Rent in Milwaukee: A Quick Review
Oct. 27th, 2007 06:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arqueeteQuick review of Rent matinee today:
Cast:
Roger - Heinz Winckler
Mark - Jed Resnick
Collins - Anwar F Robinson
Benny - John Watson
Joanne - Onyie Nwachukwu
Angel - Kristen-Alexzander Griffith
Mimi - Jennifer Colby Talton
Maureen - Christine Dwyer
Mark's Mom and others - Hannah Shankman
Christmas caroler, Mr. Jefferson, pastor and others - Devon Settles, Jr.
Mrs. Jefferson, woman with bags and others - Mimi Jimenez
Gordon, the man, Mr. Grey and others - Corey Joseph Mach
Steve, man with squeegee, a waiter and others - Dustin Brayley
Paul and others - Tim Ehrlich
Alexi Darling, Roger's Mom and others - Jade Hicks
Heinz is nothing special. Gorgeous voice, but odd for Roger -- there's nothing rock about it. Very pale, no tattoos. He dropped a line in One Song Glory.
Heinz and Jed in Happy New Year, strangely enough... hello UST. There was some line, I don't remember where it was, where Roger was snipping at Benny and he went over and put his hand on Mark's shoulder and sat next to him and Mark kind of put his head on his back and I was like... omfg. And there was an intense eyesex moment in Rent. Srys.
Jed is much better than when I saw him last. I mean, he wasn't bad before, but before he was so... not... notable. Now he seems much more comfortable in the role, and with camera-humping abound he's managed to bring some unique little aspects toward it. Last time, when we got to Halloween, I was strangely startled -- it was like I had never really noticed Mark before then. This time, it was like... you knew him.
Collins was good, excellent voice. I was totally crying in the reprise. I noticed that he never said the 'it's over' after Contact, there was just a very long pause and then the eulogies started. He also sort of spoke some lines that he should've *sung*, I thought. He and Kristen were cute together.
Benny was unnotable.
Joanne was probably the weak link this cast. A lot of people were talking about her having a bad lisp, though I didn't really notice -- she didn't really demand my attention. I did notice that some high notes in Tango: Maureen were weak enough to almost not be there.
Kristen as Angel was good. Excellent Contact solo. His voice was a little whiny at times, but it wasn't bothersome. His Today 4 U was good but not exceptional, I was more impressed by the little things he did when he wasn't in the spotlight.
Jennifer as Mimi... after having to sit through Arianda Fernandez last time, oh my God, what a relief to have a Mimi I can like. She was probably one of the stronger ones in this cast. Her Out Tonight wasn't very exceptional, but her Another Day was pretty awesome, as was her Goodbye Love.
Christine as Maureen was okay. Her Over the Moon wasn't too notable, but her Take Me Or Leave Me was awesome. Her Maureen wasn't really ditzy, just... easily distracted. And she flirts with everyone else, but in like LVB B and Happy New Year, her face lights up so much when she thinks Joanne has come back to her, and when she gets turned down, she looks very genuinely hurt -- she was able to sort of sell the relationship to me that way.
Corey as Gordon/Mr. Grey/etc. looks like he's 12. Spring Awakening needs to get ahold of him. His Mr. Grey was odd because he was acting the part well... he just looked like a highschool nerd more than a buisinessman as he was doing it.
Mimi Jimenez was someone both Mom and I remembered afterward because she looked so out of place as the bag lady. She's rather pretty and the stage makeup only helps that and she looked much more like she just stepped out of a store with those bags than is living on the street with them. Her solo was amazing.
No one else was particularly worth noting.
Generally, my experience was a hundred times better than my first time seeing the show. This cast was overall much stronger, and though the chemistry wasn't amazing, it wasn't really lacking. It also helped, I think, that I was sitting in the first row -- not only is a view amazing, but I was sitting surrounded by people familiar with the show (I could tell by their pre-show chatter) so the atmosphere was much kinder. There was some guy in the back who would like, whistle at Mark tango-ing and shouted "YEEEAH!" at the SoL solo, and it was sparse enough to not be obnoxious but instead sort of loosened up the atmosphere. This time I was also incredibly more connected to the show emotionally -- I was totally tearing up at Will I? and Your Eyes, and crying at ICY (Reprise). I sort of feel like I can finally put the disappointment of last time behind me.
Cast:
Roger - Heinz Winckler
Mark - Jed Resnick
Collins - Anwar F Robinson
Benny - John Watson
Joanne - Onyie Nwachukwu
Angel - Kristen-Alexzander Griffith
Mimi - Jennifer Colby Talton
Maureen - Christine Dwyer
Mark's Mom and others - Hannah Shankman
Christmas caroler, Mr. Jefferson, pastor and others - Devon Settles, Jr.
Mrs. Jefferson, woman with bags and others - Mimi Jimenez
Gordon, the man, Mr. Grey and others - Corey Joseph Mach
Steve, man with squeegee, a waiter and others - Dustin Brayley
Paul and others - Tim Ehrlich
Alexi Darling, Roger's Mom and others - Jade Hicks
Heinz is nothing special. Gorgeous voice, but odd for Roger -- there's nothing rock about it. Very pale, no tattoos. He dropped a line in One Song Glory.
Heinz and Jed in Happy New Year, strangely enough... hello UST. There was some line, I don't remember where it was, where Roger was snipping at Benny and he went over and put his hand on Mark's shoulder and sat next to him and Mark kind of put his head on his back and I was like... omfg. And there was an intense eyesex moment in Rent. Srys.
Jed is much better than when I saw him last. I mean, he wasn't bad before, but before he was so... not... notable. Now he seems much more comfortable in the role, and with camera-humping abound he's managed to bring some unique little aspects toward it. Last time, when we got to Halloween, I was strangely startled -- it was like I had never really noticed Mark before then. This time, it was like... you knew him.
Collins was good, excellent voice. I was totally crying in the reprise. I noticed that he never said the 'it's over' after Contact, there was just a very long pause and then the eulogies started. He also sort of spoke some lines that he should've *sung*, I thought. He and Kristen were cute together.
Benny was unnotable.
Joanne was probably the weak link this cast. A lot of people were talking about her having a bad lisp, though I didn't really notice -- she didn't really demand my attention. I did notice that some high notes in Tango: Maureen were weak enough to almost not be there.
Kristen as Angel was good. Excellent Contact solo. His voice was a little whiny at times, but it wasn't bothersome. His Today 4 U was good but not exceptional, I was more impressed by the little things he did when he wasn't in the spotlight.
Jennifer as Mimi... after having to sit through Arianda Fernandez last time, oh my God, what a relief to have a Mimi I can like. She was probably one of the stronger ones in this cast. Her Out Tonight wasn't very exceptional, but her Another Day was pretty awesome, as was her Goodbye Love.
Christine as Maureen was okay. Her Over the Moon wasn't too notable, but her Take Me Or Leave Me was awesome. Her Maureen wasn't really ditzy, just... easily distracted. And she flirts with everyone else, but in like LVB B and Happy New Year, her face lights up so much when she thinks Joanne has come back to her, and when she gets turned down, she looks very genuinely hurt -- she was able to sort of sell the relationship to me that way.
Corey as Gordon/Mr. Grey/etc. looks like he's 12. Spring Awakening needs to get ahold of him. His Mr. Grey was odd because he was acting the part well... he just looked like a highschool nerd more than a buisinessman as he was doing it.
Mimi Jimenez was someone both Mom and I remembered afterward because she looked so out of place as the bag lady. She's rather pretty and the stage makeup only helps that and she looked much more like she just stepped out of a store with those bags than is living on the street with them. Her solo was amazing.
No one else was particularly worth noting.
Generally, my experience was a hundred times better than my first time seeing the show. This cast was overall much stronger, and though the chemistry wasn't amazing, it wasn't really lacking. It also helped, I think, that I was sitting in the first row -- not only is a view amazing, but I was sitting surrounded by people familiar with the show (I could tell by their pre-show chatter) so the atmosphere was much kinder. There was some guy in the back who would like, whistle at Mark tango-ing and shouted "YEEEAH!" at the SoL solo, and it was sparse enough to not be obnoxious but instead sort of loosened up the atmosphere. This time I was also incredibly more connected to the show emotionally -- I was totally tearing up at Will I? and Your Eyes, and crying at ICY (Reprise). I sort of feel like I can finally put the disappointment of last time behind me.
