Rent tour 11/14/06

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 11:24pm

I just got home from seeing the tour of Rent in Rochester, NY. Wow! This being my third time seeing the show, I was blown away. This tour has to be the strongest ensemble of this production in a while. The big group numbers really take off and just leave you with chills. Krystal Brown as Mimi and Michael Ifill as Collins were standouts in this cast. Go see this tour if it comes near you.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 11:31pm

While I didn't care for most of the people, I thought the Mimi was great. But wow, I have to applaud the cast for closing up shop in Birmingham, AL on Sunday and driving all night and day and doing a show on Tuesday in NY. Wow.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 11:36pm

Really? I thought many members of the cast were strong, especially in a show that's been running for 10 years. They all brought a fresh youthful energy to the production.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 11:39pm

Where were you sitting? If you search you can read my review. I thought most of the females were strong, but I didn't care for Angel or Roger, both just didn't work for me. And Collins was okay, but at times he seemed out of place. And I didn't really like a lot of the line deliveries. I think the cast forgets that a lot of people don't know the show still, so they need to enunciate and make sure that certain points get across. A lot of stuff was jumbled and half-assed.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 11:39pm

After saying all that, I did see the show twice. Updated On: 11/15/06 at 11:39 PM

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 11:43pm

I was way up in the balcony. The only thing that bothered me about Roger was that the actor's British accent kinda seeped through slightly here and there.

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 11:59pm

Michael Ifill isn't Collins, he's Benny! Warren Nolan is Collins.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 12:19am

You didn't think Roger's only emotion being angry got boring and predictable?

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 7:34am

I thought Roger was becoming a one-trick pony more in the second act. His chemistry with Mimi was spot on.

[coolphantom919]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 9:00am

I saw the current tour... I really enjoyed Harley Jay as Mark...

[Broadway Dancer]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 9:51am

"You didn't think Roger's only emotion being angry got boring and predictable?"

I certainly did. I did not like Declan at all, because anger was the only emotion he could portray. Otherwise, I enjoyed the rest of the cast.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 10:59am

Harley Jay was good as well. I was surprised at the voices on the Maureen and Joanne. They tore the roof off with "Take Me Or Leave Me".

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 1:24pm

Yeah, I thought the females were great, but most of the guys didn't do it for me. I much preferred Harley's u/s than him. He just checked out so much during "LVB." I could just tell that he was daydreaming about something else while being there.

[stonewall2]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 6:05pm

Before you read any farther, this was written by my daughter who jumped on to post when I told her there was a thread about the show she saw last night. She usually posts under her own nom de plume BWAYBABY891!!

I saw the show last night and I loved the majority of the cast. Standouts were Harley Jay as Mark, Krystal Brown as Mimi, and Michael Ifill as Benny. I absolutly detested Declan Benett as Roger. He had no emotion and screamed "One Song Glory". I didn't feel sorry for him, I didn't actually feel anything for him through the show except a desire to bash his head. Warren G. Nolan as Collins was a very nice Collins but he was not excellent. Melvin Bell as Angel was cute but didn't support his voice through "Today 4 You". Krystal Brown as Mimi was excellent. You can tell that she had some legitimate training behind her voice and she was an excellent actress. Tracy McDowell as Maureen was funny but was a little shrill through "Over the Moon" which may have been because I wasn't feeling great. Chante Carmel Frierson was an ok Joanne. I wasn't blown out of my seat but she was good. The ensemble was excellent and really put in a good show. My favorite person in the show would have to have been Harley Jay as Mark. He was a good actor and really put his heart into his scenes and during his fight with Roger I really felt what he was going through. I wish I could have seen him with a Roger that was not in a catatonic state through the show. I do have to say that he cracked on some of the more emotional stuff later in the show but he covered it well with feeling and emotion. Overall a good show and one I would recommend seeing despite Declan Benett.

Updated On: 11/15/06 at 06:05 PM

[CrazyMutha29]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:22pm

Okay, just got home from seeing this tonight (in Rochester, of course) and am elated that I have an area where I can talk about what I saw. One thing that I kept hearing over and over again was people (those not familiar with the show--my mother being one of them) were having an incredibly difficult time following what was going on because they couldn't understand half of what was being said in the dialogue inbetween and during songs. There were lots of times that if I didn't know what was being said I wouldn't have been able to make it out myself. I think mic levels were partly to blame for this in some cases, but some of the actors were just totally un-understandable outside of their songs.

In keeping with what everyone else has been saying, I couldn't stand Declan Bennett as Roger. He yells really well (albeit in a British accent trying to sound American), but that's about it. He was swilling down bottled water on stage the entire show. Literally, the guitar started for 'One Song Glory' and he picked up his water bottle and took a huge gulp seconds before he was to begin singing. I thought it was incredibly unprofessional.

I think overall everyone else did a fine job. Some standouts from the night were Harley Jay as Mark, Chante Carmel Frierson as Joanne, and Tracey McDowell as Maureen. As other have said, they blew the roof off the joint with 'Take me or Leave Me'. I also want to mention Warren G. Nolan Jr's 'I'll Cover You: Reprise'--also excellent as was the female soloist during 'Seasons of Love' (I'm not sure which actress did that--Mimi Jimenez, perhaps?). Unfortunately though, when it comes down to it, Declan Bennett ruined the night for me. Everytime he went to sing, speak, or act I cringed and it took me out of the moment.

Anyways, that's all I have to say about that.
Updated On: 11/15/06 at 11:22 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:37pm

I was hoping to see Declan's u/s, but I didn't get a chance. i thought Harley was pretty good throughout, but certain times he just checked out. Like, you could tell he was thinking of something else or wishing he were somewhere else. I didn't think he had enough energy to get me into the show at the begining. But then again, he just came off of vocal rest, so that might be partly to blame?

[javertim]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:39pm

Another mention of Michael Ifill playing Collins (Michael actually plays Benny) ... Could the playbills have been misprinted?

[CrazyMutha29]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:54pm

Nope, I just can't follow the dotted line correctly... HAHAHA...

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 10:15am

crazymutha, have you seen the show before? I don't know if Declan was drinking from the water bottle 'through the entire show' but it is part of the show in several scenes, so , no, it's not "incredibly unprofessional".

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 11:36am

im seeing RENT in december,, for the specail in cincinnati.
in theeee 5th row ,, i am so excited !

[faithanytwo]

Posted: 11/28/06 at 10:51pm

as for the water on stage, during one song glory when mark reminds roger to take his azt, so roger throws back a pill and drinks water... makes sense to me and it was very obvious in the production I saw tonight. unpopular opinion coming, i liked roger's voice, although i was shocked to see a british roger.. he thoroughly embraced the accent tonight, it grew on me.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 11/29/06 at 12:21am

no, it's not "incredibly unprofessional".

Erin, what is the basis for that statement?

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 11/29/06 at 1:19am

The drinking of water that the other poster claimed was "unprofessional" is actually scripted into the show. That's like saying it would be unprofessional for the actor playing Mark to jump on the table.

[faithanytwo]

Posted: 11/29/06 at 12:19pm

which, on topic of mark jumping on the table during la vie boheme, made me cringe... that boy had air, i thought he wouldn't be able to stand afterwards.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 11/29/06 at 2:02pm

Yeah, I'm always impressed by the table bit, it looks so painful. But Harley does a great moon walk. I still think Declan's voice is going to be shot after this tour. It seems painful to sing.