RENT Plays on in Minneapolis

RENT had a fantastic run on Broadway and just wrapped up a whirlwind yearlong final bow on the road tour with two of the founding members of the show Adam Pascal and Antony Rapp. However if you thought that when the curtain dropped on the final night of the traveling tour that this would be the last you heard of "Seasons of Love" you were wrong. Minneapolis has been graced with another formation of the famous musical.

The local opening was February 3^rd and the show runs until February 21^st with tickets still being available. My advice when deciding if you want to go or not is to go. Rent truly is a timeless musical that was revolutionary when it was written with the subject matter that it took on and still is today. Rent was inspired by Puccini's classic opera "La Boehme", which is coincidentally opening March 6^th at the Ordway. RENT went on to win the 1996 Pulitzer Price for Drama, the Obie and the New York Drama Critics Circle away as well as producing three Drama Desk awards and four Tony awards.

Now I am sure you are asking yourself as you read why I would want to see this show again. Well the answer to that is simple because this production of it is essentially different from the Broadway or touring versions of the show. Moreover, by making it different the shows Director and Producer Andrew Rasmussen has made the entire show feel new and fresh while still sharing the core messages of the show. The entire lobby of The Lab theatre has been turned into a little slice of bohemia inviting you to come in out of the cold artic weather that has gripped Minneapolis and wrap yourself in among the friends and characters of the show. Rasmussen has seen to using his theatre space in the best possible way by creating a stage that has the audience furled around it. Gone is the traditional seating with an audience that sits below the stage and looks up at the backdrops, with the innovative shape of the stage the actors can interact better with the viewers. As a result, depending on where you are seated each audience member will have a completely different RENT experience.

The cast is as full of variety as the bohemian characters they play, Paris Bennett (Ensemble) is a former contestant on American Idol, and Harley Wood (Roger) is the rock solid lead vocalist from local Minneapolis band Far From Falling. While Maria Isa (Mimi) is a hip-hop grounded performer who played to a sold out crowd at the iconic First Avenue. But if you are a traditionalist to the theatre don't fret there are members of the cast with musical theatre experience Kinaundrae Lee (Angel) starts off those with that experience followed by Reid Hermsen (Mark) who has preformed at The Children's Theatre and Jamecia Bennett (Joanne) who has graced the stages of the Guthrie, Penumbra and Ordway Theatres.

Therefore, weather you are a hard core rent head or a new comer to the play take yourself out to this local production of the show. You are guaranteed no matter your age or experience range with the production to enjoy this new take on the classic RENT. One never knows when the last show might be so make sure you get to take part in the experience.