RENT review 1/13/08

I saw RENT for the 4th time last night..let me say that i disagree completely with people that say this show should close. I thought that too when I went in May 2007, the cast last night was phenominal

Mark- Harley Jay
Roger- Declan Bennet
Mimi- Tamyra Gray
Maureen- Caryn Lyn Manuel (understudy)
Joanne- Kenna Ramsey
Collins- Michael McElroy
Angel- Justin Johnstohn


I really enjoyed it..i did not think i was going to like declan bennet..but i REALLY enjoyed his Roger...amazing voices and great acting...Harley Jay was also great..

Caryn Lyn Manuel..Why isn't she full time maureen..I've seen Nicollete hart as maureen (she is full time maureen)

and Caryn is SO much better..vocally, acting wise...just everything..WOW!

tamyra was...tamyra..great voice..acting was OK..she looked bored

Collins- Michael McElroy..was great..best collins i've seen

Angel- Justin Johnstohn..never anything bad to say about him...no wonder he has been with the show for sooooo long..hes always greay

Joanne- kenna ramsey..what a voice....i haven't seen a joanne this amazing since merle dandridge

ensemble..looked a bit bored...Matt Caplan looked like someone was forcing him to be on stage....and Andrea Goss- Alexi looked very bored too

other than that the show is in Great shape..maybe some set retouches and a clean coat of paint for the theater..


ENJOY!

Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed the show!

I have to agree with what you said about Caren. Why isn't she in a full-time role!? I saw her as Mimi over the holiday and she blew my away. One of the best performances in Rent I have ever seen. Her acting and voice were so raw and right for the part, and also the show in its entirety. Declan was also the best Roger I have ever seen, even better than Adam IMO. He was the most "real" Roger. Everything he sang sounded so organic, not like he was singing the lines because it was a musical. Rent was in pretty good shape last time I was there after Adam and Anthony.

And just a comment about Michael McElroy returning. It was so unexpected. I never would have thought to see his name on the cast list board, but I am so happy he is back. He makes Collins such a likable character, and him and Justin have some of the best chemistry between a Collins and Angel there probably has ever been in the show since it first opened in its glory days. Great performance.

Well Declan Bennet must have taken some acting and singing lessons since I saw him on tour. He was horrible. Everything was always angry and his accent kept going in and out.

Also, Harley Jay as Mark - I hope he took singing lessons. He could barley sing the role on tour, and the role - vocally - is the simplest in the show.

i didn't notice declan's accent at all

he was much much better than troy horns and destan owens

Pretty much anyone is better than Troy Horne, I must imagine. And I'm pretty easy to please.

He could barley sing the role on tour, and the role - vocally - is the simplest in the show.



BARELY. Barley is a grain, and while it's endearing that it rhymes with Harley, it's not the word you're intending to use. This is officially the third time I've corrected you on this (in conjunction with critiquing Harley Jay). I think it must be because I enjoy barley so much.

Matt sounded great as Roger but aesthetically it was off.

On one hand, Caren should be a full time lead. On the other hand, who could play Mimi AND Maureen as well as she can? She's sort of irreplaceable as an understudy because of her versatility.

Still, she's paid her dues, and...she's brilliant. Move her on up already.

Caren is amazing. I've definitely loved her Maureen and Mimi. And she looks amazing. While I'd love to see her as a full-time Maureen or Mimi, I feel like if she was a full-time Maureen, I'd miss her Mimi, and vice versa.

Obviously, not everyone's going to have the same opinion about every actor, and Declan's a Roger that people seem to either love or hate. Personally, I love his Roger. It isn't perfect, I miss some things that he did on the tour, and there are some things I wish he didn't do, but for the most part, it's great. I can see him having been a "pretty boy front man" at one point, but it's also believable that he's just coming out of withdrawal, and hasn't left the loft in a long time. His Roger is very bitter and desperate, but there are definitely moments where the fun loving rocker peeks through, and that's great. He has the best "Your Eyes" I've seen, which is a song that usually makes me cringe.

Thanks for your review!

I'm gonna revisit me some RENT.

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I only saw the show on the 1st national tour. I have been wanting to see it on Broadway just for the sake of seeing it on Broadway. (Plus I love the show) But I want to see decent performances. I should probably just go.

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I saw Matt's Roger in December, and thought it was fabulous! very different from alot of others, infact I could compare him to no others (which I find great since HOW many Rogers has he worked with/seen do it)and it was such a change from his goofy Mark, I loved seeing his range of acting...
He sounded great, while he played it very intense however not scary in your face in tense like some others, it was more somber yet, it was also sarcastic, it was a nice change...