Show: Rent
Format: Musical
Genre: Musical
Date: February 28 2017
Location: Empire Theatre, Liverpool
Currently on a 20th-anniversary tour of the UK, Rent quickly became one of the most successful shows on Broadway upon its original 1996 debut. It has attracted a major following worldwide, particularly amongst a younger audience (there appeared to be a lot of students in attendance for the latest presentation). So, suffice it to say that expectations were fairly high heading into Liverpool‘s Empire Theatre.
Rent
Synopsis Of Rent
I found it difficult, however, to follow the lead story. The show is performed almost entirely in song; only around 5% of the production, if that, uses dialogue or physical performance as opposed to music. Partly due to this, and partly because we are introduced to a variety of characters and situations in a whirlwind fashion, it takes a good while to understand what is happening. It’s only towards the end of the first half when one can truly put everything together, although the second half does make everything a lot more clear to those who may not have read up on the plot beforehand.
In a nutshell, set in the 1980s in the heart of New York City, the story explains that roommates Mark (Billy Cullum) and Roger (Ross Hunter) are struggling with paying their rent to landlord and former friend Benny (Javar La’Trail Parker). Their friend Collins (Ryan O’Gorman) is mugged, but is found in the street by Angel (Jordan Laviniere), and there is an immediate spark between the two. We learn that the two happen to be gay and that they are both HIV positive.
Struggles
Add to that the fact that Roger is also HIV positive, and it becomes harder for him to spark up a new relationship of his own with the flirtatious Mimi (Philippa Stefani), who is also HIV positive, since his previous girlfriend had committed suicide partly due to her having the exact same health predicament. We soon see that there is a common friendship between all involved (except Benny), as well as Maureen (Lucie Jones) and Joanne (Shanay Holmes), a lesbian couple who are planning a protest against Benny and similar authorities who have forced a lot of people onto the streets, having threatened to do the same to the likes of Mark and Roger.
The protest, which is going to take place on Christmas Eve, eventually leads to a full-on riot, but the outlandish and flamboyant social circle of friends are ultimately brought closer together and all have big ambitions moving forward, whether that they be within their relationships or their hopeful careers (Roger wants to produce a rock song, Mark hopes to become a filmmaker and Collins wants to open a restaurant in Santa Fe). There are some tiffs around New Year’s time where we see Mimi needing a fix from her drug dealer in order to cope.
Valentine’s Day
But after Mark provides a quick catch-up of everybody’s situations on Valentine’s Day, the tone of the show becomes more sombre when we learn that Angel’s health issues, partly brought about by his flamboyance and his carefree attitude towards sex, have caught up to him, and he is about to succumb to HIV. This scene brings the friends together, and in the aftermath, we see the other relationships endure struggles of their own.
The show comes full circle by concluding on Christmas Eve once again, but not before another major plot event involving Mimi which ensures one more struggle for the characters to work through. Incidentally, during the show-closing bow, Philippa Stefani seemed extremely emotional and overcome with the nature of Mimi’s plight.
Analysis Of Rent
As mentioned, this is all told through music, meaning that many of the numbers (such as Rent, You Okay Honey and Take Me Or Leave Me) are conversational as opposed to “true” songs. And there are a lot of them; some, such as the Voice Mail scenes, are brief, but needless to say that there are a lot of songs written for this show.
This is in part because the plot of Rent is loosely based on the opera show La Bohème (with HIV being the primary illness rather than tuberculosis; incidentally, La Bohème is coming to Liverpool Empire on Friday March 24), and of course operas use music – in a different style, of course – to tell a story and move it along. So, whilst the all-music approach within the rock genre is unorthodox and occasionally hard to understand, it does make sense when you consider the inspiration for the show.
Performances
The performances by the cast are excellent: it’s hard enough to perform in a theatre setting for such a major production, but when the dialogue, physicality and music are moving at 100 miles an hour, so to speak, it must be incredibly difficult to learn all of the lines, all of the dances, all of the stage directions etc, so it’s a real credit to all involved that everyone is utterly believable and is performing to a high standard.
It’s hard to pinpoint one cast member as shining brighter than the others, although I should give an extra mention to Lucie Jones for playing the OTT and rather sexual Maureen character; her performance of Hey Diddle Diddle as part of a one-woman show may be baffling to those who don’t know the story of Rent, but it’s pretty memorable nonetheless and is a perfect snapshot of Rent as a whole.
Bizarre
That’s because Rent is, well, bizarre. The rock-music approach and bleak portrayal of American life reminded me of last year’s American Idiot, but the over-the-top nature of everything, from the sexuality to the dancing to the lack of interest as to what society thinks of them, reminded me too of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Unlike these two shows, though, the story is a lot harder to follow here, and it is way more unpredictable.
It will be halfway through a typical rock number which may be explaining one of the story arcs, and out of nowhere it will suddenly break into a mass, almost chaotic, dance routine which is related to a different song altogether. The second half is more structured, but the almost depressing feel of the later scenes don’t enhance the viewing experience, even if they are necessary to tell the story in the required manner.
Sensitivity
Perhaps the best thing about Rent is its approach to homosexuality. At least four of the characters are gay – two males, two females – and many of the characters are HIV positive. This was when the real dangers of unprotected sex and AIDS were only just coming into the forefront. So, the carefree sexual activities will have come before people realised why this wasn’t advisable from a health standpoint.
But it also came before society would accept homosexuality. When the lead characters are interacting with each other, it is not an issue. But when they happen to interact with other characters, such as the local priest, their homosexuality is met with scorn. These subjects were a sign of the times. The wild sexual freedom of the 1960s and 1970s was a factor in the lives of the central characters. But they were now facing the harsh realities. In other words, they would pay the price of shorter lives from developing AIDS and dying quickly afterwards. The exception is Mark, who is likely to be the lone survivor since he is not HIV positive).
Stigma
And whilst homosexuality is certainly not a bad thing, there was still a negative stigma at that time. This perhaps explains why the characters who are gay decide to rub it in society’s face, so to speak. They embrace it, rather than hide from it. That all of this is in a manner which never denigrates the characters nor those who may have seen the show and are or were in the same position is a testament to the writing and to the performances by the cast.
Of course, if this story happens through 2017 eyes, the reactions by society would be very different. But this show emphasises what attitudes were like at that time. I did think, though, that due to the somewhat adult nature of the production, a disclaimer for people of a certain age beforehand may have helped. Certain scenes may be very difficult to explain to any kids who might have been in the crowd.
Summary Of Rent
This is a very hard show for me to summarise. Whether or not you enjoy Rent will depend on your personal tastes. That isn’t in relation to the subject matters but to the storytelling. It’s all-music, at a breathtaking pace, with loads of sudden shifts. And there’s a frantic nature to dance moves and to the story in general. I feel that the performances were of a very high standard. And the handling of AIDS and homosexuality is superb.
But I personally was not a fan of the general structure of the show. It lasted 140 minutes, which was long enough. But it could have benefitted from 5-10 minutes of quick, dialogue-only scenes between the longer musical numbers. This could give the audience a chance to breathe and assess what exactly is going on.
Knowledge
Although I detailed parts of the story earlier on, this was with assistance. Unless you knew about Rent beforehand, one could not come to the same conclusions without thoroughly researching the show afterwards. It is also very Americanised. You can tell the style is to target the American audience. If it was for a British audience, I feel the structure would be very different. This isn’t a criticism (why wouldn’t it target Americans?).
But it’s an observation that English folk attending this show should bear in mind. I mentioned earlier that a lot of students were on hand. And I feel it would be excellent for them should they be studying theatre or drama. It’s undoubtedly a tightly-written production that manages to raise laughs and elicit tears in equal amount.
Rating
Ultimately, though, Rent wasn’t particularly to my tastes. The rating below is a mix of an outstanding production and a complex storytelling approach. It’s not to say that Rent is a bad show at all. After all, look at the success of the show over the course of two decades.
This will appeal to those with a true liking for American-style productions. Not to mention the 18-30 crowd. And especially those who want to know the impact of AIDS and homosexuality on American society in the 1980s. For older theatregoers, though, you may come away with more questions than answers, and possibly a headache too! Final analysis: an undoubtedly strong show with an excellent cast, but not a show that will be to everybody’s tastes.
