TOM TITUS -- Theater Review

After two years, the “Rent” has come due again at the Orange County

Performing Arts Center -- and if you thought the Jonathan Larson musical

about struggling street artists was strident and in your face in 1998,

take a look at the current touring production.

“Rent,” which celebrates the bohemian lifestyle (it was, after all,

based on Puccini’s opera “La Boheme”) among artistic and penniless

members of Generation X, is not a pretty sight. Several of its denizens

are HIV-positive, and few appear capable of settling into a committed

relationship.

It is this innate restlessness, set to a savagely rhythmic beat, that

drives the production and provides its visceral emotional power. There is

no tomorrow for many of these street people, and they are determined to

make the best of today.

However, when music and drama are elevated to a fever pitch, something

has to give, and more often than not it is clarity.Inarticulate

presentation marred the show’s impact two years ago, and it remains the

case with the current incarnation.

While there is little doubt of the singers’ intent, the end result

would be far more enjoyable had the company heeded Hamlet’s advice and

rendered the speech trippingly off the tongue. Perhaps an elevated,

screened libretto, opera-style, would remedy the situation, even if it

detracted from the visual effect.

Despite the title, and the central issue of financing the principals’

residence in an abandoned loft in a seedy section of Manhattan, rent is

not the central theme of “Rent.” The bogus issue of wherewithal is

conveniently brushed aside to focus on the relationships -- one

heterosexual, two homosexual -- which comprise the core of the show.

Roger (Cary Shields) and his newfound love Mimi (Dominique Roy) have

something in common -- the HIV virus. So do Collins (Mark Richard Ford)

and the drag queen Angel, whose commitment to one another is total,

unlike Roger and Mimi or the lesbian duo of Maureen (Maggie Benjamin) and

Joanne (Jacqueline B. Arnold).

These couples are in love and war, simultaneously, for the flimsiest

of excuses. Chronicling all this trauma for posterity with his

ever-present video camera is Mark (Matt Caplan), who has lost Maureen to

Joanne and serves as the audience’s rather intense link to the action.

Brian M. Love contributes a strong presence as Benny, the former buddy

who’s married into money and now owns the building.

Musical highlights abound. Most memorable are the “Tango: Maureen”

duet between Maureen’s past and present lovers (Caplan and Arnold) and

Benjamin’s presentation number, “Over the Moon,” intentionally

pretentious and tacky. Benjamin and Arnold tangle wonderfully in the

strident “Take Me or Leave Me” confrontation that punctuates the second

act.

Roy’s electric energy reaches megawatt voltage in her “Out Tonight”

solo as she tempts and taunts Shields. Caplan endeavors to put his hollow

life into perspective in his “Halloween” number, and his clash with

Shields over their respective lifestyles strikes some incendiary dramatic

sparks. Behind the show’s often artificial confrontational tone, there

are some tender and heart-rending moments and a touch of comedy to

provide needed balance. The concerned parents check in by phone

periodically to offer lifestyle contrast in the “Voice Mail” segments.

There is much in “Rent” that justifies its Pulitzer Prize and Tony

Award. Certainly the ensemble numbers (“La Vie Boheme,” “Seasons of

Love”) reverberate off the senses and involve the audience superbly. In

these moments, the often-incoherent lyrics are inconsequential.

Devoted Rentheads may snag first- and second-row tickets for $20 two

hours before curtain, but they’d best hurry -- only four more

performances remain before the lease is up.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Thursdays and Saturdays.

FYI

WHAT: “Rent”

WHERE: Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive,

Costa Mesa

WHEN: Closing performances 2 and 8 p.m. today, 2 and 7:30 Sunday

COST: $22-$53.50

PHONE: (714) 556-2746