Penny Presents... RENT - Opening this Friday @ Tom Mann Theatre

There are so many RENT threads on this site - and the production which stirs up more emotion than almost any other musical is about to open again in Sydney! Can't wait. It's been too long!!! Does anyone know anything about the cast and crew of the upcoming production? I've googled, but it seems inside information is required. Looking forward to reading reviews, and seeing the show, and hearing if anyone knows anything about it...

Their Mimi - Caitlin Street - was Gypsy Rose Lee in CMS's "Gypsy" a few seasons ago. Really strong voice and looked very nice in "Gypsy"

For details of performances and cast go to www.pennypresents.org. We hope you all come to see it!!

Their Roger, John Hogan, played Will Parker in CMS's Oklahoma, alongside Caitlin Street as Ado Annie. Saw them play Roger and Mimi today - fantastic chemistry! Someone has done a great job in casting this show.

All of the profits go to the AIDS trust of Australia. What an excellent charity! And we love performing knowing we're going to help make a difference :) Please come along!

rent was fantastic i recognised some of the cast member's studied at variouse performaing arts courses from ed5 to nida, penny presents it not amature theater its not profesional theater yet it's charity theater, there shows are perfect for people who are ex profesional's and any perfromer who want's to do stuff for the greter good , it truly is the next step up from amature theater,

The Girl Who Played Joanne I think it was Annette someone. Was absolutley AMAZING!!! I couldn't keep my eyes off her when she was on stage, her stage presence was great and her voice was something else I was so amazed especially in the first song of Act 2 woah what a register!!!! Well Done GIRL!!

may not be profesional, some parts of the show were on equal with a profesional production's

Penny Presents – RENT – by Jonathon Larson Sunday 14th October, 2pm performance RENT is one of those shows… something that people either love or hate, and the nuances of interpretation can make all the different between a terrible and a great performance. The current production of RENT, by the profits-to-charity amateur society, Penny Presents at the Tom Mann Theatre in Surry Hills has a fresh interpretation, strong cast, and emotional depth not often matched in amateur theatre. The story opens (as we all know) “December 24th, 9pm, EST” on the standard looking 90s East Village set – scaffolding upstage, band stage right under it, and the table in Mark and Roger’s apartment downstage centre. The set is unspectacular, but completely functional – after all, RENT should be a showcase for a strong cast, not an exercise in frivolity by a set designer. However, special mention should be made of Angel’s Christmas tree – which is all junkyard charm. Whether a production is going to be a success or not rests largely on the shoulders of the two men in the apartment at the opening of the show. Mark – played less strongly than one would like, but with pizzaz by Luke Murphy; and Roger, played by John Hogan. John is the standout of the pair – with an incredible look, and a voice to match. These young men portray the desperate friendship of Mark and Roger with unusual strength: Mark’s coddling versus Roger’s rigid isolationism. The vocal duels of the title song and “What You Own” in Act Two are really well balanced between anger, angst, and redemption. Although why on earth are they both standing still for the latter? Roger’s showpiece comes so quickly after the beginning of the show that it always takes me by surprise. John manages to skilfully avoid the plagues of “whinging Roger” (which is a constant burden, because as we all know, Roger spends quite a lot of the story whining about his lot in life), but rather delivers "Glory" with lots of emotion and true notes throughout. John’s interpretation of Roger goes from strength to strength, vocally, dramatically and emotionally throughout the show, culminating in (what appeared to be), genuine tears in 'Your Eyes'. Even that so-tragic-that-it’s-corny “Nooooo!” as Mimi is brought in at the close of Act II was delivered with believable pain. (My theatre partner burst into tears at this point this afternoon). After 'Glory', and a problem with a sound cue (the first of a few, unfortunately), we get our first glimpse of Mimi in 'Light My Candle' – and she is certainly no disappointment in this production! In fact, the undisputed stars of the show are the girls – Mimi, played by the sultry yet fragile Caitlin Street; Maureen was brought to life with real skill by Penny Horsfield; and the straight-laced lesbian lawyer, Joanne, was belted out by a buxom brunette, Annette Vietta (who sadly stepped aside after today for the second Joanne of the company – who has an extraordinary act to follow). The gorgeous Ms Street vamps her delectable backside into Roger’s life with a vocal performance which would be at home on any professional stage in the country. But moreover, the required chemistry (which has been often lacking in both amateur and professional productions of RENT in NSW) between these leads is palpable. Their attraction to each other boils off the stage, and makes the audience truly ache for these sad, mixed up characters to end up together. It is a spark that none of the other couples on stage come close to matching, and the whole show is worth watching just to see these two young actors relate. After 'Candle', the audience is treated to the most beautiful Angel ever to grace a stage – Jayr Tinaco. Many of the audience at interval (the more gullible ones, perhaps) were convinced that Angel was not being played by a man! But Jayr sparkles, shimmies and smiles his way into the heart of a convincingly smitten Collins (Ed Mafi). It was a shame that for this performance, Jayr’s voice was showing the strain of a full weekend of shows as some of the expected harmonies in 'I’ll Cover You' were not delivered. Jayr seemed a little unsure of a few entries, but without a conductor, these problems will always happen. One weak spot in this couple was the costuming of Collins – Mr Mafi looked washed out and was in great danger of fading into the background in a horrible beige combination – some rescue work on this point would be appreciated!! Our first real chance to hear the belty voice of Joanne comes up in 'Tango Maureen'. I must confess, the staging feels clunky in this segment. The individual tango type movements are an effective metaphor, but they commence at the beginning of the song with no real motivation. With more forethought here (perhaps the fiddling with the equipment is tango-fied, moving then into a proper separated tango, then to the neat couple work at the end), this scene would have been much more effective. As it was, Mark struggled with the more powerful voice of Joanne (yet another example of poor sound work from the desk here), but his utter “Markiness” carried him through. The ensemble cast begins to make its presence felt with the initial 'Life Support' Meeting scene, although standing on the upper scaffold platform was not terribly well thought out. There are a collection of heads which are half-in, half-out of lights, as well as this high position drawing attention to the hanging lights on the upstage lighting bar. Although theatregoers are aware that they are at a theatre, and not playing voyeur in the East Village, small touches such as this interfere greatly with the suspension of reality for an audience to really get into a show. The ensemble has an eclectic mix of actors, and characters - all physical sizes, and all voice standards. This was a refreshing and probably more accurate rendition of the street dwellers in NY than seen in other recent productions. In general, the ensemble provided good vocal support to the leads, and all ensemble soloists coped well with their moments. Special mention should be made of the choreography – particularly the 3-piece dancing bums in 'Santa Fe'. I don’t think any of the audience watched Collins, Mark or Angel at all during this number – all eyes were on the bums! Sadly, the ensemble suffered from inadequate sound support (is there a theme emerging here?), particularly for the solo lines in the full cast numbers. After 'Life Support', the pace speeds up into the brilliantly delivered double act of 'Out Tonight' and 'Another Day'. The only disappointment in 'Out Tonight' was the lack of the traditional blue pants for Mimi. At the very least, if the pants cannot be managed, there should have been a more spectacular costume change – but Mimi appears here in her street clothes from earlier: something more appropriate would’ve given the scene a further touch of sauciness. Mimi’s dance was of the normal ilk, but very well performed. Parts could have been raunchier, but in general it was a worthy rendition. As Mimi approaches Roger for the kiss between these two songs, Roger did convincing job of looking slightly petrified, yet greatly keen on the idea. The smooch was quickly forgotten in his completely venomous delivery of 'Another Day'. Roger is bordering on schizophrenic as he moves between denial of his attraction and screaming out his self-righteous diatribe in this number. Strong support from the rest of the cast makes this piece one of the best in the first act. The ensemble shines further in the 'Will I' round, which slides neatly into 'Santa Fe' and 'I’ll Cover You'. After the disappointment of Collins’ costume, I admit to not expecting much from Mr Mafi, however there is a richness in this voice which is reminiscent of the spectacular Jesse L. Martin. Collins’ greatest moment comes up in Act Two at Angel’s memorial, and there were quite literally tears all over the place – on stage and off, as Ed sang to farewell his love. The power and emotion in the song was (sadly) not at all reflected in any physical chemistry between the pair, but with the quality of Collins’ voice I got the feeling that so long as he was singing, anyone would be happy to be with him forever! And what is RENT without that awfully cringe-worthy performance piece? Actually, it would be marvellous. Although I see so much theatre, I abhor the need which directors and casts seem to have to make an audience feel “involved” through audience participation. If I wanted to participate, I would have auditioned, thanks all the same. However, the performance of Penny Horsfield as Maureen was utterly flawless. From clear, pure, sung tones, perfectly pitched monologue, snarky, sexy attitude, and evocative hand movements, I had absolutely no qualms whatsoever about mooing with the rest of the cows in the audience. Maureen presented fabulously every moment on stage, and when coupled with her very natty Joanne, the power of these two women seemed unstoppable. Again (sadly), there was no physical chemistry between this pair, but they were committed to their characters, and were convincing none-the-less. Outstanding. The showstopper of RENT is, to my mind, 'La Vie Boheme'. Although lacking the melodic charm of 'Seasons of Love', the power of the 'Act 2 finale', or the downright passion of the title song, 'La Vie Boheme' is one of the cleverest moments in modern musical theatre. The lyrics are all Sondheim, with more than a small tribute paid to the patter-songs of Gilbert and Sullivan. In Penny Presents, it was clear that every member of the cast was having the time of their lives. The lyrics were delivered cleanly, and the choreographed movements by the table sitters were very effective. Benny (played with not quite enough attitude by Larry Ruiz) smarmed his way around the diners, taunting their ideals, but never quite gave the vocal or dramatic performance that I would expect from this role. Occasionally, this song did not live up to my expectations – some moments were far too contrived. The traditional move of having Mimi humping Angel was not well executed. It took Mimi far too long to get into position for what was clearly going to be the “dildoes” line. The power of that word and that move is in the shock value – yet, when Mimi is made to spend 3 or 4 lines clambouring on, that impact is completely lost. The Director should have refined this clunky and clichéd move and found something more innovative. The “Dorothy and Toto” line, by contrast, was a clever piece of staging, which worked very well. Sandwiched between 'La Vie Boheme A' and 'B' comes the resolution to the first Act romance, with Roger and Mimi brought together at the AZT break. Again, where on earth was the sound effect for this moment?? Vocally sound, although you could hear both actors were tiring, and Roger maintained a little too much anguish to be convincingly romantic. Once 'La Vie Boheme B' took off around them, though, Roger and Mimi put on the most sensual display I have seen in live theatre. The small touches, and smiles were electric. When Mark delivers his “Mimi and Roger, oblivious to all this…” he had never spoken a truer word. At this performance, Mimi and Roger’s sharing of a “small lovely kiss” resolved considerable tension; there was a flurry of feminine murmurs, and blokes shifting in their seats around the theatre as the Act came to a close. ACT 2 REVIEW TO FOLLOW....

It's wonderful to hear all this great feedback about our show. Thanks to everyone who has seen it so far. We have 4 performances left. go to www.pennypresents.org for ticketing info. Cheers and beers

Penny Presents – RENT – by Jonathon Larson Sunday 14th October, 2pm performance ACT TWO After a pleasant break in the Sun, listening to fellow theatregoers discuss whether Jayr was male or female (male), whether Roger and Mimi were an offstage couple (apparently not), and whether the sound was going to get any better (most disappointingly not), a very fortunate but sadly small audience trooped back in for the Act II. I had a horrible few moments at the beginning of ‘Seasons’ thinking that the promise of Act I was not going to be realised when the lights that were extremely slow to come up. Fortunately, the lighting overall was superior to the sound, although several changes were slow – particularly in ‘Goodbye Love’. Perhaps the slow-light was an intended effect, but if so, it was overplayed – leaving several neighbours whispering comments about whether there was a technical problem. But, Saints be Praised, the lights did come up, and the second Act outshone the first for emotional intensity and theatrical togetherness. I’m not sure what the cast were doing during interval, but they should keep doings so! The full cast pulled together like a well rehearsed jazz choir to deliver a tight, secure and very satisfying rendition of ‘Seasons of Love’. Here, I was disappointed to note that Collins did not make the reach for the upper octave for his solo segment. From his earlier moments, I presumed these were not too much of a stretch – and the presentation down the octave caused some enunciation difficulties: it would have been beautiful to hear it up higher. However, this was counterbalanced by fabulous vocal gymnastics from Joanne. Perhaps Ms Vietta was giving it everything for her final rendition, and perhaps she was going the extra mile for family or friends (there certainly was a lot of cheering), but either way it was a performance the outshone several of the recordings in my collection. ‘Happy New Year’ is part of the story which encompasses the full principal line up, but this show’s performance was seriously hindered by a tempo which made it difficult for the leads to get all the words out – and would have impacted on the understanding of the story for anyone who didn’t know the show. It may be that the piece was played unusually fast in this performance, but its impact was lessened as a result. After another strong showing from the ensemble – particular mention to all the answering machine players, who made the most of smaller roles with detailed characterisation and good vocal (accent) variation – the all girl power duet of ‘Take me or Leave me’ received deservedly huge applause. The vocal clarity of these women, and the utter absorption of both characters in the rightness of their own arguments was very convincing. There was true tension in the voices, and the delivery, with the slapping of hands on the table, and the insinuation of Maureen up Joanne’s leg were truly entertaining to watch. From ‘Take Me’, the show took flight due to the sheer emotional investment of the full cast. The story from here on in gets darker and more angsty, and the cast delivers this convincingly – yet, there’s a real glimmer of interior strength from the stage. It is something that doesn’t turn up often in amateur theatre: where the cast seems to have an awareness of each other, a sense that although they are telling a tragic story, they are not a tragic people. It was disappointing that this experience was not shared by a packed hall! The pace changes completely between ‘Take Me’, and ‘Without You’. Mimi’s interpretation of this was superior to any recording. ‘Without You’ is musically not an interesting piece – it is repetitive, and can often be in an awkward spot in a singer’s range. Yet, Ms Street carried this piece (with sometimes strained support from Roger) and presented it engagingly. Although quite physically distant on stage, this still carried well as a duet, but Roger again ran into the problem of being on the raised platform and competing for head room with the upstage lighting track. The audience was in for a huge treat with a fresh and erotic interpretation of ‘Contact’. Thank goodness a Director was brave enough to ditch the awful sheet routine, which has added so little to so many performances!! There were simply too many good bits to be able to take in everything in ‘Contact’. Vocally, this was a weak spot. It seems the unusual decision to not pre-record the cast for this track was made, and consequently the vocal delivery suffered as the cast (understandably) got distracted by what they were all busily up to. It is possible that the audience wouldn’t have heard most of the words had they been sung, however – this one was too much of a visual feast to bother too much with listening! Although ‘Contact’ is primarily about Angel and death, it was not good stage placement to have Collins and Angel in a position where they tended to block some very interesting antics by the various dancers. The piece on the whole, though, was very smoothly choreographed (if it wasn’t choreography, then the cast is having entirely too much fun!), and particular kudos must go to the planner of this section. Although an intended progression in the original production, the change from raunchy ‘Contact’ to the heartbreaking Memorial for Angel always feels too abrupt. It was slightly disconcerting to notice the elevated breathing and mussed up hair of the leads as they took their places around the grave. The grave, unfortunately, was again not all that well thought out. In a venue with non-tiered seating, placing a sheet on the stage floor and expecting all the audience to notice it, and moreover be emotionally engaged to the significance of it, is a mistake. I only noticed that the grave was there at all as I saw the stage crew place it – and I spent time being distracted by wondering whether any of the cast were going to step on it once the movement started again after the ‘I’ll Cover You (Reprise)’. As mentioned earlier, Collins’ performance of his farewell to Angel was phenomenal. With the sobs, and tears, there was considerable tension from the auditorium wondering whether he was going to be able to get through the song, yet when he opened in that rich, controlled Bass-Baritone, interspersed with further shatteringly sad breaths, the audience (and cast) lost it. We grieved for the beautiful Angel with Collins and his friends. This sort of engagement is unusual – particularly when you are familiar with a show – yet the tears flowed freely. Bravo! Jarring against the wonderful strains of I’ll Cover You, the final disintegration of the “family” of leads occurred with outstanding and convincing rage, pain, bitterness and heartbreak from each actor. The screamed recriminations of all principals was a confronting display. Mark stepped up to the plate in Halloween. Although still struggling with volume (perhaps there was something wrong with his mike this performance, as the volume problem was fairly consistent), the dramatic, pained, delivery of the litany of “what if” and “why” which we all ask all our lives was exceptional. It is always particularly gut-wrenching in RENT to watch the friendship of Mark and Roger collapse. Presented as friends from before the beginning of the show, these two appear to have been there for each other through everything – the one constant in a hopelessly tenuous existence. Mark effectively poured out his fears and observations on the futility of life, only to have it all thrown up in his face by a grief-mad and insanely jealous Roger. The way these two actors tore apart the friendship was (as mentioned) unusually strong and moving. Already unsteady after the emotion of ‘I’ll Cover You’, the audience was again sent scuffling for handkerchiefs as Mimi took her turn bidding her love goodbye. The devastation in Mimi’s voice, and her frantic final attempts to communicate with Roger, before finally turning to the reality of her illness was very hard to watch: as though we were intruding on something intimate. Once Mimi has departed, the men pay for the funeral (special mention to the Pastor, who doubled with several other minor principal roles, and gave a very nice Irish lilt to his delivery in this cameo), and Collins delivers his sheepish confession on the demise of the unseen Akita (Evita). The delivery of the response of Benny to this was a light moment in a very heavy scene. Still strong from a great delivery of ‘Halloween’, Mark powered into ‘What You Own’ – commencing with a highly stylised (slightly deranged) Buzzline story introduction. Several of my neighbours winced when Mark slammed the very painful looking telephone, yet unfazed, Mark launched into his disassociated duet with Roger. Both men were, as mentioned, powerful and convincing vocally, but seemed tethered to their respective sides of the stage. Although there is the obvious need to be physically separate at the outset as the characters are in different cities, both actors tended to fall back onto repetitive movements when stuck in the spotlight. This detracted from the delivery. Once Roger is back in New York, and Collins has delivered a temporary source of income (so often you can feel the audience think “Now, if I could just do that, I’d never work again!”), it appears briefly that life if going to settle down, until the screams of Maureen and Joanne rouse the apartment dwellers for the final (near) tragedy. Perhaps finding himself in the wrong place unexpectedly, Roger practically skittered off the stage with a most unusual running style, before disappearing to deliver a devastating “Noooo!”, which set the audience off again. Roger carries in his Mimi (who should really have had a further significant costume change here), who shudders close to death in his arms after ‘Your Eyes’ – which was again a worry for the audience as the grief seemed it would be too strong to control for Roger. But, as for Collins, there should have been no worry – Roger delivered his own farewell with tightly controlled grief, rather than the fiery anger of earlier. The chemistry between this couple manifested here in acute, tangible pain. The final challenge of RENT is for Mimi to die believably, and for her to resurrect without the audience laughing. It was a challenge that this company met easily. The cough and shudder of Mimi’s demise was small and dignified, and the gradual return of her voice, and then her body to a clearly weakened state (rather than the baffling 100% recovery sometimes portrayed) was honest and touching. The audience was left with the knowledge that, although “thank God this moment’s not the last”, it would probably not be long. Yet, even this small length of time was going to be treated like a gift. The reconnection of Roger and Mimi, through the touches, and the gazes of the final sequence speaks volumes of an excellent piece of casting in this couple. The final delivery of the overall theme of the musical – “no day but today” was emphatic. You had the feeling that the cast, through their experiences of performing a show like RENT, had come to understand and believe in that catch-cry. Although there were technical difficulties (mainly sound) throughout today’s show, this did not overshadow the overall quality of the cast. There is significant talent on the stage – many of whom should seriously consider leaving whatever their day jobs are and look into theatre full time. There are still places where tightening up is needed, but in general, this production was an innovative, highly emotional and very well executed delivery of RENT. I urge everyone who can to see this show. Charitable aims notwithstanding, this is a group of people you should experience, doing a show which is a significant tome on modern life.

I had never noticed this little theatre in Chalmer street near Central railway station which is just a 5mins. walking distance from where I live. It has a really tiny stage so I assume the production designer needed to make great effort to bring this show to functioned well in many aspects. This young cast in this production is terrific, especially the actors play the characters: Mauline, Joanne and Tom. The scene of Mauline's performance for the protest for homeless is just hilarious. It was the best Maurine act in three productions ('98-99 National Production and 2006 UQ production in Brisbane) I have seen. :o) If I need to criticise about it, it would be "Today 4 U". Angel needs to be funky, groovy and acrobatic. She(he) has to have a great move. (I guess it's a very difficult role... Hope the actor improves his dance sequence.) I think I compare him to Angel's character in '98-'99 production of Rent. (That Asian actor(?) who played Angel was just Brilliant.) I also noticed the music was a bit loud in the first half of the show... it was a bit difficult to hear sometimes... but an ything else is excellent. There were so many great moments in this production and the audience praised it at the end. It's pitty there is only 8 shows in total... (4 shows left this weekend!) I highly recommand this radical musical to you if you are seeking a good entertainment this weekend. Lastly, please excuse my English writing and the way I put together badly. I am not a native English speaker and am not a musical buff these days... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfr83JBzmk4

Hi Theatre_Buff and saltwateroffshore, Thanks so much for coming along to see RENT and for taking the time to post your comments. We really appreciate your positive feedback. We've been having a ball performing for all of our audiences. We're glad that you enjoyed the show and ask that you please encourage your friends to come along as well. After all, all profits are going to the AIDS Trust!! Regards, RENT cast member

I have to declare a conflict at the outset of this review. Although I’m not a member of Penny Presents, I’ve been helping out at the shows, and have now seen 3 of the 4 performances. Oh, I’m also Roger’s (off-stage) wife. (Knew there was another connection) Having been there so much, and having heard nothing but RENT music, RENT stories, and RENT rehearsal tales for the last several months in my home, I think I’m qualified to say something about the show, and about the previous comments, too. For those who know me, I’m also tactless – extremely. Poor John (Roger) gets the complete truth (good, bad and ugly) from me about his shows! I also have musical theatre experience (mainly production) of my own – including running a sound desk (what an awful job that is!). This production of RENT is fantastic! There are some problems, yes, but you only have to watch a few bootlegs of the OBC on youtube to see that even the pros have hitches sometimes. Opening night had quite a few technical hitches, but most opening nights do! And as for sound problems, I agree that at times the cast can be hard to hear, and the band can be overpowering (My Dad switched seats on Saturday night’s performance to get a bit of distance from them), but it’s a Rock Musical, in a small venue – loud should probably be expected. The Sunday matinee had a great balance, with the band loud enough to be enjoyed, but generally being able to hear most people most of the time. Great job! After 4 shows, the cast is now really smooth. The leads are all outstanding (obviously, I have favourites!), but the strength really is in the way the whole cast interrelates with each other throughout the story. Although a lot has been made of the chemistry between Roger and Mimi (Caitlin Street) (it's quite funny what people will say when they don't know who you are connected to!!!), I certainly felt the attraction between the other stage couples also! It’s true that John and Caitlin have a great rapport – they are good friends on and off stage, and if this connection lets them play roles like these believably and with passion, then good on them. All the couples are great to watch – and the entire lot of you are realllllllly good to watch in “Contact”. (Odd, aren’t I??) Despite some really hard patches during rehearsals, and the (usual) panic close to the opening night, I think you guys are awesome, and you’ve pulled together like the community you are trying to depict. Yes, there are weaker spots; yes, there are things I would’ve done differently if I had a hand in it, but I didn’t put my hand up for any of the hard work, so why should I get a say in it now? But, putting on a show, and asking people to pay to watch it (even for a good cause) is a risky venture. And I think everyone is entitled to be respected for their views – we don’t have to agree with them! And you should take encouragement, inspiration and changes (or whatever) from any source you can. More than anything, you guys deserve a HUGE audience to witness this great show! So, I encourage anyone who reads this to COME ALONG and support the Arts, and more importantly, the AIDS Trust of Australia. The cast is young, fresh, and enthusiastic. The music is upbeat, edgy and magical to listen to. This is a production with real spirit. Proud to put my name to my opinions!! Sarah Hogan – “Roger’s” wife.

Hi.. Just wanted to reply to your comment about Angel.. I think JayR did an excellent job of Angel and i believe that he was very "funky" and "groovy" but saying that he needed to be "acrobatic" is silly. Dancing and singing at the came time is really hard, especially a fast paced song like 'today 4 U' let alone trying to use acrobatics. In other prefromances they usually pre-record this song so Angel can dance more etc, but this productions didn't get to do this so its understandable Angel wasn't doing flips on stage. Penny Presents did an excellent job with Rent, i loved watching it and thought every character played their roles really well. Thanx Angel Fan

After seeing this thread, I bought a ticket at the door last night. Awesome!!!! The gays couple - awesome!!! Guy with the glasses Matt or mark (didn't get a program) F*ckin sweet. And the Mimi girl - oh man I wanted to be the blonde guy so bad when he was all over her. So good!

I decided to go with some friends last night, and it was great. Angel could soooo dance!!! Are Roger and Mimi together or what??? I saw the Rockdale RENT and this was way better. All the singers, all the dancing - everything. RENTrules.

Geez I wish i could use big words like you... then i could tear apart what was a great overall show and nitpick at all the small mistakes. if (IF) your married i feel sorry for your spouse. in fact i feel sorry for anyone that has anything to do with you.

1) There's nothing wrong with big words - being educated is fine; 2) Everyone gets to have an opinion, so either pick something you disagree with, and have a discussion about it, or leave other people's opinions alone; 3) Reviews aren't supposed to be all praise; 4) If you are in the cast and want people to think that you're a bunch of whinging idiots who can't take criticism, then you're going the right way about it. IT'S ONE PERSON'S OPINION - WHO CARES??????