Louis Chilton — Theater Critic

It works, then, that Luke Sheppard’s production opts to reiterate more than reimagine, in everything down to the costumes (designed by Gabriella Slade, they have that familiar shabby, chic Rent look). There have been some technological advances since its original staging in 1993 – a judiciously used rotating floor works wonders as Ross sings the mournful “One Song Glory” early on, while live footage from Mark’s video camera is frequently fed through live to a constellation of retro TV screens dotted around the peripheries. But by and large, this is Rent as you’ve seen it before; the musical’s fresh relevance is supplied, by the audience, and the changed world that lurks outside the theatre.

It’s hard to resist incessant comparisons to the original, so closely does The Producers hew to it; all of the funniest lines are ripped verbatim from the 1967 screenplay. (“Hitler… there was a painter. He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon. Two coats!”) The variations are chiefly musical, the lively and bombastic songs dotted across the musical’s two acts, all written by Brooks himself – an artist who always has one foot in vaudevillian tradition.