Monday, September 22, 1997 Rent COMMENTARY: The holiday musical
‘Rent’ combines many elements of American culture while
transcending ethnicity, sexuality.
By Cheryl Klein
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
hristmas is coming early this year – in the form of "Rent," a
holiday musical that has good cause to celebrate.
Given, it’s about death, among other things, and the West Coast
cast hasn’t received the critical acclaim that surrounded the
Tony-winning Broadway production. Nevertheless, "Rent" may be our
generation’s most significant – not to mention entertaining – gift
to musical theater.
Jonathan Larson’s "Rent" is a rock opera based on Puccini’s "La
Boheme," an opera in the traditional form. The sung-through musical
follows eight young East Villagers through a year – Christmas to
Christmas – as they struggle with finances, artistic impulses and
AIDS. It’s what "Friends" might have been if they’d noticed not
everyone in New York is white and if Jennifer Aniston could
sing.
"Rent" is very New York, but so far it seems to be translating
well. The musical opens Sept. 28 at the Ahmanson Theatre and the
same cast has been playing quietly at the La Jolla Playhouse since
July.
Perhaps because of the hoopla surrounding the Broadway version
and because L.A. Weekly hates anything encased in hoopla, the
Village Voice’s sister paper dismissed "Rent" as "musical pablum
and dramatic bathos." (This is also the publication that got a
couple of basic plot elements and lyric quotations wrong in their
review, but we won’t address that.)
No, "Rent" is not minimalistic. It does not sit unknown in a
coffee shop dressed in black, spouting edgy profundities. "Rent’s"
edginess is loud, colorful and entirely post-modern. It is musical
theater and it does have something to say. Believe it or not, the
two are not mutually exclusive.
"Rent" embraces richness in all aspects but the financial. The
songs are a humorous, poetic mix of rock, pop, gospel and even a
little tango and techno. The characters are flamboyant and somewhat
archetypal – the transvestite, the rebellious college professor,
the angsty musician. But they’re also enough of individuals to make
you love them, to make you cry when one of them dies.
Angel, the cross-dressing drummer, earns special mention. Played
by the graceful and endearing Wilson Cruz, Angel, the character
with the most to be angry about, is probably the most altruistic
and forgiving in the story. At his memorial service, his friend
Mark recalls Angel’s response to a harassing skinhead: "I’m more of
a man than you’ll ever be and more of a woman than you’ll ever
get." It’s a line to remember, even if it’s not particularly useful
to the non-gender bending.
There are four homosexual characters – Collins, Angel, Maureen
and Joanne – which noticeably exceeds tokenism without quite making
it a "gay" play. It’s the same racially – the West Coast ensemble
features three African American, three Latino and two white
characters.
But to break it down this way doesn’t really seem to follow the
spirit of "Rent." Mark and Roger don’t think twice about having a
gay roommate, and while Joanne and Maureen have their share of
lovers’ spats, the inter-racial nature of their relationship isn’t
one of them.
The script even dares to make Benny, the "yuppie scum" landlord,
an African American, dispelling a few stereotypes in the process of
admitting that bad guys, just like good guys, come in all colors.
Other works might fear this would spark accusations of racism, but
"Rent" knows better. The musical doesn’t ignore issues of ethnicity
and sexuality, but it quite possibly transcends them, the way we’d
like to think the general population will sooner or later.
At the end of the first act, the characters dance on tables at
the Live Cafe and belt out "La Vie Boheme," a boisterous anthem
toasting everything that is ’90s. "To hand-crafted beers made in/
local breweries./ To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and/ beans and
cheese/ To leather, to dildos, to Curry Vindaloo/ To huevos
rancheros and Maya Angelou."
The song covers its bases. What follows is a list of musicians,
poets, directors and comedians who all went against the grain and
apparently inspired writer Jonathan Larson. They’re from all walks
of life and some are obscure enough to imply that even Generation X
has a literary side. More importantly though, the references to
Langston Hughes, Gertrude Stein, and yes, even Pee Wee Herman give
us a peek at the many elements of American culture that paved the
way for a work like "Rent."
Post modernism is by definition eclectic, even in its
spirituality. Permit a mini-history: In the old old days, there
were morality plays, where there was always a lesson and God always
got top billing. Religion faded to the point where – in the
bleakness that was theater of the absurd – characters were aimless
and life was meaningless.
"Rent," though, reflects the same philosophical trend that
brought us "Touched by an Angel," although Angel touches his
friends and the audience with much more style and much less sap.
People want to think there’s something out there, but they don’t
want sometimes-rigid texts written thousands of years ago telling
them how to find it.
This may explain that while Mark is technically Jewish, the
references to his religious upbringing are limited to recounting a
fling with the rabbi’s daughter. And why the musical is
delightfully blasphemous in its rehaul of the Christmas classics.
(The police officers sing "I’m dreaming of a white, right Christmas
… Jingle bells, prison cells" with frightening irony and the
homeless people lament "No room at the Holiday Inn.")
Yet Mimi meets an angelic Angel in a very vivid near-death
experience and the AIDS support group opens its meetings with an
affirmation that "I can’t control/ my destiny/ I trust my soul/ My
only goal/ is just – to be." Roger counters, "Who says that/
there’s a soul?" but the overwhelming answer seems to be "Rent,"
that’s who.
These are possibly the rantings of a person who has listened to
the soundtrack one too many times, but a few facts remain: The
little musical that began off Broadway and lost its creator to an
untimely death parallels the artistic struggles of its characters
eerily. The costumes are hip (look, Broadway – you don’t have to do
a period piece to have fun!), the cast is sincere and if "Les Mis"
made being poor look romantic, "Rent" makes it funny. (Mark and
Roger have all their appliances plugged into one giant extension
cord and the unemployed Collins puts his ivy league training to use
by rewiring the local ATM to distribute a little extra cash to
those in need.)
Towards the end of the second act, Mark and Roger stop to ponder
their position in time. In the fast-paced "end of the millennium,"
they feel they’re pressured to "dive into work/ drive the other
way/ That drip of hurt/ that pint of shame/ goes away/ Just play
the game." Later they conclude, "We’re dying in America/ to come
into our own."
Well, congratulations guys. With a little help from Jonathan
Larson, you’ve done it. We’ve done it.
THEATER: "Rent" opens Sept. 28 at the Ahmanson Theatre in
downtown Los Angeles. Tickets range from $35 to $70, but $20 rush
tickets are available two hours prior to start. Call (213)
628-2772.
Photos by The Production Office
The cast of "Rent" sings during a performance at the La Jolla
Playhouse. The Los Angeles production begins on Sept. 28.
Julia Santana plays Mimi, a dancer at an S&M club.
(l. to r.) Christian Mena (Roger), Sharon Brown (ensemble) and
Mark LeRoy Jackson (Collins).
Wilson Cruz (left) as Angel and Mark LeRoy Jackson as
Collins.
THE PLAYERS THE DANCER"Mimi Marquez" played by Julia
SantanaCharacter from "Rent" Make that an exotic dancer. "It’s a
living," she says. Mimi works at the Cat Scratch Club, an S&M
joint. When Roger meets her, he recognizes her from performances,
but confesses, "I didn’t recognize you without the handcuffs."
Dance today goes beyonf toe shoes — drawing from a wide range of
cultures and interests. But the basics — rhythm, a love of
movement and a willingness to sacrifice — are still there. THE
PLAYERS THE PERFORMANCE ARTIST"Maureen Johnson" played by Leigh
HetheringtonCharacter from "Rent" Maureen’s big dramatic moment
comes in the form of her one-woman show, staged on a vacant lot to
protest plans for its development. She has a cowbell and a shakey
sound system to accompany her, and her girlfriend and ex-boyfriend
alternatley serve as production manager. Technology is getting
bigger, but theater keeps on trucking and evolving. Give most
actors a stage and an audience, snd they’ll find something to
communicate.