As commercial interests pushed into the crevices of an already congested city, and the AIDs epidemic ravaged a free-spirited community, the early 90s in New York’s East Village saw the end of an era. What was once a diverse mix of artists and activists, ethnicities and classes, became the latest cash-cow for property development. Amidst this backdrop of social and urban decay, a community of squatter’s lives intertwine as they share triumphs in art, friendship, addiction and love.
Highway Run’s production of the modern musical classic Rent is an ambitious production which demonstrates the birth pains of a fresh production company struggling to find its niche. It’s an energetic and well intentioned production that should generally please, but it suffers from a meandering vision that doesn’t do justice to the darker themes of the play.
Performances vary across the 14-strong cast. Linden Furnell as Roger is a bit too cool for school. His rock-star swagger hints that he is more musician than performer – and his soulful voice proves it. Lauren Hunter’s voice, although pretty, suffers some projection and control issues. Her performance is oversimplified with sexual energy and neglects the complexities of Mimi’s character; the result is a heavy-handed treatment of a stripper which is symptomatic of unrestrained male direction. Standout performances include Chris Scalzo, who nails one of the most difficult parts in the play as self-assured, yet sensitive Angel. Laura Bunting is fiery, crazy fun as Maureen. Casey Donovan’s voice had the entire audience on the edge of their seat during a show-stopping solo, and the chemistry between Bunting and Donovan as the Alpha Female couple is one of the most enjoyable dynamics on stage.
It was disappointing, however, that there has not been any consideration given to the importance of ethnicity in casting the role of Mimi. Originally written as a Hispanic character, the juxtaposition of heroin junkie stripper Mimi and newly sober Roger highlighted an important social issue – that for a poor, non-white woman working in the sex industry, there are a lot more barriers to overcoming a drug addiction than for a middle class white man. This important subtext was also true to the diversity of Alphabet City, where wealthy white hipsters rubbed shoulders with the original Hispanic inhabitants. Mimi and Roger should have been a symbol for breaking down racial barriers, however in casting white, blonde Hunter as Mimi, all this nuance is lost.
Similarly, the rendering of Angel’s character, originally a transgender woman, has been watered down by costume so now she appears as simply a camp gay man. Whilst one must respect creative license, this production looses something in the homogenization of a character who was written originally, on all levels, as larger than life, and death. Even Scalzo’s heartbreaking performance can’t give back the visual poetry of seeing a trans woman brave enough to be herself in the height of the AIDs panic. In light of recent trans bashings here in Sydney, this point was especially pertinent.
The production as a whole suffers from a genericism on all levels that does a disservice to a story that is meant to celebrate diversity. The synth-heavy music is painfully dated and sounds more like a corporate video than an grungy rock musical. The generally brilliant Musical Director Andrew Worboys has surprisingly missed his mark by a wide margin. Is this a case of too many cooks in the kitchen, as there are not one, but two Assistant Musical Directors (Tina Harris, Steven Kreamer) credited? The sound mix fluctuates in quality, at times drowning out the vocals. Andy Dexterity’s choreography, which incorporates dance with sign language, although fascinating to watch, is unmotivated story-wise, and gives the choreography a preppy glee-club aesthetic (jazz hands!). Costumes are styled for a fashion shoot rather than eclecticism, and together with a cast who look like they just stepped out of a David Jones catalogue, the overall effect is a disconnect between the dark, grungy themes of the story, and the glitzy, glamorous and superficial rendering of this production.
Despite being ill conceived, it is nevertheless pleasurable to watch if not approached with a critical lens. It’s hard not to enjoy watching beautiful people singing and dancing, especially when they are this enthusiastic, and though criticisms of how the story was approached are many, this production of Rent is likely to please most audiences on an aesthetic level at least.
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Rent
Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson
Director Shaun Rennie
Musical Director Andrew Worboys
Choreographer Andy Dexterity
Lighting Designer Ross Graham
Set Designer Lauren Peters
Costume Designer Georgia Hopkins
Sound Designer Jed Silver
Casting Director Lisa Campbell
Starring Laura Bunting, Casey Donovan, Linden Furnell, Loren Hunter, Stephen Madsen, Nana Matapule, Matthew Pearce and Chris Scalzo with Denise Devlin, Josh Gardiner, Jack O’Riley, Monique Sallé, Kirsty Sturgess and Chloe Wilson
Hayes Theatre, Potts Point
8 October – 1 November 2015
