Rent renewed

The Byham Theater, located in the heart of Downtown's Cultural District, was the location of the Pittsburgh Musical Theatre's production of "Rent," which will continue to play until next weekend. Young and old alike turned out for this re-imagining of Puccini's opera, "La Boheme." Some were diehard Rent-heads while others were coming out to see the Tony Award winning rock opera for the first time.

Set in Manhattan's Lower East Side, "Rent" tells the stories of a group of young men and women as they struggle with life, love, AIDS and, foremost, paying the rent. Written by the late Jonathan Larson, it is the eighth longest running Broadway show. It ran for twelve years until 2008, and its national tour is currently coming to a close as well. But did this performance earn the show a renewed lease on life? Or did it deserve to have an eviction notice nailed to its front door?

For starters, any fan of the show would immediately expect something great when they opened their program and saw the complete list of famous musical numbers in its entirety. Because of its adult content, harsh language and homosexual coupling, "Rent" has a reputation for being censored in amateur performances. Numerous songs have been known to have verses cut, much of the swearing and displays of affection are toned down, and other songs tend to be shortened because of their degrees of difficulty. The Act I song, "Christmas Bells," constantly has its final verses removed because they involve all the actors singing different lyrics and overlapping each other, while the Act II number, "Contact," is notorious for being removed from the show completely because of its erotic nature. However, this performance left everything intact. Every song was in its entirety and none of the couples were holding back.

Peter Mathew Smith, 32, not only directed the show but also starred as lead character Mark.

"I had little notes and charts and things like that that I kept having to reference and make sure I was doing everything right. It was a lot [of work]," Smith said.

Smith has also performed in "Rent" on Broadway and on the national tour. However, when it comes to being versatile enough to act and direct, Smith said, "I wouldn't recommend it to everyone."

The set was very similar to the official set seen on Broadway and past tours, yet it looked strangely empty without the large metallic sculpture that usually towers over stage-left. The extra stage space was then scarcely used at all. As for the direction, staging and choreography, the entire show seemed like a direct copy of the official show. While this may not be a negative comment to make, a little originality can go a long way.

David Toole was cast in the role of songwriter Roger. Toole has an amazing voice and the way he was able to portray Roger's depression was reminiscent of the performances of Adam Pascal from the original Broadway cast. Toole, however, had a tendency to seemingly forget his lines. He severely mixed up the verse lyrics on his first solo, "One Song Glory," and made similar but smaller mistakes on other numbers as well.

Many of the other actors brought their own personality to the roles and were able to create their own unique portrayals of their characters. The role of Mimi was filled by Maria Mauti. At first she seemed like the perfect choice for the 19-year-old heroin addict with her attractively slim figure, soulful voice and vicious attitude. However, while her voice was lovely, she missed more than one note throughout the night and seemed to have difficulty projecting. The strength of her voice wavered during her signature number, "Out Tonight."

Emily Lynne Miller and Alysha Watson were cast in the role of lesbian couple Maureen and Joanne. Together, they were the perfect mix of sexy and serious, dangerous and disciplined. Their petty banter brought many chuckles.

Eddie Henry, in the part of Benny, deserves recognition for his singing and his interpretation of the "yuppie-scum" that audiences love to hate.

However, the awards for best performances of the night go to Brady Patsy and Cory Wade Hindorff in the roles of Collins and Angel. Their representation of love and tragedy, along with their astounding voices, was worthy of standing ovations. Patsy's reprise of "I'll Cover You" was enough to bring out tears in the strongest of audience members.

The performances of every ensemble member deserve massive recognition. Many of them were required to play multiple roles with constant switching of personalities and costumes. The ensemble, along with the main cast, belted out a spectacular rendition of "Seasons of Love," the show's signature number.

Overall, this performance showed great talent among the young actors and Smith in the role of director. The vocals were stunning, and the audience took it by storm.

"Everybody's real talented. We have a nice young cast. Everybody seemed to know what they were doing, and they were really together. It felt like there was a family in the show," audience member Anthony Jackson, 20, said.

Though this musical's time on Broadway is over and its tour is on its last stretch, this performance proved that "Rent" will continue to be a breathtaking story of life and hope.

"I don't think there's anything else like it out there," ensemble member Vinny Tresco, 28, said.