RENT review 1/13/08

[steven22]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 5:40pm

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!

[winston89]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 5:43pm

I have to disagree.

The only two new people in this cast are the actors playing Mark and Roger.

Other then that they are recycleing the same people they have been using for the past few years.

I feel that Johnson is phoning in his role as Angel every single night. I do love this show. I used to be one of the people who went an ungodly amount of times. But, I must say that it has worn out its welcome.

[Gobstopper]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 7:07pm

Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed the show!

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 7:11pm

I disagree with you. Justin Johnston needs to move on and find a different show. He's very talented but I feel like he's getting tired of it.

[Mattt]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 7:18pm

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.

[george95]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 8:33pm

Oh man I have not seen RENT since September 2007 and it feels like years---I dont normally go this long without seeing it.
HOWEVER, as much as I love and adore this show, as much as I would be cradling myself on my floor going "this is NOT happening; this is NOT happening; this is NOT happening" if RENT ever closed, I have to say that every time I see the show, there are usually at least 3 actors that make me want to climb up on stage and say "Do you want to be here? Yes? Well then act like you want to be here gosh darn it instead of phoning in your lines!" And then I'd climb off the stage and back to my seat. While they should of course not touch one tiny bit of the show (except maybe make sure the mics always work???), they do need to get more actors in there who truly respect RENT and its fans.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 8:42pm

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.

[jerseyboyschick2]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 9:20pm

Glad ya liked the show:)

I saw the show with last month and I thought the cast was extremely good. Declan wasn't quite doing it for me at the beggining, but within the first 7 minutes of the show he got warmed up and was really great. The only thing I would critique about him was that his accent kept creeping up at random parts of the show. But other than that...it was great. Harley Jay was pretty good as well. He really FULLY got into the character by the time "Rent" rolled around. He was excellent the rest of the show.

[steven22]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 9:23pm

i didn't notice declan's accent at all

[trinaaron]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 9:25pm

I was shocked to hear the Michael McElroy was playing Collins in Rent again. This is a Tony nominated actor who has been in a ton of shows, and founded Broadway Inspirational Voices. Unless I missed it, there was no announcement at all. But if a reality show reject joins the show, it's front page news.

[steven22]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 9:29pm

he was much much better than troy horns and destan owens

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 9:33pm

he was much much better than troy horns and destan owens

*Horne, and it's honestly not that hard. They were both terrible.

[Craww]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 10:07pm

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.

[Renthead#1]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 10:20pm

I Just recently went to the show and saw Matt Caplan as Roger. Although I think his singing was very good his acting was AWFUL!!

[winter_sky]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 10:25pm

Matt sounded great as Roger but aesthetically it was off.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 1/14/08 at 11:37pm

Sounds like you had a wonderful time! Thanks for posting steven22!

[Gothrockboheme]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 1:14am

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.

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 2:38am

Agreed about Caren and her versatility.

Funny you liked Declan. I've heard he was AWFUL from all my friends that have gone recently.

And Justin has been there for like five or six years now? I adore his Angel, but I would love to see him move on. Perhaps to bigger things or a new role where he can show off his talent.

[masb19872]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 4:09am

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.

[steven22]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 6:39am

declan reminded me of tim howar..

tim was great too..

but overally declan's voice and acting were better...his roger is a bit angry..but he was angry at the right times...so it was fine

[NYCblurb]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 10:11am

Thanks for your review!

I'm gonna revisit me some RENT.

[winter_sky]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 10:39am

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?

Karmine Alers.

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 10:47am

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.

[Ole Chum]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 12:28pm

Caren should be full time Maureen, and understudy Mimi while doing so. Its been done before- Ava Gaudet, I think, plus some Joannes have understudied Mimi in the touring casts, I believe- and caren would be perfect.

[Vixiedust2]

Posted: 1/15/08 at 3:54pm

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...