RENT in Cincinnati — Page 2

My partner and I saw the Sunday Matinee and it was okay better than I expected.They were ALL very young though and looked it. Had a hard time beliving that any of them had had a hard life and lived in the East Village. The Mark was AMAZINGLY good. But "Rogers" Understudy DUSTIN BRAYLEY just down right SUCKED. I mean he was Summer Stock worthy but not Tour worthy. There was absolutely NO connection between him and the rest of the Cast onstage and his voice was really straining for emotion sometimes and he almost blew "In Your Eyes" BAD UNDERSTUDY choice. He really was the weak link and almost ruined the show for me. Everyone else was fine though. The threatre was a very big venue though and I wish they would have tweaked the lighting system a bit but other than that and Roger US issue it was pretty good.

Updated On: 12/18/06 at 08:07 AM

IAmMyOwnMusical,this is what you posted initially:

"The only headlining members that are staying on this stop are Harley (mark), Krystal (mimi), and Melvin (angel). Everyone else is going to be at a wedding."

That wasn't correct because people who actually attended the shows did indeed see Declan, Tracy, Michael, Warren and Chante. So, yes, you were wrong. None of them is an understudy.

Erin:

I sent you a PM.

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Dunno if anyone's still even reading this post, lol, but I'll try and help clear some confusion if there still is any:

Aaron LaVigne (Swing, Roger/Mark US) went on as Roger for the first threee shows of the weekend, Dustin (Gordon, Roger US) went on as Roger for the last two on Sunday. Declan was indeed out the entire weekend. Harley Jay made all his performances as Mark except for Saturday night when there was apparent vocal issues.

Despite being biased, I feel as though it's a solid cast. Throwing the non-eq label out the window is a must. The nat'l tour's casting company was changed and it seems like they're aiming to improve the quality of the touring production. I've heard many people say that this was the best Rent tour to come through in a number of years and I agree. It's a very talented group of people and I wish them all a great second leg of their tour!

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No... this is by far the worst tour I've seen. Very disappointed. And there weren't "vocal issues" there were ... "he doesn't know his lines" issues.

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Yea, its because that understudy had NO idea what he is doing. Even people from the cast will tell you that. He has pitch problems, and has no idea what too do.

Sad thing is, they had 3 weeks to prepare, because they were told they would be going on.




*edited for spelling*

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Updated On: 12/19/06 at 01:39 PM

I, unfortunately (apparently), saw the Sat. night performance. And I've see various tours, multiple times, in multiple cities, since '98. And please don't tell me to feel bad because they only had three weeks to prepare. If they're an understudy for a tour... then they should have been prepared for a while.

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I guess I'm definitely glad I decided to skip this one. Hope everything's more together when they come back to the area in April.

Maybe the tour could hire trained, experienced, professional union actors and there would not be this problem of the apparent lack of preparation by the understudies?

Hmm, Joanna, I saw Rent and Wicked in Chicago at about the time. I paid $25 for both shows with great seats. I do not recall the Wicked actors looking out into the audience to see if their mother was in the fourth row!

You kids should demand more!

j2, when I saw Rent here in Chicago from the first row I literally noticed the actors ignoring the action of the play to look out into the house. That is riciculous for a major musical tour playing in a prominent Chicago theatre!

Ok?

I worked with Melvin on a cruise ship, and if this post is true, it appears he has improved immensely.

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I have a simple point - Jonathan's Pulitzer Award winning musical deserves better treatment than this crappy non-union tour. I posted after reading that some of the understudies seemed to be unprepared to perform. In that context my point should be well taken.

Erin, I have also posted that if this tour is the ONLY chance for a fan to see the show - then see it. But, I would hesitate to recommend it at $60/seat.

Erin, Happy Holidays! I appreciate and respect your loyalty to Rent!

Updated On: 12/21/06 at 09:26 PM