“The Pulitzer Prize winning rock-musical by Jonathon Larsen, based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, changed the face of musical theatre forever. The emotionally stirring story follows a year in the lives of a community of young artists, all struggling to live and celebrate life in New York’s East Village.”
It’s not often that one will see a production of this quality at a non-profit, community theatre. I was blown away by everything about RENT at The Company Theatre. There were many instances where I questioned whether or not this was a professional production.
With a cast of both local and country-wide talent, RENT’s important story was told through actors with a true understanding of what musical they were performing. And with RENT’s cult-following (even in Norwell, MA,) it’s good that they did. The set design mirrored the actual RENT set, littered with random objects, towers, and staircases, and the actors did a wonderful job using every bit of it.
The cast is made up of Ken Bayliss and Joel Maki as Roger and Mark, Joe Rucker Jr. gave a wonderful performance as Tom Collins, John F. King as Benny, Sara Seals and Jen Kenneally as Joanne and Maureen (Their “Take Me Or Leave Me” was simply fantastic), Emerson College grad Shawn Verrier as Angel (a challenging role, played with passion and an appropriate sense-of-humor), and Charisse Shields as all-over-the-place Mimi. Rounding out the company was no one who should go unmentioned in such a tight ensemble cast was Ryan Barrow, Bethany Boles, Darren Bunch, Dan Delaporta, Jessie Mullen, Mikayla Pachucki, A. John Porcaro and Tracy Silva.
Stage direction by Zoe Bradford and Jordie Saucerman, and Musical Direction by Michael Joseph rounded out this excellent production.
If you’ve never seen a professional production of RENT, The Company Theatre’s production in Norwell, MA is a very good place to start.
RENT plays through April 18th at The Company Theatre in Norwell, MA. For more information, visit them online at www.companytheatre.com, or by calling 781-871-2787
