* * *
Last Friday I went with a friend to go see a production of RENT at the Hollywood Bowl, directed by ALOTT5MA fave Neil Patrick Harris. For those who aren’t familiar with the Bowl’s Broadway productions, every season they pick one show, and that show is put on for three performances. Casts range from theater legends to Hollywood celebs (I missed last year’s production of Guys & Dolls starring Bryan Stokes Mitchell, Jessica Biel and Scott Bakula but heard good things) and they get two weeks of rehearsal time. Because of the size and scope of the venue, the productions are staged, but not fully so – you end up with basically a staged concert performance of the show.With RENT, a show I’ve seen many times, including one tour with NPH as Mark, and last year’s tour with original cast members Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, I was excited and a little concerned about the Bowl production, as I didn’t want the celebrity performers to diminish a show I love. But I had faith in NPH, and as it turns out, while the show wasn’t a complete success, my faith did not go unwarranted. As outlined below, the cast had its strengths and weaknesses, but the strengths were far more plentiful. NPH chose to add an extra 10 performers or so to the ensemble because the size of the Bowl (seating capacity of over 17,000 and it was FULL last Friday) can call for that extra vocal power, and it was a good addition for this production. NPH’s significant other David Burtka was one of the ensemble, and did a lovely job with his solo in “Life Support.” There were a few technical issues, but I found out after the fact that this was not just opening night for this production, but it was actually the first time they had run through the entire show. Ultimately, while not the best RENT I’ve ever seen, it was a great experience – seeing shows at the Hollywood Bowl always feels unique and special; it’s one of my favorite things to do in L.A. -- and I was surprised and extremely impressed by a couple of the performers that I had my strongest doubts about. A quick review of each performer’s job below:
The Stand-Outs
Wayne Brady as Collins: I knew Brady could sing (or at least mimic) and was funny based on Who’s Line Is It Anyway and HIMYM, but I questioned whether he had the dramatic chops for Collins and he impressed from the start. He was charming, downplayed things rather than hamming them up and had chemistry with Telly Leung’s Angel, which frankly helped elevate Leung’s performance. And on the night I was there his vocals were spot on – his solo reprise of “I’ll Cover You” hushed & moved the audience as it should.
Nicole Scherzinger as Maureen: The performance of the night. Cast her on Broadway – in anything. I was mostly familiar with Scherzinger from her judging on The Sing-Off and was not impressed with that, and I’m not a Pussycat Dolls fan, so I went in with low expectations and she blew my mind. She hit every note and then some, and was funny as hell – she had us all in stitches during “Over the Moon” and if you ever wanted to hear 17,000 Angelenos moo, well, we all did so enthusiastically at the Bowl this weekend in response to Scherzinger’s great performance.
Tracie Thoms as Joanne: I thought she was great in the movie version and she was fabulous here –top notch as expected. Between her and Scherzinger and their vocal prowess, “Take Me or Leave Me” was the number of the night; no large ensemble number captivated the audience as much as these two did on their own.
Aaron Tviet as Roger: Tviet gave a strong, solid performance as Roger – not the best I’ve seen, but he may have been hampered by playing opposite an only adequate Mark and a lacking Mimi. I would have put him in the “They Pulled It Off” category, but had to bump him up simply for the hot factor – my friend and I couldn’t stop drooling at him on the jumbo-trons whenever the cameras focused on him. Yum.
They Pulled It Off
Skylar Astin as Mark: Not much I can say here. It’s hard, I’m sure, to measure up to the standards of NPH and Anthony Rapp, and Skylar didn’t measure up, but he did ok. To me he came off mostly nebbishy and less the sarcastic film nerd so while he was fine, he lacked the real charisma to stand out in numbers like “La Vie Boheme.”
Telly Leung as Angel: He was only ok, mostly due to outstanding chemistry with Wayne Brady. The vocals weren’t quite up to par, and he didn’t radiate that quality that so many Angels do, where you understand why they’re the member of the group that unites everyone.
They Missed the Mark
Vanessa Hudgens as Mimi: She did better in the second half, getting over some obvious nerves and doing nicely on some quieter duet moments. But she had several off-key moments, and lacked the dynamo presence Mimi needs – in “Light My Candle” it felt like a high school drama student was trying to pull off the role, and in “Out Tonight” she lacked the stand-out quality one needs for that song. I felt bad for her – she was clearly nervous and clearly overshadowed.
Collins Pennie as Benny: Yeah – he does not have the vocal chops for this musical or probably others. He never felt like a real threat as Benny, nor like any real competition for Roger. He was just sort of…there. He was less talented than Hudgens, but Mimi’s a WAY more crucial role to the show, so her performance felt like a bigger disappointment.
