RENT in LA

I know this isn't technically Broadway, but I just had to share it with all of you guys, and no one ever really checks the LA board anyway.


So I went to see the National Touring cast of RENT tonight at the Pantages Theatre in LA.

Awesome night.

It wasn't the best cast, and it seemed like the sound was having major problems (mic volumes not being leveled correctly, etc), but it was still an amazing night, and I think the show is always amazing no matter what.

The best ones in the cast were Bryce Ryness (Roger), Tracy McDowell (Maureen), and Chante Carmel Frierson (Joanne). They were really really wonderful. Bryce was a great Roger, and Tracy just kept me cracking up. Chante had a beautifully powerful voice for Joanne.


Jed Resnick is an absolutely adorable Mark. His voice was a little weak, but still very Mark-ish, which made me really really want to snuggle him.


Ano Okera was kind of lacking in the voice dept, and played Angel a little too overly effeminate, but whatever.

Warren G. Nolan was a great Collins, and I definitely cried during I'll Cover You (Reprise).


Tracy McDowell did the greatest "Over the Moon"...I was laughing so very hard. She really knew how to milk (no pun intended) the audience for laughs.


BUT OMG. THE BEST.PART OF THE NIGHT.

So yes, when we came out, we waited by the stage door. And we're waiting quite a while outside the gate for people to come out. And I'm talking to my friend Mindy, right?


Well, I glanced over to my right, randomly, and I saw this guy standing there talking to like, 2 other people. And I was like.."he looks familiar....is that the guy who played Roger? He looks like a Roger...he didn't come out yet, though..."

And then I realized.

IT WAS ADAM PASCAL.

Adam Pascal! Right there!

I turned to my friend and I was like, "is that Adam Pascal? Dude, I think that's Adam Pascal!"

And so then we both looked at him and started to walk towards him, but he was on the phone and he looked at us and said "I'm really sorry, but I can't do this right now. I'm dealing with my kids".


So, we didn't actually get to MEET him, but he was there, and we saw him, and he saw us, and it was pretty awesome. So I definitely consider that MEETING ADAM PASCAL.

I just hope nothing serious was going on with his kids, because he really seemed like he was in a hurry. I hope everything's alright.

And I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that I'll get a better chance to actually meet and talk to him when I go to the concert at the Grove on Saturday!

YAY!

So yeah, just wanted to share with you guys.

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Updated On: 7/20/06 at 03:24 AM

I saw Arianda Fernandez, and I have to say that unfortunately, I wasn't that impressed.

Her voice was way too nasally, which made her sound awfully annoying at times.


She would move from a nice, low sound, like in "I Should Tell You", (which she performed nicely, I have to admit), to a very nasally, congested voice, in which she sounded like she was holding back. I think if she had stuck to a consistent, mellower voice, she would have done much better. But it seemed like she was trying too hard at times.


She was very nice at the stagedoor, though.

And boy, next to Bryce Ryness, that woman is SHORT!

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I'm glad to hear it was a good show. I'm seeing it at Saturday Matinee so I'm hoping I have a good time I'm not the biggest Rent fan but my only real experience with it was the movie and my problems with it were more because of the filmmaking. He cuts the most importiant emotional scene in the film (Goodbye Love) and all the actors were way too old for their characters.But yeah, thats enough on my Rent movie rant, I'm really hoping to enjoy the stage show!

I honestly haven't heard one good thing about Fernandez. It's funny that you mentioned Bryce was one of the best while Jed's voice is a bit weak. People seem to usually think the opposite.

Cool story about Adam, although I also hope his kids are okay. But wait, Adam was talking to two other people but on the phone as well?

I'm glad you had a nice time.

Do you think you could possibly edit out your all capital letter, thumb biting toward punctation profanity explosion in the 1st post?

We have kids that visit this site. Perhaps even Roge..er, Adam's.

I was thinking of going to the Grove this Saturday out of curiosity to see the concert, but I am starting to think that I'd be better of skipping it. I think I'd just end up getting annoyed.

Updated On: 7/20/06 at 12:39 PM

I think so...

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Awww, yay. That's cool, even though you didn't really get to talk with him. I hope the kids are alright!

As the asker of all-important questions, how's his hair?

It needs to be October, pronto.

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Patronus, sorry about that, I'll edit it as soon as I finish this comment. I had actually just kind of copy/pasted most of it from my personal livejournal, so I forgot some of the expletives and stuff in there.

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siamese dream--

Yeah, it felt like Jed was holding back a bit...he wasn't going all out with his voice. Bryce, on the other hand, just..totally went with it and let everything rip. Which made for a great "One Song Glory."

I initially wasn't too impressed with Jed, but my love for him grew immensely as the show went on. By "La Vie Boheme", his voice was definitely coming out.

He was really adorable in "La Vie Boheme" too, though. He did some wonderful little moves in the choreography that got some great laughs.

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I need a color report.

Please tell me LA hasn't made him go blonde again.

These are the important things, people!!

Have fun on Saturday. I can't wait to hear about it.

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I'm glad you liked Bryce, I wasn't too much of a fan of his Roger in Boston... totally agree with the Ariana and Ano opinions though.

No, lori, it's not just you about the sound, haha.

There were a lot of sound problems, it seemed, when I saw it the other night.


There were times where you could barely hear the ensemble, and other times when like...in the middle of a song, a principal's mic would just be turned up WAY too high, so you'd get a very very loud 3 seconds of a song. I was sitting there going "okay, is this a sound problem...or can they not control the volume of their voice very well?"

So I really do think they were having some sound problems, because I've seen RENT before, and it did not sound like that last time I saw it at the Wilshire in 2003.

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"And I live in L.A., where black tie means blue jeans"

Ummm, you're not helping our cause here! haha
It's too damn hot, wear what you'd like!