MCCC’s rock musical Rent captured the hearts and attention of its audience on the stage of Kelsey Theatre during the weekends of April 5 and 12, 2024. This masterpiece by Broadway playwright and composer Jonathan Larson, who died of a heart attack before its first production, is based on the 1996 opera La bohème by Giacomo Puccini.
The musical highlights a year in the life of a group of young impoverished artists struggling to survive in the early 1990s East Village of Lower Manhattan, all while trying to make each day count as they live under the shadow of the AIDS epidemic. It is a story that mixes grief and passion with a powerful soundtrack including the familiar classic “Seasons of Love.”
Tyann Sells, director and MCCC alumni said, “This place is very close to my heart and I’ve always wanted to direct something at Kelsey, so when Jody offered me the opportunity, I was very very excited!”
Jody Gazenbeek-Person, MCCC’s Theatre Professor and Dance Coordinator, and choreographer and producer of the show said the choice to do Rent for the spring musical was an easy one. Gazeenbeek-Person said they are celebrating 10 years with their husband this year, and they met because of Rent.
Gazenbeek-Person said, “I met him because of the show, so why not do Rent again? So there’s a little bit of a romantic reason to the choice, but we also get something fresh and modern!”
“Fresh and modern” was delivered with this interpretation of Rent. Reba Dell’Angelo, a deaf actress with two cochlear implants, auditioned in American Sign Language (ASL). Gazenbeek-Person adored the idea, and the two collaborated to incorporate it into the show.
Dell’Angelo said, “I presented it to [the directors and choreographer], and they were on board. I was really amazed at that open-mindedness to showing ASL in Rent. It makes sense with the diversity in the show.”
She continued, “I’m really grateful for that opportunity to be able to show people how songs are presented in ASL.”
In addition, the April 7 matinee had a fully ASL-interpreted performance, with interpreters Alwyn Baskin, a Mercer ASL professor, Lisette Ortiz, and Beth Applebaum working together to each sign specific characters for the audience while Amy Snyder-Dietz stood in the audience giving cues to the interpreters.
Rent tells the story of Mark Cohen, an aspiring filmmaker, Roger Davis, a tortured songwriter, and their fellow starving artist friends in the 90s attempting to survive the freezing winter after Benjamin “Benny” Coffin III, their newly rich landlord and former roommate, turns off their heat and lights after they did not pay rent. As if that was not bad enough, Benny’s cruel father-in-law wants to kick out all the inhabitants of Tent City, the homeless population on Avenue B on the street below.
The permanent set was like little kisses of New York blown onto a stage. The fire escapes, inner-city apartments, graffiti art, and subway signs let the audience know they had stepped into a story taking place in the big city.
Surrounding the border of the stage were what looked like ticket strips, displaying relevant images such as the red AIDS awareness ribbon and skyscrapers. As a fun attention-grabber, whenever one of the main characters’ parents called them and left a humorous voicemail, the lights in the theater house would turn off, and a traffic light lit red would come down.
During the matinee show on April 7, at the beginning of Act I, a 16-year-old boy and brother of one of the cast members had a seizure in the audience. The performance was immediately halted and the lights turned up.
A nurse was seated a few rows ahead of the boy and his family, and was able to render immediate care until an ambulance arrived soon after, and the boy was taken to the hospital.
After the show, Gazenbeek-Person provided an update to say the boy was in stable condition and would be going home shortly. The directors and crew reacted quickly to the situation, keeping the audience still while making sure the medical emergency was tended to.
Once the area was clear, the cast went on with the show without any faltering in their performance.
Rent is a sung-through musical, so anyone cast must have a strong set of lungs and solid acting chops to keep up with the demands, and this team met this task with help from Vocal Director Matthew Johnson.
For Jermaine Terry, a resident of Bordentown, this was his first show since coming home from the military. Terry was radiant as Mark Cohen, with astounding vocals and a jovial presence.
Terry said, “My favorite thing about Mark is that he is a storyteller, so he’s kind of the eyes behind what’s going on. He sees everything. He understands what’s going on. Even though he might not necessarily say it, he’s still the joy of the friend group.”
Shawn Simmons was a marvel as Roger Davis, switching facets between a heartbroken ballad writer and a man who finally starts to see the light at the end of the tunnel again, staying in perfect pitch the entire time.
Zlatin Ivanov, a second-year Theater major, embodied Benny Coffin III, reminding the audience through his unique voice and quick wit that he is not the villain he seems.
Ivanov said, “It always brings the freshness into the stage, always brings the audience like, puts them on their toes. Like, ‘Whoa, look, Benny is there, something is going to happen,’ because every time Benny is on stage something important happens.”
Lisbeth Burgos as Mimi Márquez was delightful, with a combination of bubbliness and grit that is comparable to actress and singer Rachel Zegler.
The character Maureen is a cheater, a liar, and a drama queen, but everyone in the story falls in love with her. This makes sense with Rachel Ash in her role, as her swoon-worthy stage presence and sweet tone command the room.
Trinity Miller as Joanne Jefferson was a powerhouse, reflected in her soulful vocals and radiating confidence.
Daniel Montero was charming as Tom Collins, with his unique, raspy tone shining in Act II”s “I’ll Cover You (Reprise).”
But it was Nicholas LaRussa who stole the show as Angel Dumott Schunard—the singing, the dance moves, and the acting made for a captivating trifecta in every song sung.
The ensemble pulled all the pieces together, with a variety of voices and talents adding flavor to each scene. There was clear collaboration between all the cast members, both on stage and backstage.
When asked her opinion about the show, MCCC student and audience member Vanessa Quijano said, “Since I did not really know what the play was about in the first place, I was a little bit confused following the dialogue in the songs. Maybe that was just an issue of vocal projection. But after a while, it was pretty straightforward and everything fell where it needed to be.”
She continued, “It was both beautiful and chaotic, and just eye-opening. You get to peel back a layer in society that’s normally overlooked.”
Rent at the Kelsey Theatre was a phenomenal piece that breathed new life into the show decades after its premiere.
PHOTO | Mary-Simone Collazo
PHOTO | Mary-Simone Collazo
