Critic’s Notebook: No Day Like Yesterday, On a Not-So-Live ‘Rent’
Review
“Tonight’s show is in mortal danger due to technical difficulties.”
Well, yes. That’s show biz. This uncannily prescient line of dialogue from hipster/narrator Mark (a blandly ingenuous Jordan Fisher) underscored the unprecedented-for-TV dilemma faced by Fox’s Rent revival when its other leading man, Brennin Hunt as a smoldering Roger, broke his foot toward the end of Saturday’s dress rehearsal (thankfully also performed in front of an enthusiastic live audience).
In an instant-replay variation of “the show must go on,” Fox opted not to go live on Sunday—except for the final 15-minute act (with Brennan’s cast-enclosed foot propped on a chair)—instead airing the “previously recorded” video of Saturday’s dry run. Unlike a real Broadway show or Busby Berkeley musical (see: 42nd Street), there were no standbys or understudies.
And while the result was a respectable version of the late Jonathan Larson’s irreverent and heartfelt ’90s pop-rock opera (with a few lyric tweaks for broadcast purposes), the electricity and adrenaline of a truly live performance was often lacking. Muddy sound and muted vocals left the impression that many in the cast may have been holding back for the actual opening night—the exceptions being Brandon Victor Dixon’s passionate Tom Collins and Vanessa Hudgens as rowdy activist Maureen—whose combative love duet (“Take Me or Leave Me”) with Kiersey Clemons‘ Joanne was a high point. (Nothing, however, could rescue Maureen’s performance-art number “Over the Moon,” a show-stopper in the most literal and negative sense.)
RENT: L-R: Tinashe and Brennin Hunt in RENT airing Sunday, Jan. 27 (8:00-11:00 PM ET LIVE/PT TAPE-DELAYED) on FOX. ©2019 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Kevin Estrada/FOX
The towering multi-tiered set, enveloping an audience on bleachers and in a mosh pit, was impressively immersive, with scaffolding reminiscent of NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar special. But the sprawl could make the action hard for all but the most die-hard Rent-heads to follow, and overly busy swirling camerawork added an extra layer of unnecessary chaos.
RENT: L-R: Tinashe, Mario and Vanessa Hudgens in RENT airing Sunday, Jan. 27 (8:00-11:00 PM ET LIVE/PT TAPE-DELAYED) on FOX. ©2019 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Kevin Estrada/FOX
A theme of mortality haunts any production of Rent, starting with its fabled opening in 1996. Larson died just before his show launched off-Broadway to raves and ultimately global blockbuster status. The impoverished characters in his East Village rendering of La Boheme struggle with HIV and drug addiction. So while it was chilling at times to watch this taped version with the foreknowledge that disaster was looming for its star, there’s also an argument (made often on Twitter) that Fox might have produced a more memorable Rent if it had adopted the spirit of Larson’s work and confronted this setback head-on, going truly live with Hunt performing seated.
When the show went live in its final act, there was an injection of emotional clarity and energy that had heretofore been missing. The climactic introduction of Rent‘s original Broadway cast for a jubilant reprise of Seasons of Love added to the what-might-have-been vibe.
Kiersey Clemons
Brandon Victor Dixon
Jordan Fisher
Vanessa Hudgens
Brennin Hunt
Mario
Tinashe
Valentina
Keala Settle
Bryce Ryness
Alton Fitzgerald White
Emerson Collins
Jennifer Leigh Warren
Matt Saldivar
Debra Bardona
J. Elaine Marcos
Jessica Lee Keller
Robert Roldan
Darius Crenshaw
Khori Petinaud
Lenin Fernandez
Mia DeWeese
Nicholas Lanzisera
Sasha Dominique Mallory
William "Ty" Wells
Benjamin Douglas Rivera
Morgan Marcell
Frederic Odgaard
Alexis Evans-Krueger
Hannahlei Cabanilla
⨁Full Cast & CrewConversation16 Comments
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G
I had never seen Rent before this, and having watched that crud, I feel I still have not seen it. They did zero to make the plot more understandable for newbies, and I was lost plus bored throughout. Some of the singers were very good, but overall the show was a big disappointment. That Over the Moon thing was embarrassing to watch. Huge thumbs down!
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G
Rent is a modern-day version of the opera La Boheme by Puccini. The plot follows a group of friends living a bohemian life in Paris in the 1800s. Rent replaces tuberculosis, which plagued much of Europe, with the plague of the 80s (HIV/AIDS).
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B
Having seen the original show on Broadway (with the original cast) and other productions over the years, I'd give the TV version an B-. I agree that some performances seems off, no doubt because some of the actors weren't giving their all. With that being said, I enjoyed the new aspects they incorporated for the show. No, it didn't stick with the original staging, but that was the point. No doubt, when Rent returns to Broadway some day as a revival, it too will have a slightly different feel than the original. With that being said, there is one aspect I disliked a lot. The constant screaming and celebrating by the audience felt akward at key times doing the performance and that was unfortunate and took us away from the message Larson was trying to tell. I also didn't understand why they changed the wording to include the year 1991 in the dialog. Would love to hear what other people have to say.
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C
Having never seen the show on stage or film, I wouldn't have had any idea what it was about if I hadn't read the basic plot points ahead of time, and it was largely due to the people (mostly women) in the audience screaming, whooping, and screeching whenever one of the stars entered or started their songs.
I've noticed the same thing on some episodes of SNL where someone in the audience was so loud I couldn't hear the monologue or lines in the skits.
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G
Rent is just the opera La Boheme set in NY in the 80s. Larson based the plot and even character names on La Boheme, replacing tuberculosis as the disease killing everyone with HIV/AIDS.
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G
Larson completed writing Rent in 1992 so it is possible that his original work included references to 1991.
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C
The only thing I know about La Boheme is that there's a seamstress named Mimi who's dying of consumption.
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G
And she lives in a building where a writer named Rodolfo (Roger) lives with his friends Marcello (Mark), Colline (Tom Collins)and Schaunard (Angel). She comes by one night when her candle burns out and asks Rodolfo to light it for her and they fall in love. The landlord, Benoit (Bennie) comes by to collect the rent and Rodolfo and Marcello refuse to pay. Mimi and Rodolfo split up and are reunited in the final act when she is found dying on the streets and is brought to Rodolfo and Marcello's loft. She dies and Rodolfo holds her and mournfully cries her name as the curtain falls. Unlike in Rent Mimi does not suddenly recover.
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C
I guess you wouldn't expect a serious opera to have a really happy ending, would you?
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G
Actually I think it's against the law.
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G
If you want that electricity and spark then go see it live on stage. You'll never get that from a televised version, live or recorded. The very fact that you are watching it delivered as a flat, two-dimensional production on your television negates that spark you wanted. The type of theater experience you thought should be there can only be experienced live...as in live and in person rather than "live" broadcast on your television screen.
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G
Which is what I discovered when I saw my first Broadway play, Pretty Woman the Musical, last October!
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G
There is nothing like the live theater experience, whether it be on Broadway, a national touring company or even a regional theater group.
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C
Wow! I find that hard to believe! I saw my first B'way show when I was still in high school.
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G
Before that I did see some regional production of musicals as well as some high school plays...
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C
I'm glad to hear that. I was beginning to think you'd grown up in a movie theater and never got out much. 😉
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