Rent

Saw the musical Rent last night at Playhouse Square, featuring two of the original cast members. Really amazing cast and music. The story is based on Puccini's opera La Bohéme, covering a year in the lives of a group of bohemian artists – black, latino, white, gay, straight – struggling to succeed while dealing with poverty, drug addiction and AIDS.

It is important to note this is definitely not Gilbert and Sullivan or Rogers and Hammerstein. The people sitting in front of us left during intermission, expecting more traditional fare, I expect. While perhaps a bit jerky in spots (characters were broken up and back together again so often it was hard to keep track) and the sound was a bit too loud so it was sometimes difficult to understand the lyrics, overall a great performance. The actors were all over the stage, climbing and jumping as they were singing without missing a beat. Despite the heavy subject matter, it did have some great humorous moments as well. The audience was encouraged to clap (and at one point even sing) along. A lot of fun!