Rent is celebrating its 30th anniversary and lucky for us its back London on a West End stage, and as expected it’s brilliant and fantastic.
Having been performed on the London stage several times, this story, a rock musical as an updated version of Puccini’s opera La Boheme where young people in nyc’s Lower East Side live in poverty, illness (HIV), while at the same time managing relationships and with no money. Jonathon Larson (who wrote this masterpiece but who unfortunately died the night before previews in 1996 in NYC), has imagined a potpourri of characters that are a reflection of its time. From the opening number where Roger (Travis Ross) is strumming his guitar alongside his roommate Mark ( a very good Gaten Matarazzo), to the title song ‘Rent’ sung by the entire company – we are hooked. Then we get introduced to Mimi (Alexa Lopez) – Roger’s future girlfriend – where they both sing the memorable ‘Light My Candle’, – to the relationship between Angel (Jeevan Braich) and Benny (Joaquin Pedro Valdes) where Braich gets to show his chops in the song ‘Today 4 U.’ We get so involved in the characters lives and loves (and especially the songs) and trials and tribulations and we know we’re going to be affected as the virus takes hold ……
Does Rent live up 30 years later? Yes it does thanks to its fantastic cast, and overall production – thanks to director Luke Sheppard and Choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves). Everything about this version of Rent is spot on – I got chills from almost every song sang – all very similar to the original production which I saw in 1996. Booking is on until May 2027, and there are 90 seats on stage that will make you feel like you’re a part of the cast. Long live Rent!