took with the I Will Cover You Reprise was unbelievable..

Its amazing too how I walk away from the show remembering him, Andy Meeks as Mark ((maybe cuz he's just so unbelievably cute, and talented to boot))..and...the friggin soloist from Seasons of Love, that girl had it goin!

[ClareQuilty]

Posted: 1/27/05 at 12:33am

I'm assuming you saw the wednesday night show at the Masonic Temple. I saw the matinee show.

Here's a question--to anyone who'd know--Do all of the Maureen's actually pull their pants down and bare-fanny-moon Benny in the Life Cafe? (during La Vie Boheme, of course). I was a little shocked by that--although I'm not complaining. Updated On: 1/27/05 at 12:33 AM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/27/05 at 12:37am

I'm bad. I had some money left over from buying books this semester, so I bought tickets to see Rent when I'm back in DC for spring break. I was already seeing it with my sister on Saturday, but I bought tickets for both the Friday show and the Sunday matinee so I can see it before I fly back to school that night. Of course, I'll be poor until March and seeing the same show 3 times in 3 days seems a bit excessive, but it's been a LONG time.

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 1/27/05 at 12:53am

I havent seen the show myself, but according to all of my friends who have seen it, yes, all the Maureens they have seen do that during La Vie Boheme. Ands its written in the script thats in the RENT bible so I figure that it wasnt just something Idina decided to do.

[thespian geek]

Posted: 1/27/05 at 3:16am

I've seen this cast 7 times and now I miss them really badly after reading through this thread. Sad.

To any of you who have Livejournals, I started a community about/for Andy. https://www.livejournal.com/community/andymeeks/

Annnnd... I'm done pimping.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 1/27/05 at 7:01am

Clairequilty, if you have to ask about Maureen's mooning, then it would appear that this is your first time seeing the show. How can you make the comparison of this cast to the OBC if you never saw them? Comparing any cast to a recording isn't a good idea. Even a video boot is a bad basis for comparison. Anyway, to answer your question, yes, every Maureen moons Benny and Mr. Grey. It's part of the show.

orangeskittles, enjoy the show in D.C. That's closing weekend and the end of the tour. It should be great! Updated On: 1/27/05 at 07:01 AM

[buddhaismymom]

Posted: 1/27/05 at 1:18pm

okay i saw it last saturday at the masonic temple and here are some of my thoughts

i loved andy. he had boundless energy and he looked like he was having so much fun. his acting was perfect, funny, cute the whole package. he was so much fun to watch.. i couldnt imagine anyone else. better than mark i saw on broadway. he was also happy to talk and sign autographs outside in the snow and freezing air. (we had 13 inches of snow...and it was 7 degrees and still he did not stop smiling)

dan did not impress me. he had a good voice..one song glory was nice..but his acting was lacking. he had inappropriate emotions for certain scenes. especially when mimi is dying..he was just so ridiculous, i was trying to keep from laughing. dan was too angry sometimes and then sometimes not angry enough ("poor baby"). i just wanted him to stop.

tallia was good. good acting, good voice, nice energy..but i dont know. nothing extra special. although she was a million times better than effing scary spice.

angel and collins were wonderful. they were the best guys in the cast. angel was adorable and he could beast..especially in contact. collins broke my heart in the reprise. i cried.

ava was my favorite in the whole cast. she was so much fun! i wanted to be her. her voice, acting, dancing, energy..just everything was perfect. best maureen ive seen.

and there are more of course...but thats all i feel like saying.

[ClareQuilty]

Posted: 1/27/05 at 3:27pm

[quote]How can you make the comparison of this cast to the OBC if you never saw them? Comparing any cast to a recording isn't a good idea. Even a video boot is a bad basis for comparison.[/quote]

I beg to differ. Admittedly my bootleg video of the OBC wasn't recorded under optimal conditions. However, the original cast CD was. I can only assume that the OBC CD was recorded in a studio with benefit of engineers, producers, retakes and so forth. In my mind, all other things being equal, this gives an advantage in sound quality to the recording--especially over a touring company at 12:00 noon on a Wednesday in the middle of po-dunk Michigan. I expected to have to meet this "#2 Collins" cast half way. But, to my surprise, they were incredible. And, I don't think it is an unfair comparison to say that, IMO, Dan Rosenbaum has a much better singing voice than Adam Pascal. I've never really bought Adam's Roger. To me, he always sounded forced and a little comical, as if he was doing a caricature of a raspy-voiced rock star. Tallia Brinson also, again in my opinion, sings better than Daphne Rubin-Vega--not to mention that she just may have the best ass below 14th street. Updated On: 1/27/05 at 03:27 PM

[LetMeLeave]

Posted: 1/27/05 at 4:46pm

I LOVED this cast like a phat kid loves cake!

My only problem was the lady who played Maureen...I don't remember her name. While she was amazing vocally and made me want to punch the person next to me because she was really pretty, I didn't like her portrayal as Maureen. However this was a couple months ago, so maybe it's changed.

But other than that, GREATEST CAST EVER.

[broadwaybaby1624]

Posted: 1/27/05 at 7:05pm

I'm going to see this cast March 4 in CT, sooo excited!! Ava is a friend of a friend of a friend, lol... me and some friends get to go backstage... SOOOOO EXCITED!! :)

I liked the current broadway cast alot too, I thought that, of course they don't compare to the OBC, but I thought that Drew Lachey actually did a great job, and Roger was fantastic.

[renthead2005z]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 1:51am

any one seen it lately wanna give a review?

[Unmasked05]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 11:57am

I saw the show back in November here in Alabama and it was the last show. It was my first time ever seeing RENT I had heard some of the music and I had to see the show. I waited in line for 1hr so I could get front row seats which I did. My mom went with me. I was amazed at how the cast was on the stage before the show started and I didn't even know it. One lady was carrying a Riccola Can and I was like I'm pretty sure the cast is sucking those down before showtime.
When the show started I was AMAZED.....I was on the very front and they stared at me...I was in awe.

Andy Meeks.....was and awesome Mark and he was my FAVORITE character.

My "Roger" was a understudy and he was bald...don't remember his name but he was aiight.

Marcus.......was THE BEST Tom Collins in the world my mom gave him a standing ovation after her sung "I'll Cover You: Reprise"

Mario Ferrel.......was a good Benny he was from Montegomery, Alabama so I was give it up to him.

Adrienne Fishe........was a good Joanne, my mom liked her outfits.

Damien DeShaun Smith......was a AMAZING Angel he was excellent he played that role really well and that was my moms favorite character...she loved him.

Tallia Brinson........what can I say she was soooooooo fine...what do you exspect from a girl from the ATL....she was super fine. Her voice was really really really good and so was her acting. I liked her voice better than Ms. Ruben Vegas. Tallia was the best.

Ava........she was SUPER and so was her backside. She made me want to jump over the moon.


LaDonna Burns.......her voice was really good also I was amazed by her as well.

Danny Calvert.......he was outside before the show started and I didn't even know he was in the show.....but he was good as well.

[dapapabear2]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 12:08pm

I saw it last weekend in Hartford, CT. I thought that Andy Meeks was the best Mark I have seen, animated and showed real emotions. Dan Rosenbaum has a great voice and I'm sure I would just love him in a different setting but I couldn't see him as Roger. I saw more depth in the Mark/Roger relationship than I have in other productions. Marcus Paul James was good as Collins, I liked his singing and the chemistry between him and Damien DeShaun Smith(Angel) was very moving. I had a bit of trouble dealing with Damien's voice though, not that it was bad at all, just too high much of the time for me. Only once have I seen a better Collins/Angel combo and that was one time I saw it with Jai. I didn't think Jai was spectacular dance/voice wise but the he and Mark Richard Ford looked like they were truly in love. Anyway back to Hartford, Ava was a good Maureen. Probably not my favorite but enjoyable. Adrienne Fishe was quite good and her and Andy's Tango Maureen was excellent. All in all it was really a great Rent night, they converted those around me into fans (most of whom were clearly first timers) and brought much laughter and tears. I have no doubt that this cast is accomplishing that wherever they visit. I was up front and I'm not sure how it would have been for those further back, the Bushnell isn't really the best venue for that show and at times the lighting was wrong. I could probably say more but I'm supposed to be on my way to NYC instead of typing!

[zepka102]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 12:24pm

wow, just seeing this thread for the 1st time... i saw it last wednesday when it came here to buffalo. it was my 1st time seeing the show... i LOVED it!! i think the cast was overall AMAZING. tallia was definitely my favorite from the cast... i didn't want "out tonight" to end! and of course andy... those 2 stuck out the most for me. i wasn't as impressed with ava. she was great, but i guess i had high expectations for the role in general. love it though... definitely made a new fan of the show

[boatsintheghetto]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 5:35pm

i saw it back in december in Philly and loved it. haha my friend saw it with me and got all pissed cuz the girl who played mimi dropped the notes lower than it normally is in light my candle.....i'm like, its not OBC, it'll be different, people take their own characterization to shows they do

[oxdreaminxo]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 6:24pm

I saw it 2 days ago! lol, I was just about to post my review for it. =P *copys review from xanga and posts it*

[renthead2005z]

Posted: 3/6/05 at 12:42am

I have to say this cast is amazing!...They should make their own cd!~~haha~~ but My favorite was Andy Meeks during La Vie Boheme! He was soo funny and great for the part!

[AngelofAvenueB]

Posted: 3/6/05 at 11:00am

this cast is amazing... i've seen them three times (sadly, i can't go again... ) but they're the only cast i've seen/heard (besides the OBC recording) so i really have nothing to compare it to. i wish they would record this cast, it would be so great if they were...
andy meeks is the greatest person alive. dan rosenbaum is excellent, and damien deshaun smith and marcus paul james have amazing chemistry. saw tallia twice, was very impressed, and the last time i saw it there was a mimi understudy (whose name was actually mimi... what?) and she didn't impress me as much. ava and adrienne are great, adrienne and andy have made T:M one of my favorite numbers.
but, i have nothing else to compare it too.

[renthead2005z]

Posted: 4/16/05 at 11:17am

ANDY IS GONE...no more current rent Us tour i am going to cry.

[Over_the_Moon]

Posted: 4/16/05 at 11:19am

Can't find tour dates... ANYWHERE

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 4/16/05 at 1:48pm

Probably because it closed in DC in March and the possible 2006 tour dates (if there even is a tour) won't be announced until much later on this year.

Updated On: 4/16/05 at 01:48 PM