Review-Rent (10.1.06)

Rent (Sunday, 10.1.06)
Nederlander Theatre, New York, NY

By: Jonathan Larson (book, music lyrics), Michael Greif (direction)

Starring: Tim Howar (Roger), Christopher J. Hanke (Mark), Destan Owens (Tom Collins), D’Monroe (Benjamin Coffin III), Nicole Lewis (Joanne), Justin Johnson (Angel), Jaime Lee Kirchner (Mimi), Haven Burton (Maureen)

After 10 years on Broadway, numerous international productions, and even a Hollywood movie version, Rent remains an endearing story of the triumph of love over all. Although the freshness of the story cannot possibly be the same today as it was 10 years ago, this Rent tries to keep its youth and vigor through its casting. For the most part, it succeeds.

All of the principal actors are quite good, particularly Christopher Hanke as Mark and Tim Howar as Roger. Each of the actors walks that delicate balance between bringing something new and fresh to the role, and maintaining the integrity of the performance as we have seen it over 10 years.

If there is anything lacking in the overall performance, it is the rawness that we saw in the first company. The rawness of emotion, the rawness of the performances. What’s always struck me about Rent is that it is, at its heart, a true theatrical piece. As much as people talked about it as being a rock musical, a creature of off-Broadway, a Bohemian, Alphabet-city piece, in fact at its heart is emulated the great musicals of the past, from West Side Story and Les Miserables to the Sound of Music, just in a different package. So if the rawness of emotion (which I attribute mostly to the untimely death of its creator, Jonathan Larson), is muted here, it doesn’t really matter, because the theatricality is what matters. And theatricality is what this show continues to deliver.

Complementing the excellent performances by Tim Howar and Christopher Hanke are good supporting performances by Destan Owens (who continues to shine in his big number, “I’ll Cover You”), D’Monroe as Benjamin Coffin III, Jaime Lee Kirchner as Mimi, Haven Burton as Maureen, and Nicole Lewis as Joanne. Justin Johnson gets some of the biggest laughs as Angel and generally delivers a good performance, although it is difficult to erase the indelible (and as yet, unmatched) performance of the role’s creator, Jermaine Heredia.