Rent - WA Regal Theatre

Okay so it was bound to happen a review of RENT. Firstly I know that this post is going to cause contraversy and I'm prepared for the barrage of tweenies who will defend their pop idols to the end. So I will say it now... this is only my opinion and I am entitled to it. I also think that when it comes to reviewing I try to be as fair and informative as possible without getting too personal as I know how hard it is to put on a show like this. So here goes. I went and saw the Sunday night (November 11th) performance of RENT. I was very surprised by the small audience considering how much advertising this show has had. Overall I had an enjoyable experience of Rent. It wasn't fantastic and it wasn't crap but it was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. What I didn't like: The first half seemed very slow and very unenlivaning (I know I spelt that wrong). The opening song of Rent was painful to watch. That song is about tension and the music moves at such a pace that something exciting should be going on. But all the characters did was look either at each other or out into the audience and sing their lines. It was boring. I hated the end. Maureen and Joanne rolled up thier coats in such a way that when Mimi lied down to almost die she looked incredibly uncomfortable and it looked terrible. Roger should have had more connection with her at this point but instead he seemed very detatched and apart from her. The girl is dying the least you could do is touch her. There were a lot of instances where the characters sang out into the audience and I mean a lot of instances. Sometimes it worked but a lot of the time it just made me feel very uncomfortable and made the actors look like they had forgotten what they were suppossed to do next. Out tonight was boring. Jaya needed to let go more and be much more sexual. She seemed confined in that small spaced and clumsy climbing on the railings. The voice was fantastic she just needed the moves to match. Ruth was too young to play the mother and her timing was very off in this performance. Which is disspointing cause I know how talented she is. What I loved: Shane Janek. All I can say is wait for act II. He seemed really nervous at the beginning (and almost out of breath in today for you tomorrow for me) but he hit everything perfect in the second act. Joanne! What an amazing voice. She was fantastic. Every time she sang I was amazed but she really shon in Take me or Leave me especially when competing with the star power of Nikki. She was a brilliant actress and singer and her short dance in Tango maureen left Anthony to shame. He couldn't keep up. The guy who played Collin was fantastic. During the reprise of I'll cover you I was nearly in tears. His voice was so full of emotion and he was so beautiful to listen to and watch. an amazing talent. The staging was excellent and allowed the cast to create very distinct areas for the story to unfold. I also liked the idea of having the band on stage. It was very eariee to see the drug dealer guy slink out from under the scaffolding too. The Christmas bell guy stole the show every time he came on stage. Just goes to show you don't need a big part to be a star. He was so funny and had great timing. Good singer too. The voices. The entire cast and I mean entire cast was fantastic vocally. Couldn't fault a single one of them. The Idols: Nikki. I really think that despite a fantastic voice and a really sound performance, she was not right for the part of Maureen. She looked too young and like she was trying too hard to be comfortable with being a bitch and a slut. She also didn't match up with Joanne very well who I loved. But what a voice. Anthony. What a beautiful voice. He was gorgeous to listen to but dreadful to watch. He didn't do anything. It was like watching Ken act. He was very very boring. Shane. I've said enough. Actually I've said enough all together. I could go on for hours. There was so much that I enjoyed about this show and so much I hated. All in all if you have the cash it is worth a look, but I wouldn't make a special trip for it. Love for now Kate. Looking forward to the backlash.