Rent Live or Das Boot

The much ballyhooed Rent: Live was a bit less live than planned.  Towards the end of Saturday’s dress rehearsal, Brennin Hunt broke his foot, thus thwarting most of the live telecast.  That’s why dress rehearsals are recorded – just in case.  So, the FOX telecast featured the cast saying, “We have rallied together to rework the final act so that all of us – including Brennin and the original Broadway cast of Rent – can perform it for you…live.”  Ultimately, only the final 15 minutes of the telecast was live – although the show was performed live for the in-studio audience – with Brennin in a wheelchair (we’ll share some footage on BillyMasters.com).  As to the original cast, they came out and sang the reprise of “Seasons of Love” – which, to be charitable, was more than enough.

Ultimately, the major star was the show itself; and the production.  Set on a sprawling soundstage, the camera work integrated the live audience seamlessly.  And there were little touches I appreciated – including a laugh at the expense of Mark’s original sweater.  While the cast was uniformly adequate for a TV adaptation miked within an inch of its life, I’ll focus on the positives and send kudos out to two people.  First, the fabulous Valentina as Angel.  The role was performed spectacularly, even if the singing was undeniably weak.  The all-around MVP (including vocals) was Brandon Victor Dixon as Tom Collins.  All in all, I expected nothing less – or, for that matter, more.

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