Rent Tour

[Samara.tanner]

Posted: 6/16/17 at 9:06pm

Has anybody seen the rent tour recently?? I'm seeing it next week and I was watching the videos that were on YouTube and they really don't look good

[KnewItWhenIWasInFron]

Posted: 6/16/17 at 9:15pm

It's not terrible. I thought it was pretty good, although it interested me in the idea of a version that didn't just recreate the original.

Here's a review from last week:

http://www.twincities.com/2017/06/07/rent-review-minneapolis-mn-orpheum-theater-musical-still-has-a-powerful-lease-on-life/

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/16/17 at 9:28pm

Already discussed and dissected on a long thread.   Do a search, amigo.  

[JennH]

Posted: 6/16/17 at 9:32pm

KnewItWhenIWasInFron said: "It's not terrible. I thought it was pretty good, although it interested me in the idea of a version that didn't just recreate the original.

Here's a review from last week:

http://www.twincities.com/2017/06/07/rent-review-minneapolis-mn-orpheum-theater-musical-still-has-a-powerful-lease-on-life/

 

"

I just want to talk about how this is probably the only review I know of that acknowledges that the show it's reviewing is non-union. 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 6/16/17 at 9:56pm

Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune routinely makes the non-Equity status of a tour well-known.

An excerpt from his review: 

By adding the phrase "20th anniversary tour" to the poster, the producers of this non-Equity road show vaguely imply some kind of reunion or celebration of the title and the artists originally involved — it's not "Rent, again," it's a special moment to recall the year (actually, 1996) when an authorial alter ego named Mark first said the words "The power blows," when a struggling kid named Roger looked for one last song before he had to go where too many creative souls went during those years, when a redemptive Angel sent a dying Mimi back to life.

That is not, in fact, what you are buying. Produced by Work Light Productions and based on that original Michael Greif production, this is a company of mostly young artists making their debuts, freshly minted BFAs in their hands. Their tour is mostly one-nighters in the likes of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Bismarck, N.D. David Merino, who plays Angel and is my favorite performer in this cast, actually is still an undergraduate. This is his first professional show, but he'll go far. Aaron Harrington, who plays Tom Collins with a very sweet sincerity, begins his little program bio with the clause, "A new-comer to the musical theater stage." Hey, if you didn't tell us, we'd never know.

Regular readers know I'm long on record as lamenting non-union tours in downtown Chicago theaters, especially with a top price of $115 (!) and without any clear disclosure thereof. It's true that "Rent" is easier to produce with non-Equity actors than most titles. But the new-to-the-business folks in this cast might do a little math in their heads and compare what they are being paid (and there are just five musicians) and what this show will gross during a likely million-dollar (or more) week in downtown Chicago.

Business, it was clear from a Tuesday night at the Oriental Theatre that looked completely sold out, is boffo. I hope their producers at least bought everyone a nice dinner at the kind of eatery that's hard to find in North Dakota.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-rent-review-ent-0511-20170510-column.html

[dianamorales]

Posted: 6/16/17 at 11:13pm

I saw it at the end of March and really loved it, but it was the first live production of Rent I've ever seen so I don't have anything to compare it to.

[fb1123]

Posted: 6/17/17 at 8:20am

I saw the original cast, multiple replacement cast member and touring groups, and I saw the current tour in New Haven and it's really great.

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 6/17/17 at 10:22am

Saw it in Hollywood and really wasn't all that impressed.

I'm not sure if it's because my response to the show has changed since first seeing it in its first inception. Or if perhaps it was the cast who didn't grab me.

I've always liked this show a lot, and the two times I've seen it (NY and an early tour run), it really resonated with me.

This time not so much.

While part of me thinks it might just be that times have changed, another part wasn't all that impressed with the performances.  The relationship between Roger and Mimi seemed a little too shallow and I didn't feel the deep passion in their growing relationship.   Similarly, the Angel character came off more as a caricature than the real deal for me.  Like the actor was playing it the way he knew the audience wanted to see it played rather than making it his own and really delving into the character.  I felt I was watching actors play characters on a stage in front of me rather than feeling that they were truly inhabiting their roles, and becoming the characters themselves.

Agree that it wasn't horrible, but overall it missed the emotional mark for me this time around.

[JennH]

Posted: 6/17/17 at 10:40am

trpguyy said: "Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune routinely makes the non-Equity status of a tour well-known."

If he does that's great, I applaud it. I just wish other publications did the same. 

[CollegeDreamer]

Posted: 6/17/17 at 2:15pm

I saw it a couple months ago, while I was super excited to see it, I was a little disappointed. I remember thinking about leaving during intermission, if I'm being completely honest. I didn't though. There were a few standout performances for me being Mark, Joanne, Benny, and Angel. Other than that, the rest of the cast were okay. I really felt no connection between Roger and Mimi, and hearing them do a few of their duets made me bored to my sit. I didn't feel anything! There were people next to me even laughing I loved the original staging! I was super excited for this tour, but was let down. Maybe once they cast new people for the next leg of tour, it'll be a little more put together.