RSSKeegan Theatre's ‘Rent' definitely a good option
Broadway has come to Church Street in D.C.
Extended through Jan. 30 at the Church Street Playhouse in Dupont Circle, Keegan Theatre's production of the rock opera "Rent" is an explosive re-creation of the smash hit that ran for 12 years on Broadway, where it opened in 1996 -- exactly 100 years after the work that inspired it, Giacomo Puccini's opera "La Boheme."
The ensemble cast of more than a dozen exceptionally gifted young actors overwhelms the intimate stage with a stunning outpouring of talent in both song and drama.
In this first locally-produced production of "Rent," the future of musical theater is evident and it is wonderful to behold, with a veritable chorus line of new stars being born.
The musical is famously long, especially the first act, which surely tests the proposition that too much of a good thing is ... too much. But then the author, Jonathan Larson, poured his hopeful heart and his suffering soul into writing the book and songs and lyrics for what is in some respects the story of his own life, sadly snuffed out when he died suddenly on the eve of the show's off-Broadway opening in early 1996.
After winning a Pulitzer Prize, the show then moved to a larger Broadway venue and won the Tony award for best musical, and the rest is history -- making for a show that has grossed nearly $300 million and was produced in 2006 as a film largely with the original cast.
Set in New York's East Village in the early 1990s, "Rent" is about a community celebrating life in the face of death and AIDS as a new century nears.
The zest for living animates all the characters, many stricken with HIV or AIDS but who face life in the valley of death as various lovers of opposite and same sexes work out their dreams in a world defined by their bonds of life-affirming community. And they belt out anthems such as the tuneful "Seasons of love" and "La Vie Boheme" as well as sublimely sweet duets such as "Light My Candle" and "I'll Cover You."
"Hold on, there's something you should hear," sings rock musician Mark (played so well by Juan Carlos Sanchez) to the dying Mimi (the beautiful and vocally dynamic Emiley Levey) as he tells her "there's something I should have told you, when I look into your eyes, why does distance make us wise, before the song dies, I have always loved you...."
When the drag queen Angel -- played by Parker Drown with astonishing truth both in his male and female personas -- dies, you will blink away tears. Larson simply challenges us all to draw from our wells of empathy and we attempt to answer that age-old question about how to measure one's life.
The co-directors and husband-and-wife producing team from the Keegan Theatre -- Mark A. Rhea and Susan Marie Rhea -- have helmed this production to true greatness.
"Rent" contains enough ideas for two musicals and enough life for a world being born, and it takes this "village" of youthful ingénues to storm onto this intimate stage, offer a vision of life and mark their places as future stars. See it and take friends to help you celebrate what you see.
RENT
Through Jan. 30
The Keegan Theatre at Church Street, 1742 Church St. N.W., Washington, D.C.
Showtimes: 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., with matinee Sun. 3 p.m. Show added Jan. 27 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: ($30 to $40) Call 703-892-0202 or go to www.keegantheatre.com.
Length: 2 hours and 45 minutes.