I had a choir teacher named Mr. S in high school, who, every-time one of the sopranos would sing off-key (or tenors or basses, cause it was never us altos…) would turn his ear to the sky in disgust, as if the off-pitch hurt so much it made his ear turn upwards. And he has officially ruined me for life.
In high school, I was also lucky enough to go to New York to see the original cast of Rent…we’re talking Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, the guy from Adventures in Babysitting (Anthony Rapp), and Jesse L. Martin…yes, before he became the beloved cop in Law and Order, he was Tom Collins in Rent. And he was the best Tom Collins I have ever heard. The richness of his tone, the pitch, the soul-wrenching honest performance he gave in Rent is something that stays with you forever. You were bawling by the time he finished his last note. He was THAT good.
And this is why Jesse L. Martin and Mr. S ruined tonight’s performance of Rent.
On an “exclusive” engagement for only a week, the touring company of Rent performed mediocre, at best, and the two headlining features, touted as “as seen on American Idol” fame, sucked. There is just no other word to describe them. Not only was the pitch gone (I was constantly turning my ear up to the heavens on many of Roger’s songs), but the emotionally charged performances that are supposed to accompany the brilliance of the music…totally non-existent. I wanted to shake both of these performers (Heinz Winckler, the South African Idol, playing Roger; and Anwar F Robinson, the “technically the best singer of the competition” American Idol, who played Tom Collins)…I wanted to shake them and tell that the brilliant words they are trying to sing, the emotionally charged lyrics, were not meant to be sung by deer-in-headlights. This is what Roger consitantly looked like…not only deer-in-headlights, but the minute he knew he was going for a high note, he took an opera stance (both feet planted on the ground, deep breath, extend from the legs…and sing.). I could get over the fact that sometimes he couldn’t reach his pitches, but come on, learn how to act for the stage. This isn’t Idol. This is live theatre.
What I couldn’t get over was Tom Collins performance. If you could call it that. He just stood there. I just knew something was off in the beginning when you really didn’t care about him singing because Angel was outshining him. I remember Jesse L. Martin totally holding his own with the supposed to outshine Angel (played by Wilson Jermaine Heredia), and I remember loving them both, crying with them both. This Tom Collins, the supposed great singer from American Idol…I don’t think so. I’ll Cover You, this indescribable song when sung correctly, get you deep in the core gut, hits you over the head with that feeling of loss and love and grief, and by the end of the explosive song, you just want to give the singer (if sung right) a standing ovation, but you are too busy sobbing uncontrollably in your seat. THIS is how you are supposed to feel after the song. Not “oh-my-god, just have some damn emotion already”!!! I, as an audience member, am not supposed to feel this way…I am not supposed to want to jump up on stage and just shake the actor to the core…I am not supposed to not cry…I am supposed to be sobbing uncontrollably, not cursing Jesse L. Martin for being so goddamn good.
So I don’t care what American Idol or reality show you have been on, if you can’t deliver the goods, don’t go on stage.
I will say that Maureen was excellent (Christine Dwyer), Mimi (Jennifer Colby Talton) worked her railing like nobody’s business, Joanne (Onyie Nwachuka) had an annoying lisp that I just couldn’t get past, the soloist for Seasons of Love needed to get past her gospel-esque voice runs, and that everyone else was pretty average. I will say that since I was no longer interested in hearing Roger or Tom Collins sing, I was impressed by chorus members Hannah Shankman and Devon Settles, Jr. They had great presence and stood out among a somewhat mediocre swing cast.
I love Rent. I love the music, I love the concept…I even own the movie, even though it kinda sucks. At least it has some of the original castmembers in it. And it has Jesse L. Martin. I was fortunate to have seen the original cast production in its glory days…when people would camp out in front of the theatre just for tickets…when people were passionate about the music and the message…and when musicals weren’t getting overrun by reality TV contestants.
I get it though…musicals are here to make money, right? I mean, they are becoming just like movies, where I have learned that moviemaking isn’t about the story, it’s about the bottom line…I get that you have to sell tickets in order to make a musical.
But it was someone like Jonathan Larson who looked past the commodity of it all and just wrote it to express his life, his passions. And he wrote one of the most unique and memorable musicals ever made. And even though I was sorely disappointed with the touring company of Rent, it just goes to show you that, anyone can sing these words, (no matter how suck-ly), These words of Rent…they are the music and lyrics that stay with you for a lifetime. No day but today.