On Friday, Oct. 21, the University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies will present for the first time the award-winning Broadway musical RENT, which will introduce a variety of taboo topics such as homosexuality, AIDS, drugs and substance abuse to the UMD community.
RENT, directed by Alan Mingo, follows a year in the lives of seven impoverished young artists and musicians in New York, living the disappearing Bohemian lifestyle in the East Village. They struggle to survive while dealing with the physical and emotional complications of the AIDS epidemic, according to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts website.
Laura Gepford, a senior theater major who is cast as the understudy for the lead “Mimi Marquez” while also playing “Alexi Darling”, thinks the underlying message of RENT is an important one for both the university community and for people of our generation.
“RENT is about love, relationships and just living every moment of every day to the fullest,” Gepford said. “‘No day but today’ is a song lyric present in the musical. By itself it explains how in this story, although there are struggles, it really just comes down to love and enjoying your life.”
David Todd, who is a senior theater and computer science double major and plays a cross dresser named “Angel”, said that in addition to this theme, the story digs deep into taboo topics such as AIDS, homosexuality and drugs while simultaneously surrounding the idea of eternal love and emotions.
“In its core, RENT is about love and how you should give into it and let it give in to your emotions even if it isn’t the most realistic option,” Todd said. “The AIDS epidemic is a major part of the plot, which gives it an edgier feeling.”
The topics presented in this production will most likely spark conversation within the UMD community and hopefully raise awareness regarding these subjects that are more often than not brushed aside, Gepford said.
“I think the show will raise awareness for topics such as homosexuality and AIDS because the show brings an openness to these topics,” Gepford said. “As an audience member you have to let yourself take it all in. People who are seeing these things on stage for the first time will hopefully be able to learn something about it.”
According to the cast, RENT is not a musical that could get its point across with the addition of censorship. Everything is out in the open.
“Presenting this production will be a great way to have many of Maryland’s students exposed to new material,” Todd said. “It will be great to show entertainment that is completely without any censorship. Just to warn you, the F-bomb will be dropped more than once.”
Wrightson Dawson, a senior finance major, plans on seeing RENT this coming week. He said he saw the feature film version when it came out, which made him want to see the stage version of the production on campus.
“The movie got a lot of publicity and recognition for its portrayal of these issues, which I think is a good thing,” Dawson said. “In today’s society there are so many subjects that the media is scared to touch. RENT pushes that fear aside. I’m very excited to see it.”
According to many theater majors, the university tends to stick with classic presentations and that the production of RENT is much different than other show presented at CSPAC.
“If we get a positive response, which I hope we will, UMD will take that into consideration and let us do hipper shows and not just stick to the classics,” Todd said. “The whole show addresses that we live in this world where some of these things are seen in a negative light and they shouldn’t be.”
The Maryland community will witness the intriguing performance of RENT from Oct. 21 to Oct. 28 in the Kay Theatre at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.
All RENT shows are sold out, however, patrons have to option to wait in a standby line 30 minutes prior to the show where returned tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.