RENT and relationships
By Joannah Sharp
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Arts and Culture
RENT, written by Jonathan Larson, first appeared on Broadway in 1996 and has been both a fan-favourite and a success within the musical theatre world. The rock genre of the score has been credited with making musical theatre more accessible and more appealing to younger audiences.
Based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème, RENT follows the lives of a group of young artists living in an impoverished area of New York City towards the end of the 1980s. They struggle to find meaning and success in a life tainted by poverty and disease.
Several of the characters are HIV-positive, a stigma from which they cannot escape. With the stigma attached to AIDS, drug use and sexual situations all incorporated into its plot, RENT sparks controversy wherever it is performed.
Highlights of the Canon Theatre's production, which was part of the North America Broadway Tour, included "One Song Glory", "Today 4 U", "Out Tonight" and, of course, "La Vie Bohème". One Song Glory, sung by Adam Pascal as Roger, starts out as a melancholy ballad, just singer and guitar, but transforms into a rock track complete with percussion and bass. Pascal's raspy voice suits it quite well. "Today 4 U" is Angel's big introduction. In this tongue-in-cheek number, we meet the group's drag queen benefactor, brilliantly played by Justin Johnston, as he prances around in drag and pulls off some amazing dance moves all while singing in impressive falsetto. Lexi Lawson, who portrays the female lead Mimi, performs "Out Tonight" with the cheekiness of the sexy, while maintaining the sweetness and innocence of a young girl alone and lost in the big city. "La Vie Bohème" is the triumphant and empowering anthem of the starving artists who are sticking it to the man.
The cast really made the show. Their delivery was flawless, and their performance captures the honesty and rawness the story strives to convey. Even though RENT has simply been labelled as "that musical about AIDS," it goes much deeper.
RENT explores the trials and tribulations of human relationships as through suffering and death. The audience follows the characters on a journey of acceptance. Accepting oneself is the most important step on to building meaningful relationships and finding happiness with others.
RENT is a story about resilience in the face of hard times and the need to lean on those around you during difficult times. Evidently, these life lessons are not only applicable to AIDS-stricken artists who are struggling to make ends meet, but to all people who are trying to make it in this world.
For more information about futures productions at the Canon Theatre visit www.toronto-theatre.com/theaters/canon-theatre
Based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème, RENT follows the lives of a group of young artists living in an impoverished area of New York City towards the end of the 1980s. They struggle to find meaning and success in a life tainted by poverty and disease.
Several of the characters are HIV-positive, a stigma from which they cannot escape. With the stigma attached to AIDS, drug use and sexual situations all incorporated into its plot, RENT sparks controversy wherever it is performed.
Highlights of the Canon Theatre's production, which was part of the North America Broadway Tour, included "One Song Glory", "Today 4 U", "Out Tonight" and, of course, "La Vie Bohème". One Song Glory, sung by Adam Pascal as Roger, starts out as a melancholy ballad, just singer and guitar, but transforms into a rock track complete with percussion and bass. Pascal's raspy voice suits it quite well. "Today 4 U" is Angel's big introduction. In this tongue-in-cheek number, we meet the group's drag queen benefactor, brilliantly played by Justin Johnston, as he prances around in drag and pulls off some amazing dance moves all while singing in impressive falsetto. Lexi Lawson, who portrays the female lead Mimi, performs "Out Tonight" with the cheekiness of the sexy, while maintaining the sweetness and innocence of a young girl alone and lost in the big city. "La Vie Bohème" is the triumphant and empowering anthem of the starving artists who are sticking it to the man.
The cast really made the show. Their delivery was flawless, and their performance captures the honesty and rawness the story strives to convey. Even though RENT has simply been labelled as "that musical about AIDS," it goes much deeper.
RENT explores the trials and tribulations of human relationships as through suffering and death. The audience follows the characters on a journey of acceptance. Accepting oneself is the most important step on to building meaningful relationships and finding happiness with others.
RENT is a story about resilience in the face of hard times and the need to lean on those around you during difficult times. Evidently, these life lessons are not only applicable to AIDS-stricken artists who are struggling to make ends meet, but to all people who are trying to make it in this world.
For more information about futures productions at the Canon Theatre visit www.toronto-theatre.com/theaters/canon-theatre
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