More on "Rent"

By

Lawson Taitte/Theater Critic

3:44 PM on Wed., May. 6, 2009 | Permalink

I've always been a big admirer of Jonathan Larson's score for Rent, not to speak of his witty, literate lyrics -- unique in such a "rock"-oriented show, I think. I love the way the songs pay homage to Broadway tradition, too: "Light My Candle" is in the line of great boy-meets-girl-and-changes-his-attitude songs, such as "People Will Say We're in Love" or " If I Loved You," while "La Vie Boheme" is a wonderful list song in the tradition of "You're the Top" -- and even dirtier! Also, Larson found a way to do musical recitative such as the stuff Schoenberg and Boublil wrote for Les Miz -- only it's good.

At the opening of the Dallas stop of the show's final tour last night, though, my appreciation ran even deeper. (Did I mention I was on the verge of tears during the whole first act and much of the second? This is powerful stuff.) This time I recognized more of Larson's achievement in putting his songs and even smaller units into larger forms. What came to mind, strangely, were the Act II finale of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and the Beatles' Abbey Road (especially that highly unified second side of the original LP). Like Wolferl and the Merseysiders, Larson cuts and layers his snippets of tunes together, occasionally breaking for a big song, but more often letting the thing flow. I even heard things that reminded me of symphonic development -- which made me take another listen to the way the composer uses that old musical comedy technique of the reprise in Act II. He doesn't just bring back the melody for another go-round to send the folks out humming. He uses it to make something fresh.

I'm not saying that Rent is as great as Le nozze, maybe not even as important as Abbey Road. But it's a masterpiece of its own kind.

I even found myself adjusting to Mimi's revival in the last scene. After all, in this libretto, Angel becomes a kind of double for Mimi -- and we've already had to face that death. I think it was one of the show's producers who made that argument to me in an interview some years ago. This time, though, I bought it.

Get yourself to the Music Hall. No day but today! (or at least today through Sunday!)

(Joan Marcus photo of Adam Pascal as Roger and Lexi Lawson as Mimi)

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