London Musicals 1995-1999.pub - Over The Footlights

RENT
London run: Shaftesbury Theatre, May 12 th
(614 Performances)
Music, Lyrics & Book: Jonathan Larson
Director: Michael Greif
Choreographer: Marlies Yearby
Musical Director: Dave Adams
Cast: Anthony Rapp (Mark Cohen), Adam Pascal (Roger),
Krysten Cummings (Mimi), Wilson Jermaine Heredia (Angel),
Jess L Martin (Tom), Jessica Tezier (Maureen),
Jacqui Dubois (Joanne), Bonny Lockhart, Angela Bradley.
Songs: One Song Glory, Light My Candle, I Should Tell You,
Tango, Maureen, I’ll Cover You, Over the Moon, Seasons of
Love, Without You, Your Eyes, La Vie Bohème
1998
43
Story: Based loosely on Puccini’s opera “La Bohème”, the
action is narrated and literally recorded by Mark Cohen, a filmmaker
on the rebound from a broken relationship – his girlfriend
Maureen has left him for a lesbian relationship with Joanne. The action takes place from one Christmas to the
next in the shabbiest of lower Manhattan tenements, and the characters include Roger, an HIV positive
songwriter who wants to make a significant contribution before he dies of AIDS; Mimi, a heroin-addict dancer
working in an S&M club; Angel, a drag queen and his lover, Tom. They are threatened with eviction from
their slum tenement because their landlord, Benny, wants to sell the building to create a cyber-studio. In spite
of the many deaths, the extremes of rich and poor, happiness and exploitation, loyalty and betrayal, the overall
message is that friends can be alternative family.
Notes: This show had opened with a six-week off-Broadway try-out in February 1996. Sadly its composer,
Jonathan Larsen died of a heart attack, aged 35, on the night of its final dress rehearsal. He did not live to see
its Broadway premiere in April, followed by rave reviews, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, three Tony and several
other awards. The show ran for 5,124 performances. The London production received very mixed notices. . .
“saccharine, ghoulish stuff”, “ moments of a yearning, tentative, lyrical love”, “the finale and the musical itself
will haunt me beautifully”, “a cracking good show with some terrific songs”, “Being rude about “Rent” is a bit
like drowning a cuddly kitten, for the show is so desperately determined to be cute and winning, with every
sexual minority slickly catered for”. The London production ran for a year and a half.
Photo by Nobby Clark