Thirteen years after “Rent” first appeared off-Broadway, the AIDS epidemic is nowhere near over.
But with breakthroughs in medicine, HIV is no longer a death sentence, robbing the story of Alphabet City inhabitants dealing with the plague of much of its sense of urgency.
Mark Cohen’s self-absorbed documentary-style narration of his life also loses some of its originality, considering the onslaught of reality TV that has permeated pop culture since 1996.
Tom Collins’ interest in digital-age philosophy and virtual reality is all but quaint. By all accounts, “Rent” is decidedly a product of its time, abounding with cultural references that create a sense of ’90s nostalgia.
And yet, considering the mortgage crises and ongoing economic fiasco, Jonathan Larson’s 13-year-old alt-rock adaptation of “La Bohème” may, tragically, be relevant again.
At the Pantages Theater in Hollywood on Friday, the opening number hit a little close to home, with lyrics like “How we gonna pay/How we gonna pay/How we gonna pay/Last year’s rent?” The looming shadow of AIDS may be slightly less ominous these days, but the threat of eviction is alive and kicking.
The elaborate gilded ceilings and lush red velvet curtains that adorn the Pantages provided a unique frame for the grungy industrial set, which included a nook for the onstage rock band backing up the characters.
Original cast members Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp reprised their roles as Roger Davis and Mark Cohen, to the delight of the audience, whose enthusiastic applause at the opening chords of several hit songs and characters’ first appearances defined the feel of the evening: something halfway between a ’90s rock concert and a midnight screening of “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Most of the action took place around three steel tables, which also stood in as a padlocked door and makeshift hospital bed as Angel Schunard (Justin Johnston) withered away in the last stages of AIDS. While the tables were generally put to good creative use, each of the characters was a bit too eager to jump on the tables to make a particularly emphatic point.
The table-jumping, though, was just one part of the sometimes bizarre choreography, which hit a few particularly distracting lows.
HIV-positive dancer Mimi’s “Out Tonight” veered across the seductive and skanky line, a detour not helped by electric blue pants that appeared to have been reinforced with a layer of shellac. Lexi Lawson’s performance was underwhelming compared to the otherwise strong cast; the resulting lack of chemistry between Roger and Mimi was somewhat disappointing.
The ersatz central relationship was upstaged by the much more believable tenderness between Johnston’s Angel and Michael McElroy’s sweetly sensitive Tom, and by the energetic power struggle between Maureen (Nicolette Hart) and Joanne (Haneefah Wood).
Johnston and Hart were delightfully campy, milking their roles as an HIV-positive drag queen and a performance artist diva. When Hart invited the audience to moo with her during “Over the Moon,” the Rent-heads were more than happy to oblige.
In spite of a few moments when “Rent” showed its age, the rock opera benefited from a strong ensemble ““ the raucous, raunchy “La Vie Bohème” and wistful “Seasons of Love” were both highlights ““ and the true core of the show: Pascal and Rapp.
Pascal was solid, and Rapp shone in his detailed, nuanced portrayal of the neurotic Mark. The core friendship tied together the alternating funny, sweet and touching moments that elevate “Rent” beyond simple camp to a sense of enduring, earnest youthfulness.
““ Audrey Kuo
E-mail Kuo at akuo@media.ucla.edu.