#1
Posted: 5/23/06 at 5:05pm
Even though I heard rumors of this production a while ago, I thought it was a load of BS until I had my ticket in hand for the very first workshop of RENT: School Edition. I of course went in expecting the worst. Through the years I've seen enough show choir members in sparkly vests belting out SOL and 16 year old girls screeching OTM at open mike nights to safely assume that nobody whose life is still infused with homeroom, JV soccer practice and prom could ever do RENT justice. Last weekend, I happily discovered that I was dead wrong.
The workshop took place several hundred miles west of the Great White Way, at Shorewood High School in a Milwaukee suburb. The cast was, as expected, not very ethnically diverse, nor did the band have the music completely down, but on the whole, this production was fantastic. I was amazed to find how much I completely enjoyed each and every song, taking in little moments that I hadn't appreciated in years. The beautiful thing that I hadn't thought about in the many times I grimaced in horror at the thought of high schools or community theaters doing this show, was that nobody was phoning in their performance. Every single kid was pouring their heart out and giving his/her role and the show every ounce of respect it deserved. No Matt Kaplans here. On top of this undeniable effort, the cast was amazingly talented.
The ranges had certainly been tinkered with to accommodate untrained teenage voices, but the music did not suffer at all because of it. The Roger and Mimi pulled off both the notes and the chemistry, the Mark anchored the show, and even the scrawny, pale kid playing Collins managed to pull off his gospel solo with great success.
Of course it helps that these kids don't have to perform 8 shows a week for months on the road, but nobody is demanding this of them. The Shorewood kids weren't even seasoned performers- of the male cast members, only the guy playing Mark had ever been on stage before. When the show is finally liscenced for amateur groups, it will probably continue to bring out talented people who had never thought about musical theatre before. And if other high school/amateur productions of RENT are at all similar in quality to the one I saw on Saturday night, I say bring em on.
A link to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about the show (with a picture of the cast): http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=425011
The workshop took place several hundred miles west of the Great White Way, at Shorewood High School in a Milwaukee suburb. The cast was, as expected, not very ethnically diverse, nor did the band have the music completely down, but on the whole, this production was fantastic. I was amazed to find how much I completely enjoyed each and every song, taking in little moments that I hadn't appreciated in years. The beautiful thing that I hadn't thought about in the many times I grimaced in horror at the thought of high schools or community theaters doing this show, was that nobody was phoning in their performance. Every single kid was pouring their heart out and giving his/her role and the show every ounce of respect it deserved. No Matt Kaplans here. On top of this undeniable effort, the cast was amazingly talented.
The ranges had certainly been tinkered with to accommodate untrained teenage voices, but the music did not suffer at all because of it. The Roger and Mimi pulled off both the notes and the chemistry, the Mark anchored the show, and even the scrawny, pale kid playing Collins managed to pull off his gospel solo with great success.
Of course it helps that these kids don't have to perform 8 shows a week for months on the road, but nobody is demanding this of them. The Shorewood kids weren't even seasoned performers- of the male cast members, only the guy playing Mark had ever been on stage before. When the show is finally liscenced for amateur groups, it will probably continue to bring out talented people who had never thought about musical theatre before. And if other high school/amateur productions of RENT are at all similar in quality to the one I saw on Saturday night, I say bring em on.
A link to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about the show (with a picture of the cast): http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=425011
, there just seems to be too much adult thematics. I'm sorry, you can argue all you want but it is there. It seems, like it has been for centuries, that kids want to grow up so fast. Stick with 'Once Upon A Matress' and wait to do the more adult things later. I understand that kids don't wake up 18 and become more mature, it does take time and life experiences. So grow up in your own time and enjoy performing, no matter what the piece. 
