RENT, LAOS Review
Written by Emmie for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
RENT is one of the best musicals of our time, period. Originally created by Jonathan Larson, this passionate rock adaptation of Puccini's opera La Bohème, set in New York City's East Village, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The score encapsulates the heart and spirit of a generation of struggling artists, addicts, and impoverished youth living in the shadows of AIDS, while confronting the imminent wave of gentrification.
Its powerful themes resonate throughout the performance, making it difficult to hold back your emotions at times. Presented by Leicester Amateur Operatic Society in Curve’s intimate studio space, this production is a cult classic with a huge expectation for the rentheads who will find their ways to see their beloved show! (aka me)
Directed by John Bale and choreographed by Carl Robinson-Edwards, the minimalist approach to scenery and staging in their presentation places a strong emphasis on their performances to do the storytelling. Robinson-Edwards uses some of the show's bigger numbers to infuse it with clean, refreshing movement. His artistic prowess shines particularly in "La Vie Bohème," offering a true representation of his creative talent. Bale has enabled the cast to truly grab hold of their vocal delivery. However, the patchy sound made a huge impact on how the story flowed and for any new audiences, this made it very difficult to follow.
RENT is known for displaying relationships that are complex and deeply intertwined, as it seeks to follow a group of friends over the course of a year. The relationship between Roger (Tom Urch) and Mimi (Charlotte Kennedy) is tumultuous, marked by their mutual battles with past traumas and addiction. Meanwhile, the bond between Collins (Dan Rowberry) and Angel (Dan Brewer) is tender and transformative, offering a poignant portrayal of love and loss amidst the harsh realities of life. Additionally, there’s also the on-again, off-again relationship between Maureen (Charlotte Brown) and Joanne (Mia Dobney) highlights the challenges of commitment and trust, adding further depth to the narrative.
When you’ve seen the musical so many times you get a grips on the various different characteristics that make them so unique. Collectively this cast works incredibly hard on executing how the course of the story impacts on their own character, but in areas I lacked some believability. Dan Rowberry’s performance as Collins is the one that truly sticks, his rendition of “I’ll Cover You (Reprise)” was emotionally perfect and Charlotte Kennedy’s “Without You” is just beautiful.
This performance is helped by a living 5-person band, led by the musical director Steven Duguid. There were some notably enjoyable arrangements of some of the music that I thoroughly enjoyed from this production.
Jonathan Larson’s RENT remains one of the best productions in the musical theatre world. Full of celebration of diversity and equality, it would have been good to have seen some of that in the cast too. Although the sound made a huge impact on my overall experience of LAOS’ production of RENT, there is a level of energy and passion from this performances that has to be appreciated from this group.
At Curve, Leicester until 8 June 2024.
☆ ☆ ☆
