“RENT” Captivates Audiences in Playhouse Square’s Connor Palace
By Noah Paulsen
This March, the famed 90’s musical “Rent” has made its way to Playhouse Square at the Conner Theatre for its 20th Anniversary tour. Most are familiar with the inescapable song, “Seasons of Love,” but are unaware of the rest of this masterpiece of musical theatre.
The youth of the cast showed through the entire musical, providing us a chance to see that these young actors and actresses have room to grow, but with a strong foundation underneath their feet.
Set in the late 80’s/early 90’s, it tells the story of struggling artists in the New York neighborhood East Village living under the shadow of the AIDS Crisis, all while trying to pay the titular rent without being “sellouts.”
Since “Rent” has premiered, the times have certainly changed, resulting in some topics/set pieces modern audiences may be a bit unfamiliar with. Things like payphones (once ubiquitous and now a relic), the Bohemian lifestyle (a popular fad), and most notably the AIDS Crisis (an all-too-often forgotten time in American history where those suffering from AIDS/HIV were subject to intense persecution).
But some themes have unfortunately persisted in America as the musical depicts some unfortunate facets of today’s society like homophobia, unemployment and of course, ever increasing rent.
Among all the problems, there are still many heart warming stories to be seen through the show with characters falling in love, following their dreams, and in general: Broadway magic.
If you’d like to catch the show, it will be playing at Playhouse Square until March 25. Tickets available through http://www.playhousesquare.org/events/detail/rent.
Editor’s note: Information from playhousesquare.org was used in this report.
