RENT. Music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. Directed by Byron Bruce. Musical Director Jeco Griesel. Choreographer Shona Brabant. With Dean de Klerk, Neil van Bergen, Gustav Smit, Arlin Bantam, Anzio September, Matthew Kriel, Nadine Suliaman, Emily Adair, Namisa Mdlalose, Bonolo Makhele, Jessica Kohler, Maya Spector, Robyn Ivey, Tammy de Klerk, Tara Macpherson, Jaydon Farao, Keegan van Zyl and Leagen Phillips-Laws
REVIEW: Tracey Saunders
There is no small irony in a musical made in America with the central themes of evictions and HIV/AIDS being staged a stone’s throw away from evictions pending in Woodstock. While written in 1993 and referencing an opera which premièred in 1896, the universal themes of poverty, homelessness and illness are timeless. Rent, written by Jonathan Larson, was first work-shopped in New York in 1993.
The creator died suddenly the night before its Off-Broadway premiere at the New York Theatre Workshop and he never lived to see the phenomenal success that the musical became. The winner of a Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Musical, it lost its place as the tenth longest running Broadway show only a year ago on 14 February to Wicked.
The rock musical is loosely based on Puccini’s opera La Boheme with its themes of poverty-stricken artists fighting against a system where arts and culture are not appreciated. Sound familiar?
Stephan Fourie has seen sufficient resonance with South Africa today to undertake staging Rent in South Africa and he has done so with gusto. In the face of cries of “Bohemia is dead” heard from property developers he has responded with a brave reply of “La Vie Boheme”.
Slick choreography in small space
The staging is clever and makes optimum use of the small Arena Theatre with the use of 1,5 tons of scaffolding. Not ideally suited for musicals, the scaffolding creating the multi-level structure offers dancers moments to create some striking tableaux.
The choreography is slick and despite the small stage the cast succeed in executing some of the more stylised numbers from the musical.
Rent is probably best known for its rousing Seasons of Love, a song that has attained almost anthem like status with a refrain which is instantly recognisable. The music is stirring and when the full cast join hands on stage to sing it, Les Miserables-style, one appreciates the longevity of the musical.
There are some strong individual performances but just as it takes five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred individual minutes to make a year, it takes more than a handful of great performances to create a winning musical.
With artists such as Maya Spector in the ensemble cast one would expect a rendition rich with harmony. An expectation not met. Spector is sadly underutilised and it may have been an interesting take on the casting to put her in one of the lead roles. The cast comprises graduates from the University of Cape Town and the Waterfront Theatre School and for many this is their first professional production; while there may be a few triple threats amongst them there are several double and sadly single threats on stage.
Accomplished musical theatre actors can sing, dance and act and it is no mean feat to be able to do all three with equal levels of passion and skill. Singing off key loudly doesn’t make it any less off key and there were moments when the frequent failure of the sound of the microphones was a blessing in disguise.
Good performances, expensive learning curve
Neil van Bergen as Roger Davis has a fine singing voice and in the ballad style moments of the songs he performs he is great. Reaching the crescendo required in a musical though seemed outside his range. Anzio September in his musical theatre debut is wonderful as Angel. He dances and struts with bold intent and conveys the sassy attitude of a person who has had to learn to rise above the world that scorns him. Nadine Suliaman gives Mimi the full scope of emotion from coquettish to cavalier and is a highly accomplished dancer.
The star of the show though is Namisa Mdlalose – with her effortless rendition of some of the most memorable parts of the show she will have you waiting in anticipation for each time she appears on stage. Her skill even in the full chorus numbers stands out.
This is an ambitious project and hats off to Fourie for taking it on in his first production as the Stephan Fourie Theatre Company. There is much to be learnt from it – but at R295 a ticket it’s an expensive and sometimes excruciating lesson to learn.
Where, when: Artscape Arena Theatre until 25 February 2017
Book: Computicket
WS
