Rent

There is no doubt that RENT is one of the most famous musicals of the last twenty years. Two of the lead principals, Roger and Mark take to the stage for this epic rock opera in what appears to be a warehouse conversion of a flat. Roger sports a Fender guitar and begins to tune as they fire away into what is quite simply entitled ‘Tune Up”. “December 24th 9pm eastern standard time…” sings Mark Coen, the film enthusiast filming Roger pointing his 8mm camera at Roger. What’s in store is two hours of such craftsmanship musically, from the late Jonathan Larsen, who takes us, the audience on such a rollercoaster ride, following the stories of young artists trying to make ends meet in the Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The caliber of these performers is so high, already in the first act, some of the most memorable hooks, which set the tone for the rest of the musical. The first full cast number “RENT”, is an up tempo guitar driven song, which musically dances around a number of keys, whilst this well trained cast deliver a sporadic performance fuelled with angst, not to mention the harmonized guitars in the middle eight of the song. It is evident that there are a variety of influences in this score, with “Tango: Maureen” sporting a ‘bossa nova’-esque vibe, accompanied by plenty of humour throughout. In musicals, film music, and operas, there is key feature called a motif, a small melodic sequence that will come back around throughout as a variation, whether it’s in a minor key instead of a major key the second time, or whether it is sang by another cast member or played on a different instrument. This happens in the final song, ‘Finale B’, where (spoiler alert), Mimi has a near death experience and the cast comes together to sing all of these motifs in one song, in the space of about two minutes. Somehow it encapsulates the entire musical, leaving the audience feeling all kinds of emotions. Definitely worth the watch!