REVIEW:
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After seeing Rent at St. James Theatre (now The Other Palace) in London, I was determined to see the show again. I am completely in love with everything about this musical but rather than this making me biased I go in ridiculously over-critical. Thankfully, for my theatre loving self and not so much my bank account, this production was everything I wanted for the show and more. I laughed, I cried, I sobbed... It wasn't pretty.
And last week, I found myself front row of the Thursday matinee in York, putting myself through the trauma once again, complete with a pocketful of tissues and even then I wasn't quite convinced I'd have enough!
Billy Cullum and Ross Hunter, as Mark and Roger respectively, were perfect for their roles. Individually, they're good; together, they're brilliant and their version of What You Own is spine tingling. Through Hunter's portrayal, I finally realised that it's during this song where he gets the inspiration for his "one song glory" - maybe this was just me being previously dense, but having lost count of the amount of times I've watched and listened to this song and only now just realising, well done Ross Hunter!
Philippa Stefani, Mimi, is without a doubt the best actress I have ever seen in the role. She becomes Mimi and for the first time ever made me cry during the final scenes, something I never do.
The aforementioned tears come during Angel's (Leyton Williams) death and Bruce Guthrie (director) has done an amazing job with this whole sequence. From that horrible moment of realisation that HIV has progressed to AIDs (I may have gasped out loud the first time I watched) to the moment Collins (Ryan O'Gorman) announces "it's over" through to the moving, heartbreaking "I'll Cover You (reprise)", I'd be surprised if there was a dry eye left in the house. O'Gorman and Williams bring both characters to life. You fall in love with them both individually and together, fall in love with their love story and, as a result, it makes those scenes even harder to watch. Stefani doesn’t make it any easer either; she sobs to the point you wonder quite how she manages to keep it up show after show, night after night. Especially when you consider I saw a matinee and she had another round to go later that same day!
One of the most show stopping moments of the show, though, had to come from Christina Modestou and Shanay Holmes as Maureen and Joanne singing Take Me or Leave Me. Both singers brought down the house with their powerhouse vocals and, quite rightly, may have got the loudest cheer and longest applause. I absolutely loved Lucie Jones as Maureen when I saw her in London but, in my opinion, Modestou is far too good to be an understudy. She *is* Maureen.
Finally, the ensemble cast deserve a mention too - there isn't one weak link and the whole cast should be proud of the show they have created and the performance ended with a well-deserved standing ovation.
This production is not to be missed and, with only two venues left on the tour, one can only hope for a London transfer. (Simply because Panda has yet to see it. And Koala has decided that Panda *needs* to see it!)
And last week, I found myself front row of the Thursday matinee in York, putting myself through the trauma once again, complete with a pocketful of tissues and even then I wasn't quite convinced I'd have enough!
Billy Cullum and Ross Hunter, as Mark and Roger respectively, were perfect for their roles. Individually, they're good; together, they're brilliant and their version of What You Own is spine tingling. Through Hunter's portrayal, I finally realised that it's during this song where he gets the inspiration for his "one song glory" - maybe this was just me being previously dense, but having lost count of the amount of times I've watched and listened to this song and only now just realising, well done Ross Hunter!
Philippa Stefani, Mimi, is without a doubt the best actress I have ever seen in the role. She becomes Mimi and for the first time ever made me cry during the final scenes, something I never do.
The aforementioned tears come during Angel's (Leyton Williams) death and Bruce Guthrie (director) has done an amazing job with this whole sequence. From that horrible moment of realisation that HIV has progressed to AIDs (I may have gasped out loud the first time I watched) to the moment Collins (Ryan O'Gorman) announces "it's over" through to the moving, heartbreaking "I'll Cover You (reprise)", I'd be surprised if there was a dry eye left in the house. O'Gorman and Williams bring both characters to life. You fall in love with them both individually and together, fall in love with their love story and, as a result, it makes those scenes even harder to watch. Stefani doesn’t make it any easer either; she sobs to the point you wonder quite how she manages to keep it up show after show, night after night. Especially when you consider I saw a matinee and she had another round to go later that same day!
One of the most show stopping moments of the show, though, had to come from Christina Modestou and Shanay Holmes as Maureen and Joanne singing Take Me or Leave Me. Both singers brought down the house with their powerhouse vocals and, quite rightly, may have got the loudest cheer and longest applause. I absolutely loved Lucie Jones as Maureen when I saw her in London but, in my opinion, Modestou is far too good to be an understudy. She *is* Maureen.
Finally, the ensemble cast deserve a mention too - there isn't one weak link and the whole cast should be proud of the show they have created and the performance ended with a well-deserved standing ovation.
This production is not to be missed and, with only two venues left on the tour, one can only hope for a London transfer. (Simply because Panda has yet to see it. And Koala has decided that Panda *needs* to see it!)