Rent

The story is compelling but the music is unforgettable. Loved this show.

I could go on all night about Rent. It’s my new favorite musical (sorry How to succeed!)
The Pluses
Mark: ACTING GOLD
Roger: Not as good as the rest, but nice.
Angel: Man, you can SING!
Collins: Awesome all the way around.
Cons
Maureen, Joann, Mimi: They weren’t horrible, but they were the three most noticed stinkers
Loud talkers in the back.
I could see this 525,600 times and not get tired.

I’ll begin by saying that I love RENT. I saw it on Broadway six or seven times and loved it each time, so I had high expectations when it opened off Broadway.
While the story was there, I felt like the overall production was very amateur and the casting was lazy. There were obvious limitations with the small stage and the sets used the space to the best advantage but it felt too crowded.
The standouts were Roger — who could have been on Broadway, Mimi and Joann.
Mark, Collins and Maureen were atrocious. I also think that too many creative liberties were taken, especially by Maureen.
If you missed RENT on Broadway, I recommend experiencing this version but if you’re hoping to recapture the original magic, skip it.

Five hundred twenty-​five thousand Six hundred minutes is the amount of time I could spend watching this show…
I was very impressed with the cast, the venue (love the smaller theater), the raw emotion of the story etc… I didn’t have the benefit of seeing the much larger production on Broadway, which many of the other reviewers appeared to have preferred, but I can’t imagine I am missing anything…

Small theater at the New World Stages, off-​broadway. The stage was half the size as I’ve ever seen the show performed, and was 3 levels high to accommodate the production. It didn’t leave a great amount of extra room for full dancing numbers, and even though my excellent seats were 2^nd row center (which I was so excited about), I actually had a semi-​obstructed view for seeing the whole 3^rd level clearly, especially center and stage right. I felt cramped, as everything was shoved in (and up) to accommodate the large cast and settings.
ANGEL (MJ Rodriquez) was amazing and stole every scene he was in. The ensemble added some very special moments, especially vocally. And while MARK (Josh Grisetti), ROGER (Justin Johnston), and MIMI (Genny Lis Padilla) have way more talent than I’ll ever have — they were good, just not as great as the other performances I’ve seen.
So, honestly, the worst overall production was still amazing. As a veteran to seeing RENT (12+ times), and an undeniable RENTHEAD… it’s like chocolate cake, it can never be bad. I still teared up at the same moments, clapped at the end of each scene, and sang several songs for days after.
Performance: 7÷7÷2012 @2pm EST

Great rendition! Songs get stuck in your head for weeks!

2.5 stars for their performance on Apr 19. I loved it when I was on Broadway — the highlight being when Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal came back.
Stellar:
— Nicholas Christopher as Tom Collins.
He is NOT my favorite character, yet Collins came across as a pure, sweet guy.
— Ensemble: Hilarious, tough, touching. Hit all the notes.
— Band
Although Mark missed his cue on «Another Day», the band recovered smoothly. You probably wouldn’t have noticed it if you hadn’t seen it before.
OK:
— MJ Rodriguez as Angel. Over the top drag, a little too much for me, but hilarious none the less. This is his big stage debut!
Not hot:
— Actors not playing instruments (Angel’s drumming and Roger’s guitar).
When has this not been a requirement for the character? Roger, in particular, needs to work on his guitar playing. He has only 2 riffs, both which are played VERY poorly.
— Justin Johnston as Roger.
I agree with a previous reviewer — whose idea was it to put him in this role? The biggest turn off was that HIS PANTS WERE SO TIGHT I could see everything. Hello, I don’t need to see the curves in your thighs! Also, his vocals were too low on «Another Day» and he was completely overshadowed by Mark.
— Arianda Fernandez as Mimi
Sorry, not a fan, especially in «Out Tonight». Mimi looked like a crazed lady preying on Roger! Her eyes, plus her wild actions, made her look completely nuts! It killed any chance of a romantic connection with Roger in the later scenes.

Love this show — very good for an off-​broadway production.

I’ve seen Rent numerous times on Broadway so I’m a big fan, though this particular production/​cast/​venue is closer to a 3 rating than 4, but I’ll give them the benefit of the songs and storyline.

ahhhhh-​mazing.
I’ve never seen the movie/​musical, so I don’t have something to compare it to, but it was an amazing first musical experience! The venue (New World Stage) is surprisingly a good size even though it appears small on the outside! My friends and I got seats in the Mezzanine and it was perfect because we got a good view of the whole stage and cast. I think any seat you get, you would get a good view! Perks of a smaller stage.
The ensemble delivered an amazing, emotional story, & being right in New York, I felt their story. I have to admit, they made me tear up a couple times :”(I got a deal off
, so def recommend that site!
Currently, I have the Rent songs running on youtube… =)

Just saw this show on Sunday. I saw it about 10 times on Broadway, but this is not at all the same. Towards the end of the Broadway run things started to get lazy… the performers knew that the show was coming to an end, it had thousands of performances, it wasn’t selling very well… it felt tired. I guess that same laziness carried over to the Off-​Broadway revival.
It was pretty obvious that they were trying to change things up from the original version. I don’t know whose idea it was to cast Justin Johnston as Roger. He was great as Angel, but he definitely represents the character of Roger poorly. Sad, because that’s my favorite part in the show.
Also, I feel like they tried to incorporate new things into the show, even though it obviously takes place in a specific time frame. It was all wonky, I couldn’t get into. Also, Maureen! If you have those sick pipes that you showed off in «Take Me or Leave Me», why did you totally cop-​out on «Over the Moon»? That really sucked.
Eh. C– at best. The best part was the understudy for Mark who we saw filling in. Great job to you. Also, Benny and Tom were really good, but Tom was kinda over the top. I feel like he didn’t actually know the tune to some of the songs and instead just riffed the crap out of everything. Ugh.

3.5 stars…
I’m not a theater/​musical kind of guy so this review is just coming from a straight guy in his 20s who knew nothing about Rent and had only been to 3 musicals before (Lion King, Tarzan, and Avenue Q). Rent has had a ton of revivals over the years and is now in an off Broadway theater at New World Stages. It’s a 1996 musical centered on the lives of several characters the early 90s. The show has several themes but is primarily about AIDs, relationships, and the quality of life living in the LES. Although everything can be applied to life today, NYC has changed drastically in the last two decades so it’s not nearly as relevant as it once was. Anyway the acting was good, the set was cool, the singing was great, and it was a decent show overall.

LOVE LOVE LOVE RENT. I’ve seen in 5 times. Best musical out there. Music is great, show is enjoyable, characters are well developed. You won’t be disappointed.

My boyfriend and I went to see the Saturday night show. I’ve been a huge fan of rent for years and this show did not disappoint. The cast is amazing and loved the intimate venue! The cast brought the show to life and their voices were great. I would recommend this show to anyone who’s ever loved Rent!

Saw the show during Off-​Broadway Week Promo on Feb 2. I would not recommend this performance to anyone. Rent is my favorite musical of all time and this was like watching a high school performance of it.
I have seen the original version twice on broadway and seen the movie several times, so I had the expectation of a similar experience going in, but I was sorely disappointed.
To detail, the character of Mark was one of the most annoying voices I have heard in a while –both speaking and worse singing. He has no tone control and was off pitch dozens of times. Unlike another review, my thought towards Roger was an ok performance –decent voice, but off pitch a few times. Mimi was out of condition with one of the weaker voices in the cast and could not do some of the difficult sections justice at all. Fortunately some of the lesser characters were more talented, but overall just mediocre. None of the actors really evoked the characters they were playing. Everything felt forced and kitchy.
The other big issue was the sound system. While the stage was fairly nice and the room decent, the sound levels were not done to the best quality, so some vocals were blaring above others and sometimes drowned in the mix.
If you have never seen the show, I suggest you just rent the movie, as you will get a much better performance and really enjoy the best of how great the musical is.

Amazing show!!! My favorite show of all time on Broadway!!! This off Broadway show copies the exact 1^st show on Broadway which I saw!!! AMAZING!!! My favorite Broadway show of all time!!!

A group of us decided to try for the lottery last night for the off Broadway version of Rent at the New World stages. And thankfully, two of us got picked, so all of us got to see it.
And after seeing it, I so want to give this production more than 3 stars. And I can honestly say it’s borderline to 4 stars. And here is why:
The sets are a modernized version for Rent. I was very impressed with how they put it together, and how thing rotated for different scenes, which I thought were cleverly done.
The cast, well, here is the breakdown:
— Mark (Adam Chandler — Berat) — was amazing. Easily comparable to any of the other Marks I have seen on the Broadway version.
— Roger (Matt Shingledecker) — is the reason I cannot give this show more than 3 stars. Now, physically, he fits the role. The hair, and the costuming. Acting wise was a bit hit or miss. And his singing was inconsistent. Flat most of the time, when this role demands high vocals during the show, especially during the duets with Mimi.
— Mimi (Arianda Fernandez) — Out of this world. Sexy, playful and this girl can SING! By far one of my favorites.
— Angel (MJ Rodriguez) — Definitely one of the best Angels I have seen. He/​She was phenomenal. Sassy, MJ delivered this role with attitude! LOVED it. Oh, and his costumes were outstanding. BRAVO!
— Tom (Brandon Victor Dixon) — was great with his role. His acting was superb. Again, another one that reminded me of the Broadway version.
— Maureen (Emma Hunton) — by far one of the most entertaining Maureens I have seen. She was hilarious. And got the entire audience Mooing!
— Joanne (Corbin Reid) — One word — FIERCE. Another actress that performed very well vocally. Still makes me love the Tango Maureen scene.
— Benny (Ephraim Sykes) — This boy can DANCE! So good to see him on stage and at times kept our attention on him!
Overall, a good show. Very clever innovative version of the Broadway version. Again, if it weren’t for the vocals of one of the main roles, I would have certainly given this production higher marks.
Would I go see it again? YES. And I anticipate them improving on the Roger role!

i was so happy to hear the Rent was back. I saw it twice when it was on broadway years ago and maybe i had too high expectations.
it was OKAY and it really deserves 3.5 stars but the second part was redeemed the show.
the characters were the same but the actors were okay.
the story gets a little lost in translation because the LES is now a hip and happening place.
i do recommend this show though. especially for those who saw the original… was nice to go down memory lane.