Review: RENT at New Village Arts

"Rent" is a show I quite literally grew up with, lyrics memorized and belted years before I had any idea what Collins meant by “Stoli.” To say I have a soft spot for it is an understatement. Which also makes "Rent" tricky. Beyond its now-legendary mythology, its original cast,  its cultural impact, and Jonathan Larson’s untimely death, the musical is rooted in a very specific time and place. Any production has to find the grit: the danger, the desperation, the lived-in reality of friendship, love, HIV, addiction, and gentrification pressing in from all sides.

New Village Arts’ production understands the heart of the piece, even if some of the sharpest edges are softened.

Loosely inspired by Puccini’s "La Bohème", "Rent" follows a group of artists struggling to survive in New York’s East Village at the turn of the 1990s. Mark (Brennan Winspear), an aspiring filmmaker, documents life alongside his roommate Roger (Josh Bradford), a guitarist living with HIV and haunted by his girlfriend’s death. Their neighbor Mimi (Lena Ceja), a dancer also living with HIV, sparks an uneasy romance with Roger, complicated by her ongoing addiction.

Their fragile stability collapses when former friend Benny (Juwan Stanford), now a landlord aligned with developers, demands a year’s back rent just as Christmas approaches. Enter Maureen (Shannon McCarthy), Mark’s ex and a gleefully disruptive performance artist, and her girlfriend Joanne (usually Eboni Muse, with Maya Efrat on the night I attended), whose protest antics escalate tensions and spotlight the group’s precarious existence.

The emotional core of the production is written to rest squarely with Collins (Van Angelo) and Angel (Xavier J. Bush), as all of the other couples bicker, break up, and get back together again. As Collins and Angel, their relationship brings the show its greatest warmth, humor, and humanity, and Bush’s Angel radiates joy and generosity. Their storyline anchors the second act, with “Contact” and Angel’s passing landing with genuine emotional weight.

Ceja is a standout as Mimi, delivering strong vocals and expressive runs that give the character texture and vulnerability. Stanford’s Benny provides some of the production’s lighter moments, particularly in his reactions to Maureen’s protest and her not-so-subtle jabs at his expense. Efrat was a strong Joanne as a character and vocally, a role that requires her to be both a clear-eyed, logical lawyer and an illogical woman in love, willingly dragged into the chaos all at once. The ensemble moves well as a cohesive unit, with energetic highlights including “Rent” and a spirited “La Vie Bohème.”

If, at times, the production lacks the razor-edged urgency that "Rent" demands, that is balanced by a seeming emotional center that is more easily accessible. Still, the show’s compassion and sense of community remain intact, especially in its stronger second act.

This production closes on December 24th—an elegant bit of symmetry for a musical that famously begins on that very night—and a fitting reminder of Larson’s enduring refrain: there’s no day but today.

How To Get Tickets

"Rent" is playing at New Village Arts through December 24th.  For ticket and show time information, go to newvillagearts.org

San Diego Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. THE WULFEATER (Tenth Avenue Arts Center)

14% of votes

2. SHREK (Carlsbad Community theater)

9.9% of votes

3. FOOTLOOSE (A-List Theatre)

7.7% of votes

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