RENT in Kansas City & the Starlight Theatre

[WilliamT]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 3:57pm

In case anyone is close to Kansas City, MO this weekend, RENT is down here and is not selling well. I spoke to the box office today and they said the rush/lotto has been pretty slow and they have had tix available for these seats right up until show time.
I just saw the show a few weeks ago in St. Paul and didn't care for this particular production, so I'm not too enthused to see it again, HOWEVER, the Starlight Theatre, being outside and all, seems like a cool place to see a show. Has anyone been to this theatre or played there?

Saw a few press hits this morning. Jed & the guy who plays Benny were on one and Bryce was on the other. Kudos to Bryce. Very professional. totally sold the show. The other 2 - not so much. The Benny spoke with his hand in front of his face the entire time and tried to say something profound about how he is doing Rent and has lived in NY and can relate to these characters because of that. It was all jumbled. The best part was when the anchor asked them if real bohemians live in NY... HA!!

[WilliamT]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 4:02pm

Also, just read that Bryce is leaving in Sept.
They must have started the change-over.
I hope he is leaving on his own and not being let go.
He was one of the better aspects of that show.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 4:16pm

I hope it doesn't suck. It's coming to Birmingham, AL in November (I think) and I want to see it a couple times. It will be the 2nd time I've see it since falling in love with it, so I hope it doesn't let me down.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 4:19pm

Bryce and the majority of the cast are leaving in September. The 17th is their last show. Only six of the original castmembers will remain with the tour.

[sidneybruhl]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 5:07pm

I hope the "Rent" tour gets its act together--it's coming to Louisville,KY next year and I'd like see it again.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 5:18pm

Not sure what you mean by 'getting its act together'. This leg of the tour has had the best attendance of any of the tours in years. It has sold well in almost every city they've been in and been well-received by most fans. I hope the new castmembers they're adding are as good as some of those they're replacing.

[thejcm]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 5:18pm

Actually it'll be here (Louisville) this year in October from the 6-8.

[chip08ME]

Posted: 8/19/06 at 6:31pm

I saw it last night! I love Starlight Theatre and most of the shows I've seen there, and RENT was no different. I'm sorry that I can't use names as I don't have my program in front of me, but I'll say characters.

The Roger, Mark, Joanne & Maureen were all fabulous! I brought my mom, who hated the movie but wanted to give the stage version a chance and she loved it. Neither of us liked Angel and while Mimi had a nice voice, she couldn't act her way out of a paper bag. Collins had a gorgeous voice, but he had a bad mic and most of his lines were lost (especially the reprise of I'll Cover You, which was a downer.) As someone who has performed on that stage, I know it is huge! And they seemed to be really crammed up there.

Kansas City has had a bit of a drought for the last month and we finally got rain last night! It held off the entire show but on Roger's final note in 'Your Eyes' It started to pour! It had t his really cool dramatic effect, but there were a lot of people who started running to there cars, so everybody was standing during Finale B. On a final note, during 'La Vie Boheme", the woman behind me said "Oh, Angel's a boy". I just found that really funny.

Overall it was a truely enjoyable night of theatre.

[Unmasked05]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 12:04am

I hope it doesn't suck either Rentboy86 I will not stand in line 3hrs before showtime to see a bad show. Im going to see this show maybe 3x while its here.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 1:53am

Hopefully me too Unmasked, if the wallet permits. We have a lot of shows coming through Bham this year - did you see the new Black and White with Spelling Bee/Altar Boyz/ And 12 Angry men? Can't wait.

But what about that Phantom rumor? I guess that was a lie.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 2:06am

It'll be here October 6-7 I am sooo there.

[cpnchicago]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 11:14am

I saw it in K.C. and thought it was pretty good. Like most of you, I've seen it a million times, including the original cast in NYC 10 years ago. I thought this was about as good as a good college production might be. Mimi was definitely my least favorite, while I really liked Mark, Joanne, and Maureen. I had no understudies the night I went, and the sound actually worked most of the night, which is better than their opening night in KC, which according to the review, had horrible sound.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 11:26am

I've seen dozens of shows at the Starlight Theatre in KC over the years... although the last one was in the mid-'80s, right before I moved to New York.

Some of my favorite Starlight shows (and some of these go back a LONG way):

The Wizard of Oz - starring Margaret Hamilton (yes, the legend herself!) as the Wicked Witch and the Hudson Brothers (I kid you not), as the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion! (one of them is Kate Hudson's dad)

Grease - Starring a high-school-aged Andrea McArdle as Sandy and a not-so-high-school-aged Eddie Mekka as Danny.

4 Girls 4 - Starring Rosemary Clooney, Rose Marie, Margaret Whiting and Helen O'Connell (fan-friggin'-tastic!)

Anything Goes - starring Ginger Rogers

Ain't Misbehavin' - starring Demond Wilson (yes, LAMONT from Sanford & Son) and Debra Byrd (former backup singer for Barry Manilow)

And many concerts:
Ella Fitzgerald
Barry Manilow
Sheena Easton
Manhattan Transfer
Al Jarreau

I generally steered away from seeing musicals there, because it's so DAMN HUGE and they tend to get lost. Even with a chorus of 100 sometimes (no kidding!). But I loved the outdoor setting, and I don't regret seeing shows there. Other theatres in KC like the Lyric and the Music Hall were/are much better suited for stage shows.

Updated On: 8/20/06 at 11:26 AM

[brdwybound2]

Posted: 8/20/06 at 11:49am

Wow I just got really excited when I saw this thread. I'm from Kansas City, and I've basically lived at Starlight Theatre all summer because I did a musical theatre intensive camp there (any chance anyone that saw the show in KC came last night or Wednesday night, because my camp performed a preshow those 2 nights), and I was in Grease earlier this summer at Starlight.

I saw RENT last night, and it was the first time I've ever seen the show live. While I agree with cpnchicago, Mimi was my least favorite, I loved Jed Resnick as Mark. Also, I did a workshop with Jahmal Adderley and some other cast members earlier this week, and I thought he did very well as the understudy for Angel.

I also strongly agree with the fact that the Lyric and the Music Hall are MUCH better theatres for musicals, because Starlight is very very very big, so I can see how shows can get lost.

Updated On: 8/20/06 at 11:49 AM