As you may have heard, "Rent" made its return to the stage last night -- after being away "for nearly three years — or, 1,576,800 minutes" -- in a downsized off-Broadway production at the New World Stages. The reviews I've seen aren't great, but as Ben Brantley of The New York Times says, it may not matter now that "Rent" has become its own brand name. ("The predominantly young audience members with whom I saw this revival roared and hooted throughout, much as if they were attending a midnight performance of 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show.'") He's probably right.
Here's a look inside the after-party at the Glass House Tavern following the big premiere:
Arianda Fernandez with Matt Shingledecker, about whom Brantley wrote "as the love-burned, H.I.V.-positive rock guitarist Roger Davis, Matt Shingledecker glows a bit bizarrely with ruddy-cheeked, buff-bodied good health and bonhomie." (Hey, ya gotta sell tickets!)
Michael Wartella, Marcus Paul James and Ben Thompson
Nicholas Christopher and Ephraim Sykes
Morgan Weed, Tamika Sonja Lawrence and Margot Bingham
Adam Chanler-Berat
Meet Your New Angel: MJ Rodriguez with Arianda Fernandez
Only Annaleigh Ashford, left, with Corbin Reid, got singled out by The Times as bringing something new to her role, which was originated by Idina Menzel
1 comment:
I saw Rent in it's original incarnation at the peak of it's hype and I've always said I was underwhelmed and embarrassed....underwhelmed by the plot and music (a couple of good songs but most forgettable - or worse that 'performance art 'moo at the moon' thing') and embarrassed for the audience who were screaming and whooping it up like they were at a Whitesnake concert but were actually listening to showtunes with guitars.....
Also I forget the name of the theatre - it was done up 'very urban' but the acoustics were shite...
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