For the first time in a long time, the Theater Department at USM has had back to back sell-out shows with Rent. The Chairman of the Theater Department, John Warrick, was astonished at this and even said with a smile on his face, “I don’t know what to do.” Rent at USM was, by far, one of the best shows from the Theater Department and, arguably, from Broadway.
Rent is a play originally written by Jonathon Larson in 1995, loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Boheme. Rent tells the story of unwealthy and homeless artists living in New York with the HIV/AIDS pandemic running wild.
Mark (played by Sawyer McLeod) tells the story of his as well his roommate’s struggles in the impoverished world in which they live. Roger (played by Bennett Forrest) is trying to write a song before he becomes another person who dies from AIDS. Roger’s intentions are interrupted by Mimi (played by Jennifer Diaz), a new girl to New York who is Benny’s ex-lover.
Benny (played by Michael Morrison) was Roger’s and Mark’s old roommate, but is now their landlord and the protagonist of the play. Mimi becomes Roger’s lover, but is always out late and using drugs. Mark’s ex-lover Maureen (played by Emily Classen), who is now dating Joanne (played by Hillary Scales), is putting on a performance about the struggles of the homeless artists in New York, much to the dismay of Benny.
Angel (played by Jamiaus Marion) is the center point of the play and the embodiment of love. When Angel dies, the tightly knit group separates, but is then reconnected in Santa Fe.
Rent is a wonderful play with a wonderful meaning. It originally was performed in small theaters that allowed for nearly everything and anything to be shown on-stage. However, when it entered the world of Broadway, the script and setting had to be cleaned up a little. At USM, however, the director decided to portray the scenery and setting closer to the original writing than the Broadway version. It was grungy and trashy. Literally, there was trash on the stage.
The comedy sent people rolling, while the serious, heart-wrenching scenes left even some of the toughest men in tears. The play vividly portrayed the underlying message of same-sex relationships and the HIV/AIDS pandemic of the 90s. Having AIDS himself, Larson truly understood the troubles facing this horrible disease.