The touring production of Rend came through State College last night and since I am a huge fan of musicals and Rent in particular, I went to see it for the fifth or sixth time (I've lost count). Sadly, this particular performance was not up to par. It seems performing the same show night after night is starting to get to the cast and crew. The sound mixing was the worst of their problems. Too often the band far overpowered the actors/singers and you could not understand what they were saying. Although part of the blame also lies with the performers for not anunciating their words and finishing each line strong--sounds as if they need a break or a refresher. Maybe put the understudies in for a while. It also seemed like the lighting was askew. As I said, I've seen this show several times, and I don't ever remember it being so dark. Particularly when the performers were stage-front, they was a bit too much backlighting and not enough frontlighting. As for the individual performances, Marc was great, as were Angel and Colin. Benny either was congested or just has a nasal voice--in either case, he shouldn't have been on stage. Maureen was good, although I've always liked that character better as a blond. Roger needs some work. Too often he resorted to screaming instead of singing with emotion. The emoting was good, the screaming--not so much. In the end, Rent is still a great show--I was listening to the cast recording just this morning--and I'll be sure to see it again next time it comes my way, but this cast & crew need a break.

Posted by Hey Paul   |   Thursday, January 13, 2005