Forget regret. Or life is yours to miss— no day but today… and tomorrow, Sunday, and next weekend. Those are the chances you have to see Rent at The State Theater of Havre de Grace. Directed by Patrick Yarrington & Lauren Vitalo, with Musical Direction by Anthony Vitalo, and Choreography by Karlie Burnham, this production of Rent is textbook true in its presentation to Jonathan Larson’s original vision. Strong cast, strong moments that percolate in the background, and an overall sense of understanding for the time and setting of the show are just a few of the many reasons to make the trek up to Havre de Grace and catch this production.
Grungy graffiti is all the rage for the Rent set, designed by Jared Noe, which is otherwise simplistic and functional. The metal scaffolding and the elevated risers off to the front of the stage’s apron (which naturally appear to overhang the underground tunnels that lead below and to the backstage area of the stage) are the key focal points for action. It gives the gritty vibe of Alphabet City in the early 90’s while allowing for the different compartments of space— the squatter’s apartment, the protest lot, the Live Café etc.— to exist on their own without an overt amount of furnishing or extra scenery. Patrick Yarrington layers a great amount of 90’s rocker-vibe lighting over the different musical numbers (including some freaky electric rainbow laser swipers at one point) which heightens the show’s aesthetic.
Alongside co-director Lauren Vitalo, Yarrington focuses on a lot of silent but momentous background occurrences. There are several of these hidden gems that feature Mimi and Angel, which give Mimi’s eulogizing moment true weight and a sense of being earned and authentic when she delivers it. Overall the pacing is smart and barring some microphone issues (which can be chalked up to the theatre being primed and used predominantly as a concert venue and a learning curve of adjustments to switch aural focal points from concert to musical theatre performance) the production is a very strong one, loaded with honest chemistry, earnest feeling, and some strong choices made by talented performers.
There are some musical issues with the production; Musical Director Anthony Vitalo is attempting to ambitiously allow Lucky Marino (playing Roger) to live-play a lot of Roger’s guitar features and then switch over to canned music to follow the songs through to completion. The concept is there (and Marino does a pretty solid job of playing the guitar live on stage) but the execution is clunky. There is also a little bit of a disconnect with the pre-recorded music in the sound system not syncing with some of the performers’ moments in song. While most of the actors on stage can catch these moments when they happen (some even getting very clever with their breathing and articulation to either speed up or slow down to catch the music) there are a few more noticeable moments where this is not the case. And while it doesn’t detract from the production as whole to the point of making it unenjoyable, these moments are noticeable (and potentially fixable.)
With the cast comprising their costumes (assisted by the production staff), there are some wildly unique aesthetics that cross the stage all throughout the production. Angel’s vivacious blue-velvet, flare-sleeved, fur-trimmed holiday dress is stunning and she moves in it like an ice-skating princess. Mimi’s electric-lime-thigh-high-vinyl boots makes you want to commit a crime. Particularly when paired with the baby pink tie-wrap robe she throws over the rest of her outfit just prior to belting out “Out Tonight.”’ Cow-spot pants on Maureen— while not unusual— are a nice fit, and the overall inobtrusive grimy look of the ‘streets of New York’ worn on everyone else fits the bill for the performance. Mimi probably ends up in the most outlandish costumes— except for maybe Angel’s polka-dot kimono-robe-dress for “Happy New Year.” The cobbled together, ‘found’ nature of the show’s sartorial selection draws you into the verve of the show in a most authentic way.
With a talented ensemble of eight (Allie Beerman, Kori Cheatham, Maggie Dennis, Nick Epps, Gabe Gonzalez, Julia Rodney, Meg Smith, Mo Tacka) the ensemble numbers come together with power and reckoning. Choreographer Karlie Burnham keeps the dancing to somewhat of a minimum, save for the actual tango during “Tango: Maureen” and the table-shuffle of blissfully organized chaos during the first rendition of “La Vie Boheme.” There is a great deal of choreographed movement all throughout the performance and Burnham displays a keen working knowledge of the scaffolding structure, the two overhanging riser platforms as well as the possible entrances to the stage. (There’s even a scatter-flood” moment during the opening titular number that has the ensemble throwing posters all over the front of house audience.) The ensemble take up multiple roles each, often appearing as the homeless individuals on the streets of New York. When Kori Cheatham goes on the offensive/defensive at Mark during the empty-lot-filming sequence just prior to “Santa Fe”, her New York accent is frightfully prominent, reminding you exactly where this show is set.
The standout soloist of the ensemble is Nick Epps, who plays a homeless character, as well as Paul the leader of the Life Support Group, the tweaked-out waiter just at the top of “La Vie Boheme” and the bitter preacher in a brief scene in the second act. Epps is given one of the “Seasons of Love” solos (Cheatham has the other) and really blasts his glorious sounds clear out the docks of the Susquehanna River some blocks away. With a vivaciously over the top personality as that spastic waiter, Epps showcases his performative versatility by cooling down into a composed character for his moments as Paul. With a voice that blends when it is supposed to and radiates resplendence when it’s featured in solo, Epps could readily be named the featured ensemble member trying to ‘Sutton Foster’ his way to a leading part.
Equally balanced in vocal talents to the ensemble are the eight principal performers. Lucky Marino, Dominic Santos, Gabe Webster, Adam Kurek, Caitlin Ponte, Moses Scober, Katie Noe, and Holly Walter as Roger, Mark, Collins, Benny, Joanne, Angel, Mimi, and Maureen, respectively. There are dozens of little moments peppered throughout the performance where a grouping or a couple get to share these little interactions— and not even main-focal interactions— that ground the play in this deeply rooted reality, cultivating the notion that this is real for them. When they sing together, they share this unifying vibe of emotions that just spreads like a wave out over the audience, washing theatergoers in their joy, their pain, their pleasure, their sorrow; it’s impressive. While the Benny character (Adam Kurek) isn’t overly featured— let’s face it, he’s the ‘be-gone’ outsider— you get to see a nicely compacted character arch and shift in Kurek’s performance which does not disappoint on either end of the arch.
One of the most remarkably joyous features in this production is the honest twitterpated chemistry expressed between Collins (Webster) and Angel (Scober.) They giggle and smile and you can almost see these little bubbles of bliss sparkling back and forth between them when they dance and sing together. While “Santa Fe” is cheerful and uplifting with the pair singing alongside Mark (Santos) it’s the very next song, “I’ll Cover You” where you get a true flavor of just how much fun these two are sharing. Webster and Scober are bursting with this unwavering glee that burbles between them in an honest way. Both are talented of voice and facial expressions. Scober as the ‘Angel’ sound (that so many of us associate with the original cast recording) and just sashays all over the stage with exuberance. Webster takes a slightly more grounded approach—finding the balance of head in the clouds with feet on the ground. Drawing deep into the wells of his emotional reservoir, he evokes intense feelings of pain and sorrow, really bringing hard, ugly tears to the eyes, when he goes for that “I’ll Cover You (Reprise)”. There aren’t enough praises for the pair of them— both their versatility and capabilities are astonishing in this production.
Joanne (Caitlin Ponte) and Maureen (Holly Walter) have a completely opposite sense of chemistry. Theirs is a volatile, sexy, tempestuous chemistry that’s like an incendiary bomb constantly erupting every time they interact. Ponte might be the first Joanne (and I’ve seen a good dozen now) who when she says “hey, hey, hey” to Maureen on the phone in the opening sequence, actually sounds like she’s attempting to get her girlfriend to calm down, stop shouting, and explain the problem. (It seems like such a trivial thing to point out but it’s so astonishing to hear it actually delivered that way after so many years and so many different actresses doing it differently across time.) Walter is your typical Maureen and yet makes it her own entity, particularly when it comes to slurping from the swollen utters of Elsie during “Over the Moon.” The pair have powerhouse vocals that they send to war with one another during “Take Me Or Leave Me”, belting each other’s faces off with such intensity that you really feel like they might just blow a mic.
Where does one even start with Roger (Lucky Marino) and Mimi (Katie Noe.) In yet another vein of differing chemistry (and maybe that’s the beauty of Rent, that you get these three sets of couples, all of whom have these insanely intense relationships, but all of whose relationships are vastly different from each other), you get all sorts of sensational things happening. Noe, as the youthfully naïve and yet equally gritty Mimi, is not afraid of her body, those scaffolding poles, or those electro-puke boots (which might just be getting hated on for personal reasons of extreme jealousy.) When it comes to belt-wailing her face off, Noe holds her own, as demonstrated in “Out Tonight.” The strikingly odd and yet simultaneously beautiful think about Noe’s Mimi is the way she delves into “Without You.” Yes there’s a sorrow, even a palpable regret, but it’s the notion of addiction and disease that crawls through her singing in this number that is so surprising. It almost leads one to interpret the song with the notion that ‘whether you’re high or not— life keeps going.’ It’s truly stunning and a surprisingly refreshing take on the number.
Lucky Marino as Roger is not trying to channel Adam Pascal nor would you want him to, based on the Roger he’s crafted. It’s definitely a unique take on Roger but one that really fits into the wheelhouse of this production unit. There’s something unhinged about this presentation of Roger, you can just see it seething and festering, right beneath the surface of Marino’s Roger, like he’s possibly still battling with addiction, even though the character indicates that is a part of his past. It’s wild to see this almost deranged quality surface quite frequently in Roger, particularly when he blasts back at Mimi during “Another Day.” With hearty rocker-scream vocals, Marino brings this edge of living-regret directly into Roger’s veins and it makes his story that much more authentic, and his baggage that much more visible. You get this again when he mouths off at Mark during “What You Own.”
Another ‘joy of little moments celebrator’ is Dominic Santos in the leading role of Mark. During “Halloween” they deliver that half-spoken-half-sung line of “…why are entire years strewn on the cutting room floor of memory? When single frames of one magic night forever flicker in close-up on the 3D Imax of my mind…that’s poetic. That’s pathetic.” And there is something indescribably about what happens to Santos’ voice, to their face, to their body language as they’re delivering and actively processing that line that just slams the chest in this breathtaking fashion. It’s disarming. The whole sum of Mark Cohen exists in that micro-second of Santos’ delivery of this character on stage and it’s insanely profound. Santos is also taking their own direction with the character of Mark. While the vocals are incomparable, smooth and buttery, robust and plentiful, there is an over-the-top flamboyance that Santos brings to Mark which at first felt off-putting, but the more they cultivate the character on stage, the more this choice sticks and works. It almost reads as if being dumped by Maureen (not a spoiler, it gets introduced as an immutable fact almost immediately at the top of the show) has caused the Mark character to question his own existence, sexuality, and overall relationship with relationships, leading him to live his life out-loud as more of his true self. And this juxtaposes divinely against the “becalmed Mark who hides in his work and detaches.” It’s a bold and almost unheard-of choice, but one that really serves this performance and overall this production extremely well. Santos also adds some real moments of levity to the Mark character with this approach to the character.
Ultimately a feel-good, cathartic experience that will give you ‘all the feels’, Rent at The State Theater of Havre de Grace is well-worth catching over these next two weekends.
Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
Rent plays through September 11, 2022 at The State Theater of Havre de Grace— 325 St. John Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. Tickets are available at the door or in advance online.
