Review: Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp Reflect Upon RENT's Continued Impact in CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP at Feinstein's/54 Below

Often, when performers get their big break at a young age, they spend the ensuing years of their career attempting to escape out from under that encompassing shadow. For Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, who met in the original Off-Broadway production of RENT in 1995, that is only half true.

In the 20 years since that groundbreaking musical about visionary but disease-stricken bohemians launched their careers, both performers have gone on to perform plentifully inside the theatre and aside from it. However, both Pascal and Rapp have spent the last two decades not basking in the bygone glory of having once starred in a cultural phenomenon, but with the celebratory awareness that each subsequent opportunity likely may not have fallen into their paths without having done so.

For proof of such a mentality, look no further than the duo's two-hander string of shows at Feinstein's/54 Below, ACOUSTICALLY SPEAKING: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP, the first of which kicked off an impressive 11-performance run on October 8. That title, though, is in part misleading. Although there was ample reflection on behalf of both parties in regards to the near quarter century since they met, the evening consisted of two distinctly separate shows, save for the exception of a select few songs which the two performed together.

Noting that the performances were so detached from each other should not be considered a grievance, as both artists have established themselves as inarguable forces in their own right. It was, however, anticlimactic that Pascal emerged onto the stage by himself and proceeded to perform the entirety of his set before Rapp ever made his presence known. Yet, I harp on a technicality in what was otherwise a moving and wonderfully powerful evening of music by two performers who in no uncertain terms contributed to the forward-pressing evolution of American theatre.

Pascal's voice, with its piercingly rock-infused vibrato, has not faltered a fraction since making his Broadway debut as the tormented Roger, a young man desperate to leave behind something indelible through his music before succumbing to AIDS. Pascal, accompanying himself on guitar, remained in his element through each of his turmoil-drenched selections, the most emotionally affecting of which included "There's a Light," from ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, which he credited with his indoctrination to musical storytelling, and stripped down versions of show tunes "Memory" from CATS and "Maybe this Time" from CABARET.

In contrasting Pascal and Rapp's performances (an inevitability when the show was formatted as such), Rapp's set was more closely aligned with a narrative than Pascal's. Interweaving stories of his time in RENT and beyond to accompany his emotionally-wrought song selections, Rapp ironically mirrored the ethos of his character in RENT, the voyeuristic filmmaker Mark. The other primary difference between the duo's sets was the addition of the cello for Rapp, played by Peter Sachon. The skilled band was rounded out by musical director Daniel Weiss, on both piano and guitar.

Rapp devoted a large portion of his time on stage to his late mother, who passed away while he was performing in RENT's Broadway run. Rapp, along with Joe Pisapia, penned the song "Visits to You," summing up the dichotomous period of his life in which he was experiencing to-that-point unfounded career success alongside the jarring horror of losing a parent. Also in that wrenching vein was Rapp's solo take on "Without You," a song performed in RENT by Roger and the abandoned and dying Mimi, which Rapp ultimately performed at his mother's funeral.

Not all of his songs were as thematically bleak, though. Joined on stage by his IF/THEN tour costar, English Bernhardt, the two sang the triumphant "Falling Slowly" from Tony-winning ONCE, a song which has managed to remain poignant despite its status as the go-to duet of the last five years. Additionally, Rapp showcased his emotionally-distilled vibrato on a simplistic interpretation of "The Origin of Love" from HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, which he starred in regionally.

In discussing that genderqueer rock musical, derived with inarguable influence by RENT, Rapp was able to speak admiringly of Jonathon Larson, RENT's composer who infamously passed away at the age of 35, on the morning of what would be the musical's Off-Broadway debut. To this day, it is impossible to say whether the cultural impact of RENT would have been as craterous had the life of its creator not so eerily mirrored the themes in his work. What is inarguable, though, is the ideology of the show, that there is "no day but today," continues to resonate these decades later and certainly looks as though it will continue to do so for many more to come.

It was inevitable, then, that the most electric moments in the room on this evening were those in which, at last, Pascal and Rapp joined one another on stage to sing some of the rock musical's trademark songs. "One Song Glory," "What You Own" and "Another Day" (featuring that "no day but today" refrain) were all met with the kind of embrace from an audience that is only possible through a collective and inherent understanding of a truly special moment. The evening essentially had to conclude with the musical's signature anthem, "Seasons of Love," a song that has on its own proven its enduring prominence. With the room embracing one another in what could be described as a warm envelopment of music, an oft-preached cliché about art came to mind: it belongs no more to the artist than it does to the audience, than it does to those affected and changed by it.

Though saccharine in sentiment---particularly at this juncture in 2016 amidst a most dour political atmosphere---it is true that RENT belongs to Pascal and Rapp as much or as little as it belonged to any other person who perhaps relied on its cast recording to get through turbulent teenage years. The show's performers, its audiences, and every person to have been touched by its message throughout the last 21 years are worthy of celebration. That a lifelong friendship and musical collaboration also emerged alongside it is simply a wonderful bonus.

Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp's CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP continues at Feinstein's/54 Below through October 22. For tickets and reservations, visit www.54below.com.

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