The house darkens and you either plug your ears or let the bright lights and heavily amplified electronic music overtake your senses. Stripped down to simply the music, an almost bare stage and a few props that mirrors the characters' poverty, the late Jonathan Larson's rock opera is an update of Puccini's "La Boheme." It's been13 years since this groundbreaking musical burst onto Broadway to enthusiastic critical and audience acclaim. This is the first national tour since the show closed last September and it remains a vibrant celebration of art, love and life.
Larson's exhilarating Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner is credited with drawing younger audiences back into the theater. However, this tour is noteworthy primarily because it stars Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal and Gwen Stewart, all of whom reprise their original Broadway (and film) roles. Their history with the show aside, these "Rent" veterans bring a new intensity to their roles that only comes with maturity, demonstrating far more vocal power and emotional connection than ever before.
They are matched here by Broadway belters Nicolette Hart as Maureen, the bisexual performance artist who bursts onto the stage with her rendition of "Over the Moon," and Lexi Lawson as the sexually-charged Mimi, who ignites Pascal's character with "Light My Candle." Both actresses have the vocal chops, the sensual moves and the charisma to easily hold their own. Justin Johnston takes a little longer to catch fire as drag queen Angel, but once he kindles that spark, his voice soars to the heights. However, Haneefah Wood, as Maureen's lesbian lover, Joanne, never quite achieves the same brilliance; this is especially noticeable in "Tango: Maureen" with Rapp and in what should have been a vocal sparring match with Hart, "Take Me or Leave Me."
This gritty story of an impoverished group of young artists struggling to survive explores such adult themes as AIDS, drug abuse, death and sexual issues and won't appeal to everyone. Still, Generation X audiences especially will continue to connect with the play, in the same way that Baby Boomers did with "Hair." "The Age of Aquarius" has evolved into the "Seasons of Love."
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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