Many of you know that Rent Live on FOX was a huge event in the Broadway community on Sunday, January 27th. Personally, I thought it was the best live musical they’ve done, or at least, that I’ve seen. I’m going to share my opinions about the cast and other aspects of the production. If you have opinions you want to share, feel free in the comments, but please be respectful! Keep in mind, there will be spoilers!
I think that for the most part, the casting choices were made really well. Jordan Fisher and Brennin Hunt both had wonderful performances and Mark and Roger respectively. I was in tears throughout most of the second act, particularly Hunt’s parts in “Without You” and Fisher’s realization of himself following Angel’s funeral. In the first act, I was completely shocked- prior to watching this I was skeptical of both of their talents, but both Jordan and Brennin were spectacular. (I thought Brennin was lipsyncing in “One Song Glory-” it was that good.
Kiersey Clemons blew me away as Joanne. I had never heard of her before, and her singing voice is AMAZING. Vanessa Hudgens as Maureen was also better than I was expecting, especially in “Over the Moon.” That being said, Kiersey was unmatched in “Take Me Or Leave Me.” Her powerful belting was far beyond Hudgens’ singing, which was a completely different style that I didn’t find fitting to the song. Overall, though, they both did a stellar job with their characters.
Tinashe as Mimi performed very well too. Towards the end, when her fever broke, I was again in tears. In “Out Tonight,” she did well, but I found it to be exactly the same as any other performance. This could be because the role of Mimi is so specific that it would be hard to differentiate. Benny, played by Mario, surprised me. Once again, I hadn’t known anything about Mario before Rent Live, and his performance was reminiscent of Leslie Odom Jr. at times, which is a lot coming from me. (I loveeeee Leslie.)
Valentina, who portrayed Angel, struggled some with singing, which was evident near the end of “Today 4 U” and “I’ll Cover You.” Vocal technique aside, the character was nevertheless entertaining, and Valentina’s performance in the second act was emotional and immersive. Brandon Victor Dixon, in my opinion, outshined Valentina, especially in Act II. His rendition of “I’ll Cover You (Reprise),” which is sung at Angel’s funeral, was nothing less than legendary and moved me to actual tears. I did think, however, that he held back in “Santa Fe.” After seeing him as Judas last year in JCS Live, I thought he definitely would be the star of the show. It may have taken him a while, but he made it there when it was needed.
- A few other things that happened in Rent Live:
- KEALA SETTLE sang the iconic solo in “Seasons of Love” and Killed. It.
- Brennin Hunt performed the end of the show with a broken foot. Pretty impressive.
- The ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST came back after the finale and sang “Seasons of Love” with the live cast, which didn’t help me recover from crying at all.
- I was a little bit sad that Mark didn’t wear the iconic sweater and scarf, but needless to say, it didn’t take away from his outstanding performance.
- The set was so cool!!!!!! There were so many different planes and surfaces for the ensemble and for the times when multiple scenes were happening at once.
- Many people on social media bashed Vanessa’s performance, but I thought she did well!
- All of the cast members were so kind to the audience!
Overall, Rent Live was amazing and I would definitely say it’s the best live musical yet! I hope that in the future they do the live musicals similarly, because I was much more entertained with this than with some others, like Hairspray Live and Peter Pan Live. 10/10 would recommend Rent Live!
What did you think about Rent Live?
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