When Jonathon Larson s musical
Rent opened on Broadway 25 years ago it was exactly 100 years after the opera on which it was loosely based, Puccini s
La Boheme, opened in Paris. Alas Larson never got to see that opening, as he suddenly died of an aortic dissection the day before first preview, now 25 years ago to the month. That extraordinary tragedy rather shaded that of his story, in which the tuberculosis that afflicted Puccini s Mimi is replaced with New York s AIDS epidemic.
The musical doesn t romanticise the bohemians, it satirises their lifestyle.
Credit:Prudence Upton
The relevance to a modern mask-wearing audience is blinding, yet the show s impact is muted. Partly this is because Larson let too many songs slip into his sung-through musical that were anonymous and generic, especially in Act One. The other flaw, shared between Larson and director Shaun Rennie s production, is that we aren t made to care sufficiently about the lead characters to empathise with either t
And then Benny (Tim Omaji), who in this production canât quite bear to leave his friends behind in a way that feels redeemable, brings everyone together. He was once known as âTimomaticâ, the home-town star of So You Think You Can Dance, and you better believe he breakdances (Luca Dinardoâs choreography is a small and consistent pleasure). By the time we settle into the traditional arrangement of the song, and ensemble member Marissa Saroca takes the vocal line that makes your heart expand, you canât help but be in love with these artists and the community theyâve built together.