Theater Aug 1, 2012 at 4:00 am

The Aging Musical Gets a Makeover

The old show gets new juice. Tracy Martin

Comments

1
Great show last night - so glad to see it reworked.
2
I was 100% NOT going to see Rent until reading this review. Because, seriously, WHY STILL RENT. But now I'm curious to see what the local talent has done with it.
3
Great review. Even better production. This team really put together an amazing show. We're extremely fortunate to have talent like Jerick Hoffer and the others in our town. MUST SEE!
4
this is an upsetting remake. How are you going to change all the characters to white except the stripper. at least keep the characters racially correct but seeing how it was made in seattle and seattle is full passive aggressive racism. And why did Naomi Morgan take the part??? Is she blind to the racism and bad portrayal of non whites? Is she assimilated?? I did not like the remake. It was a disgrace. Maybe I am the only one who notices these things seeing how no one else commented on it or maybe most of seattle is fine with racism and casting non whites as strippers and prostitutes. Another example of Seattle's true feeling . The person who remade Rent should be mauled.
5
Remember Lease from Team America?
6
Wow! I wasn't planning on seeing this, but now I think I shall.
7
i don't know. i just saw this and felt disappointed. mimi shooting up is so concrete, as are the "real" packets of heroin being tossed about. It is so well understood in the original but perhaps concrete is what it takes these days. this may be the fifth time i've seen the play and most disappointing in this production is the lack of connection between angel and tom collins. the problem may be that brandon has played everyone, from alladin to whoever it was I have thankfully managed to block from my mind in the horrendous "Saving Amy", so now all I see is brandon. As my mom said, "it was kind of like going to a high school production where a few of the kids have real talent and then for the rest you do your best with what you have.
8
@Forest- I was thinking the same thing!! Rent is one of a few well known, racially diverse, mainstream musicals and to make it an almost white cast is no leap forward!!
9
It's NOT an all-white cast. The casting is just different than the original Broadway version. As for other mainstream musicals with racially diverse casts, we could start by naming one of the most iconic -- West Side Story. Of course, many contemporary musicals put race and ethnicity at the heart of their stories. In the Heights, Zoot Suit, Ain't Misbehavin', and The Wiz, all come to mind. But there are numerous contemporary musicals (Chorus Line, Chicago, Wicked, e.g.) that could be cast in a wide variety of ways, depending on the actors available and what the director wants to do with the show. The Broadway version isn't a mandate; it's just one way to do the work.
10
As I keep saying, the difference between theater in New York and theater in Seattle is that in New York all the Scandinavian parts are played by Jews and in Seattle all the Jewish parts are played by Scandinavians.

It does seem odd to praise a show because it has a staff that is local.
11
Aaron Finley as Roger giving the most cringe worthy performance in an otherwise great production of Rent.
12
@Forest Seriously.? Kill yourself. You have the nerve to call this show disgraceful for no reason other than the ethnicity of the cast... and then you cry racism.? I suppose it's not enough for you that Jerrick and Naomi give their characters a level of credibility not seen in ANY of the previous productions. No, credibility be damned. You need a latino drag queen-- a white stripper. You ask, "why did Naomi Morgan take the part??" Perhaps(you self-righteous prick) she took the part bc (having once been a stripper and drug user herself) she knew she had that rarest of opportunities, the chance to use her incredible talents and the real-life experiences she lived through to give real believable life to a role she could own like noone else on this planet be they black, white, or indifferent. You focus on the color of the girl and not the character it takes to come from a real life Mimi kind of existence and claw your way out of the gutter and onto the stage of the 5th Ave Theatre. I won't even bother to touch on the fact that you have a problem with a real-life drag queen being cast as a drag queen. Shame on you, Forest. I hope you didn't get to see this show. You didn't deserve to...

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