Rent

It is never easy to translate a big Broadway musical to a small Fringe audience, home-made sets and minimum budgets. It is a good thing then that EUSOG company have done a good job with ‘Rent’, Jonathan Larson’s musical about New York’s Lower East Side, AIDS, and human relationships in the 1990s.
Though ‘Rent’ is a fantastic musical, renowned throughout the world, it is the young performers who should take credit for their ability to bring life to such complicated characters. Not all succeed, mind you, and some problems with the sound system (where music is sometimes louder than voices, and therefore you miss half of what they are signing) and the overall acoustics of the venue bring down some splendid performances. Best of the bunch, Greg McCafferty as Tom Collins, has an incredible presence on stage, and is able to communicate feelings not only through his singing scenes, but also from his silent ones, where he shines. The last moments of his boyfriend’s life are harrowing, as well as his almost incapacity to bring himself to sing his eulogy at his funeral. Ali Watt as Roger and Ed Sheridan as Benny are also fantastic in their roles, while Olivia Holland-Rose (Maureen) and Rachel Timney (Joanne) have great chemistry together.
Some problems come up with other cast members, not that this deters much from the final product. Both Stephanie Baillie (Mimi) and Jimi Mitchell (Angel) fit their roles perfectly, and their acting is of high standards, but their singing is a little weak, not able to project enough, sometimes even leaving the audience at a loss to what they are singing.
Praise too, to the rest of the performers, who each have different roles, and who turn out to be just as good as the protagonists, and even have the best moments in the musical, with their singing segments bringing chills to the audience. Their voices, combined, are stunningly beautiful.
On the whole, EUSOG have created a worthy production, if not the definitive one by any means, but for the uninitiated on the ‘Rent’ world it is a good start. With some adjustments in both cast and sound system, this could become a perfect rendition, of a musical masterpiece.

4/5

Adrian G. Velazquez