As probably anyone who has watched this show, I'm a big fan of RENT. In fact, it is my favorite musical of all time. Saying that, I have to say that I'm very disappointed with this version. The only thing that I can highlight is the amazing production, the stage, the lights, all of that was amazing. But if we talk about the performances, which is what actually matters, I think that they are very far away from the best versions of RENT that we have seen. I know that it is unfair to compare actors but in this particular case I think it's not. Simply because if you saw this performance you have already seen RENT before with other actors.
This version of RENT feels more like a concert than a play, the actors are too aware of the audience and seem to never be completely in character. Every scene is lacking of the depth that needs. It is like the actors know that the audience loves the song so they don't need to do too much for the applause. In other words, they are too comfortable in the roles, there is no tension at all. Don't get me wrong, the acting is not bad, it's ok, even good. But that's the problem, it's just ok or good. And when you have seen wonderful performances in these roles, "ok" or "good" becomes boring. One performance that I particularly didn't enjoy was the one of Brennin Huntis who played Roger. His acting was extremely flat, reducing Roger to a simple bad boy rocker without any depth. I also find the perform of Jordan Fisher as Mark kinda weird, with a mark with too much swag and almost no awkwardness.
I could keep going but to summarize: I think that there is nothing very special about this version and it is a hundred times better to watch the 2005 movie or a broadway recording.
This version of RENT feels more like a concert than a play, the actors are too aware of the audience and seem to never be completely in character. Every scene is lacking of the depth that needs. It is like the actors know that the audience loves the song so they don't need to do too much for the applause. In other words, they are too comfortable in the roles, there is no tension at all. Don't get me wrong, the acting is not bad, it's ok, even good. But that's the problem, it's just ok or good. And when you have seen wonderful performances in these roles, "ok" or "good" becomes boring. One performance that I particularly didn't enjoy was the one of Brennin Huntis who played Roger. His acting was extremely flat, reducing Roger to a simple bad boy rocker without any depth. I also find the perform of Jordan Fisher as Mark kinda weird, with a mark with too much swag and almost no awkwardness.
I could keep going but to summarize: I think that there is nothing very special about this version and it is a hundred times better to watch the 2005 movie or a broadway recording.