Rent: Live (2019) Reviews

• Amazing ideas/poor follow through

  cameron-wst2019-01-29

  I love that Fox wanted to tackle something as complex as RENT. The set, direction, art and costumes are all phenomenally done. The band is GREAT. But the casting of this musical...I just don't understand using "up and comers" who CANNOT sing over established stage vets who could rock the house down. Collins was amazing. Mark was great. Other than that...it's a hard pass from me on the cast. Valentina was AWFUL. Jesus. I get that she's "hot" right now, but she should not sing on stage. Can we get someone like Todrick? A guy who can pull off drag AND actually sing and dance. This was a valiant attempt at doing something strong and provoking, but it fell tragically flat

• Live Audience Big Distraction

  jgboston2019-01-28

  The live audience drowns out sections of the production. The were even moments that the camera focused on the audience which stops the storytelling cold. And it felt like theater in the round which I always find distracting. Other than that it was nicely done with some great performances.

• Brilliantly Cast, True to Original

  alhyatt2019-01-28

  I am a huge Rent fan. I've seen it four times on stage I watch the movie and now I've seen the "live" version. This was so brilliantly cast. Jordan Fisher was amazing! I am not a huge Vanessa Hudgens fan but she did a remarkable job as Maureen. And Roger was identical to the original. They say true to the original Broadway version and the voices were superb. I was so excited to see the original cast coming on stage at the end. I recognize them all immediately. I recorded it and I am sure I will watch it over and over.

• I actually loved it..

  laurengrimes932019-01-29

  Considering what we watched was from their dress rehearsal and not the actual live performance they were expecting, I thought it was fantastic. I expected Jordan Fisher and Vanessa Hudgens to be amazing and they did not disappoint. Who I was most impressed with though was Tinashe.. I wasn't expecting that performance out of her. Overall I loved it.

• It Works Pretty Well

  Hitchcoc2019-01-28

  These TV musicals are always a little sketchy. I'm not a "Renthead" so I don't have much to go on. I saw the Broadway traveling company a few years ago and was quite captivated. Here, I felt the pacing was a bit slow. It is performed on an enormous stage, with the audience sitting in rectangular cells. This is a really touching story of the AIDS epidemic. It is about a sort of artists colony in a rental building. Many of the people there are HIV positive at a time when most would die from it. Others are drug users. Some are gay. They are all trying to survive. It is mixture of the angst that such a society would deal with, watching their young friends die off or lose their dreams. There is a nice moment at the end.