Behrend’s cast aptly portrayed life, love, and loss in Jonathan Larson’s iconic rock opera.

 

“Rent,” was originally released in 1996 and has continued to break ground for new kinds of musicals for the past two decades.  The show largely centers around the lives of eight young adults struggling to live day-to-day in New York City. Throughout the show, they balance the desire to create with the consequences of poverty and disease, as half of the main characters are afflicted with AIDS.

 

The spirit of the musical centers around the chemistry among the members of the ensemble as a whole as they attempt to push through these struggles. Though the stories of Mark Cohen and Roger Davies push the plot along--and an argument can be made that this duo acts as the show’s “leads”--the high points truly come from the energy produced when the entire cast is on stage.  Behrend’s cast more than fulfilled this duty, as it was in numbers like “Rent,” “La Vie Boheme” and “Finale B” that the musical came to life. “La Vie Boheme” in particular was a chill-inducing celebration that, cliche as it sounds, made one itch to get up and celebrate, too.

 

In scenes meant to tug on the proverbial heartstrings, the cast performed just as impressively.  Particularly in “Without You,” during the death of “Rent”’s most well-known character, drag queen Angel, and the following funeral scene, each member of the cast reflected aching heartbreak beautifully.

 

In fact, it was the enchanting gracelessness that Kelly brought to Angel Dumott Schunard that made his death scene so poignant. The tender nature of the relationship between Angel and Logan Saborsky’s Tom Collins demonstrated pure and simple love, difficult to find and, often, just as difficult to reproduce on stage.

 

That being said, though “Rent” is largely an ensemble show, the individual performances in Behrend’s cast made this addictive ensemble energy possible.

 

Behrend alum Josh Lapping headed the show as Mark Cohen, the eccentric tech-head, whose main conflict stems from both his ability to bring the ensemble together and also his distance from the others as one of the few who does not carry the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

 

Lapping easily catered to Mark’s lighter and darker sides.  With a seemingly natural practice, he aptly tackled Mark’s bright, tongue-in-cheek quirk, all while clutching the character’s signature crutch--his camera--close to his chest, allowing even unfamiliar audiences to recognize Mark’s carefully hidden self-conscious edge.  

 

Alongside Lapping’s performance as Mark was that of his roommate Roger, played by Marshall Hunsaker. Though Hunsaker’s natural voice comes across as a lot cleaner than one would expect from rough-and-tough, numb-to-the-world Roger, his ability to passionately intensify high tenor notes with little strain far outweighed any hesitation to believe his role as the token Rocker Dude.  

Another standout performance was that of A’aryonna Fontes, who embraced the role of Mimi Marquez, the 19 year-old free spirited exotic dancer, who falls in love with Roger. Fontes brought an unexpected silliness to Mimi’s characteristic recklessness that made her struggle with drugs and death all the more heartbreaking. Fontes’ uniquely harsh belt was the perfect complement to Mimi’s dangerous youthfulness.

 

The brilliant duo of Ava Dobmeier and Ashley Meyer, playing the show’s sole lesbian couple Maureen and Joanne respectively, added a necessary comic element to a characteristically dark show. Dobmeier conquered Maureen (the show’s prima donna street performer)’s tough vocal score with ease, executing a clear high belt with an ease likely to make any singer envious. Ashley Meyer, playing her tougher, straight-laced counterpart Joanne, additionally impressed with her vocal range, making a usually understated character stand out.  Particularly in the character’s shining moment, “Take Me or Leave Me,” the pair’s easy chemistry and powerful blend of voices was truly a high point in the show.

 

However, the musical’s familiarity unfortunately highlighted any weak points within the performance.  The cast was unable to hide any discomfort or unpreparedness behind the stripped-down and recognizable nature of “Rent.”

 

The directorial choice to forgo a live pit in lieu of a track recording was bold, though necessary. Due to the size of Behrend’s Studio Theatre, coupled with the rock-style instrumentation vital to the show’s rebellious feel, a live set-up would have been detrimental to the quality of the performance.

 

Nonetheless, the cast struggled to find their place in the recording multiple times throughout the show. This produced unsettling and largely noticeable trip-ups that, frankly, should have been smoothed out in rehearsal long before final dress.

 

On the other hand, countering the under-rehearsed feel that occasionally cropped up was an over-rehearsed component in a number of scenes, particularly in the show’s central romance between Roger and Mimi.

 

Though, as stated previously, Fontes and Hunsaker’s individual performances were at times both beautiful and stunning, their scenes together felt practiced and stiff. Particularly in “Light My Candle,” where the couple’s initial attraction needs to be extremely evident, and “I Should Tell You,” where they declare their developing feelings, their lines were seemingly spoken out of memorization and obligation, rather than naturally acted feeling.  In a show so reliant on this couple’s sexuality and attraction, it was difficult to believe the two wanted to be on stage together, let alone that they were genuinely in love. It was only when Hunsaker pulled out Roger’s signature guitar to sing the long-awaited “Your Eyes,” to a dying Mimi that the audience felt any striking emotion between the two.

 

Nevertheless, despite these minor hiccups, the ultimate performance fell comfortably and impressively in the middle:  not over- or under-rehearsed but playful, raw and authentic.