a third try at a RENT review

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/20/05 at 10:20am

So I posted my review yesterday-that was very long- and somehow it got deleted and no one got to see it. So here goes AGAIN...

March 17, 2005

We had understudies in for:
Roger Davis- Jay Wilkinson
Joanne Jefferson- Catrice Joseph
Angel Schunard- Nick Sanchez

This was my second time seeing the show. Let me say, you notice so much more the second time around. Overall, an INCREDIBLE show! It's definetly one of my favorites now. So I guess I will start at the beginning. I was quite disappointed about having an understudy for Roger, but he turned out to be quite amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. He had an incredible voice. He also seemed to really understand the character and got angry and sad when the times were right. Very impressive. The only complaint I had was that sometimes his vowels got a little weird. But he could have gotten that from Matt, but more on that later. Karmine as Mimi was incredible. Definetly the standout performer in the show! Everything she did was perfect with the character and her voice was so powerful. She and Jay had such perfect chemistry. You could feel it all the way back to my horrible seats. There was one part when the drug dealer gets mad at Roger for stealing his customer and he is sheilding her. Karmine kind of grabbed Rogers hand in a loving but protective kind of way. It was so cute. That was the kind of little things that I got to notice. So going into the show, I had heard many mixed things about Matt Caplan as Mark. So I went in with low expectations and a little bit of hope. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I did not like almost anything about his Mark. I hated his voice and he had horrible weird vowels. He tried way too hard to be funny and most of the time it did not work. Most of the things he did seemed to be way out of character. Usually, I am not overly critical. I usually like everyone. But I was just so disappointed by Matt. Mark Richard Ford and Nick Sanchez as Tom Collins and Angel, respectively, were both wonderful. I escpecially liked Mark's voice. They also had great chemistry. I loved them. Kelly Karbacz as Maureen- wow! What a powerhouse. That character is always a litte strange but I really liked what she did with it. It worked. And Catrice Joseph as Joanne was fine. Nothing to write home about. Finally, Benny. I quite disliked D'Monroe. He was very singsongy in the lines he was trying to speak. I don't know. Just odd. Overall, though, and amazing show. Some of the songs I usually don't like just play out so well onstage. So bravo to the cast! Hope you like, sorry it's so long.

[eslgr8]

Posted: 3/20/05 at 12:05pm

Thanks for the review, Ashley. Like you, I usually tend not to be too critical, so when something is bad enough to really stand out, I guess it means it was really bad (at least for me). I have a feeling that understudies go on more often in Rent than in other shows, or at least because of the nature of the show, get to watch the performances they're covering. Maybe that's why they do so well when they go on. I saw Kendra Kassebaum as Maureen last September (she was understudying Kelly) and she was outstanding. And now she's starring in the Wicked tour!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/20/05 at 12:47pm

Thanks for the review. I really need to go back, though I have my reservations about Caplan. I do want to give him another chance, though. And I looooooove my Rogers angry. Fabulous.

[FabalaYero85]

Posted: 3/20/05 at 1:09pm

How was jay in general...I love him...Big Riley fan on One Life to Live...If you didn't know already, Jay is a regular on the popular ABC daytime soap One Life To Live, playing musician Riley Colson.

I want to see him as Roger really bad, even though I do love Cary...

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/20/05 at 1:44pm

Jay was really wonderful. I enjoyed his performance immensely. He was perfect for the part. I really felt for him. Any other specific questions I can answer. Don't really know what else to say.

[juice23]

Posted: 3/20/05 at 2:05pm

Hey.... could you talk a little more about Nick as Angel? Thanks...

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/20/05 at 8:06pm

Nick was a wonderful Angel. Actually, it was heartbreaking. He really made you fall in love with the character. So during Contact, which not many people that haven't seen the show realize is his death, I was almost crying. Umm... he had a pretty good voice. While he was a great actor, I don't think he was like a star or anything. Just very good.