"Rent' at Academy of Music

In the best of economic times, Jonathan Larson's musical Rent jump-started a 12-year run, the seventh longest in Broadway history. In today's tough economic times, a play about people who can't afford the rent is more relevant than ever. That's why a new DVD and a live tour of Rent are especially welcome.

Live in theaters in Philadelphia this week and New Jersey next week is a touring production starring three of the most important players from Rent's 1996 original cast: Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal and Gwen Stewart. Coincidentally, a DVD of the show's final performances on Broadway (in September 2008) has been released by Sony Pictures.

What's on disc is remarkably similar to what's on stage, subject to the close-ups and varying angles caught by the cameras for the DVD (very much like the comparison of live opera to the Met in HD as discussed in my recent article).

This similarity owes much to careful rehearsal by Rent's original stage director, Michael Greif, and excellent conducting by David Truskinoff, the show's musical director during its last two years on Broadway. Unlike earlier tours and unlike the Broadway production a few years ago, here the sound is sensibly balanced between band and voices. The instruments rock, but they don't blast our ears, and they allow the words and the lovely ensemble harmonies to come through.

Embrace each moment

Jonathan Larson's superb words and music emerge clearer in these two instances than ever before. His musical skill, in particular, wasn't fully appreciated at the time of the show's premiere in 1995 (even though Larson's score won numerous awards) because it was overshadowed by Rent's subject and the untimely death of its creator at age 35.

Live each day as if it were your last, embrace each moment of life, appreciate the love of your friends and express your love for them"“ those are the lasting themes of this great show.

Anthony Rapp reprises his role of Mark, the documentary filmmaker, in the touring production; he also makes a cameo appearance on the DVD. He is charismatic and sounds as good as, or better than, ever. At the end of the Broadway run, and on the DVD, is young Adam Kantor, who was only in fifth grade when Rent opened. He performs earnestly and sings well but doesn't dominate the production the way Rapp does.

The best Mimi ever

Adam Pascal brings his strong voice to the part of the HIV-infected roommate who falls in love with the similarly sick Mimi. She is portrayed on DVD affectingly by Renée Elise Goldsberry and superbly on stage by Lexi Lawson, who is the best I've ever seen as Mimi. Will Chase is excellent as Roger, with an appearance very similar to Pascal's.

Gwen Stewart's name isn't as widely known as Rapp's or Pascal's, but she's the woman with the high voice that soars above the ensemble during Seasons of Love and at other key moments. Amazingly, 13 years later, her singing is just as spectacular.

Two other roles are exceptionably executed on stage as well as on the DVD: Justin Johnson as the appealing transvestite Angel, and Michael McElroy as a rich-voiced Tom Collins. Nicolette Hart, from the Broadway cast of Legally Blonde, is an unusual-looking Maureen, Mark's former girlfriend who is a performance artist. She's the first person I've seen who plays that role as a blonde. Brunette Eden Espinosa does it on the DVD.

The film, which utilizes high-definition video and digital audio technology, was directed by Michael Warren. Cinematographer Declan Quinn and Grammy-winning music producer Giles Martin were also brought on board to heighten the visual and audio elements.

Some shows become stale with time and the audiences become jaded. That is emphatically not the case with Rent.