I feel like I've been awake for 72 hours.
I saw the first three night shows of Rent. Don't ask, it's something that just happens when you get two huge Rent fans living together for a few days. Originally, I wasn't going to post anything on this thread because a) what is there to really say? and b) I'm incredibly biased. That said, I felt that their performances were absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking, and enthralling. I saw the previous Mark/Roger duo of Hanke and Howar many times, but for as fond as I am of them, they can't hold a candle (bad pun, sorry) to Adam and Anthony.
I'm going to be the first (?) to say that I honestly don't care about the crazy fans or the crazy stagedoor situation. I sympathize with anyone who had any shrieking fans sitting directly behind them, but personally, I didn't hear anything too irritating, even on their first night. Yes, people cheered and clapped, but I didn't think it was to the point where it disrupted the show. It's quite possible that I just sat in a lucky spot or I was so focused on the show itself that any obnoxious fans didn't bother me, but I absolutely loved the enthusiasm from the crowd, even if the crowds at these shows are mainly comprised of young girls. There's still energy in the air. The audiences at the Tuesday and Wednesday night shows were obviously not quite as vocal as Monday's audience, although I could feel the enthusiasm from the crowd all three nights.
The stagedoor situation is crowded, but honestly? I found it
fun. I wasn't looking for an autograph (they won't pose for pictures with people at the stagedoor due to time restraints, just FYI), but I found it fun to be in this teeming mass of people anyway. It's unfortunate that a lot of people don't get an autograph due to the sheer number of people in the crowd and that an actual exchange of words with the performers is virtually impossible, but I loved that so many people still
cared about these people enough to spill out onto the other side of the street. Yes, a lot of the people might be screamy little girls (although, for the record, I only heard real shrieks on Wednesday), but I liked the feeling of just this sheer excitement from hundreds upon seeing these actors who I also adore.
I sadly don't have much to write about Anthony's performance, but I really have nothing to say other than I found it completely flawless. For as familiar of a face as he's become over the last few years to me through interviews, articles, bootlegs, and the film, I didn't see Anthony Rapp on stage. I saw Mark. He manages to be both vulnerable and entertaining, something that other Marks I've seen never really seemed to completely capture.
Adam... I don't even know where to begin. He broke my heart in the best way possible. While I'd agree that his voice was a bit off on Monday night, it was in perfect shape on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Adam Pascal, to me, is such an engrossing performer not because he's technically perfect, but he, in addition to his great voice, has this very visceral connection with the audience that I'm not sure I've seen from any other performer. You just immediately
connect with him emotionally. You don't feel bad for Roger only because of his character's circumstances, but also because you can just feel this emotional energy gripping you. My problem with many Rogers of past is that they play Roger as such a one-dimensional character - someone who's either completely angry, or completely withdrawn, or in some unfortunate cases, someone who doesn't feel anything at all. Adam brought this wonderful, almost poetic sadness and a certain scared quality to the role that I hadn't seen in other Rogers while still maintaining this palpable anger boiling beneath it all. When Roger sings "just let me be!" in "Another Day," he absolutely nailed it with a mixture of sadness and desperation and yearning. That one line was my favorite of his entire performance.
I'm not up for writing about every single one of the other performers as of this moment, mainly because I've seen most of them so many times before. I'm not a huge fan of Tamyra Gray; I feel like she's fine vocally and does the basics, but therein lies the problem - she's par for the course and absolutely nothing more. I found her serviceable rather than downright bad, but God, would I love to see Jaime Lee Kirchner (her standby) go on. I love Merle as Joanne; she's able to tie Maureen in "Take Me or Leave Me" rather than lose, which I feel is so rare. I think the more fierce take on the character is a great departure from the typical "dumpy pushover" portrayal of Joanne. Nicolette Hart certainly stands out - sometimes in a good way, sometimes not so much. Everyone else either doesn't really seem to stand out or maybe stands out only to people seeing their performances for the first time. I'll be the first to admit that certain performances I thought were pretty good at first can grow tired to me after repeat viewings, even if the actors are giving the same caliber performances. However, I suppose one could make the argument that if they were giving truly great performances, it wouldn't be so easy to grow tired of them. Oh well.
Adam and Anthony seemed to blend into the rest of the cast well - if they stuck out, it's because they were clearly the best two performers on stage, not because they were exceptionally awkward in interacting with the others. Of course both of them had a special sort of chemistry during songs like Goodbye Love and What You Own, but not to the point where it hindered their interaction with the rest of the cast. My one complaint related to Adam's performance is his complete lack of romantic chemistry with Tamyra Gray (Mimi). All the kisses between them seemed so completely chaste, as if there was no real urgent attraction there. It wasn't enough to ruin much of anything for me, but it was a bit disappointing.
... I don't want to end this post on a bad note. Anthony and Adam's performances left me literally speechless until now. Go see them.
Updated On: 8/3/07 at 01:18 AM
