Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Bidding a bittersweet farewell to the original staging of RENT as it swings through Philadelphia

• By drediman
• March 6, 2022
• No Comments

This weekend, I ventured down to Philadelphia to catch the 25th anniversary tour of Jonathan Larson’s Rent at the Merriam Theatre, where it plays only through this Sunday. The production, which is presented by Work Light Productions, is being touted as the farewell tour of Michael Greif’s iconic original staging, which made the experience all the more bittersweet. For those of you who are unacquainted with the piece, the musical – which is loosely based on Puccini’s beloved opera La bohème – tells the story of struggling artists in 1990s New York as they navigate love and friendship in the face of poverty, drug addiction, and disease (namely, the AIDS epidemic).

When the musical first opened in 1996, it changed the face of musical theater with its edgy subject matter, blaring rock/pop score, raw presentation, and visceral performances. It won everything in sight (including the Tony Award for Best Musical, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama) and, more importantly, introduced a whole new batch of theater newbies to the power of live theater (including yours truly). Although the work doesn’t speak as immediately to the current moment as it once did, its central mantra of there being “no day but today” still packs a potent emotional punch. If anything, the Covid pandemic has only heightened the musical’s message to live each day to the fullest as if it were your last. Additionally, with the success of the fantastic film version of Larson’s Tick, Tick… Boom!, I feel that there’s been renewed interest in his masterpiece as of late.

If some of the performances were more accomplished than others, so be it. For the most part, the young cast (most of them probably not even born when the original production premiered) looked the part and sang their hearts out. Undoubtedly, the evening’s standout performance belonged to Javon King’s ecstatically-performed Angel, the irrepressible drag queen who’s arguably the heart and soul of the show. For me, however, the main treat was experiencing, for one last time, Mr. Greif’s gritty but theatrically exciting original staging (faithfully recreated by Evan Ensign on Paul Clay’s blighted urban jungle gym of a set). I wasn’t alone in this sentiment – the energized sold out audience ate up Friday’s opening night performance at the Merriam, hooting and hollering at precisely all the right moments. Indeed, it was a thrill to be a part of the love fest for this generation-defining musical.

RECOMMENDED

RENT
Tour, Musical
Merriam Theater at the Kimmel Cultural Campus
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
The tour’s Philadelphia stop concludes on March 6