RENT

For the past two weeks OU's School of Musical Theatre has performed one of the most popular modern musicals, Rent. It takes place in New York City towards the end of the millennium. The musical follows some members that are struggling to make money and subsequently pay Rent, but the issues are much deeper. OU took this musical to the next level with an incredible set, breathtaking voices, and surprising portrayals of the characters.

The performance was incredibly remarkable because of the intense moments of kissing and dancing. One of those moments came early in the musical when Angel Shunard, a transvestite street drummer, jumped, spun and slid on six inch high heels. There were many moments when the characters had long lip-locking sessions. Most of the time were with members of the same sex.

Some noticeably felt uncomfortable throughout those kissing scenes. Sarah Warner, piano pedagogy graduate student felt that way. She said that some parts of the musical were a little much for her taste. She added that her friend whom she went to the musical with say Rent on Broadway and said that even some of the actors there did not take some of the scenes that far.

However, artists should not take that as a slight at all. They made the musical memorable and the performance was spectacular. The singing was spectacular on all fronts. Seasons of Love, Rent's most popular song was perfection on Saturday night and most would be hard pressed to find a version of that song better performed than the one the audience took in that night.

The next week OU's School of Musical Theatre will be shutting down the Rent performances and moving ahead to the world premiere of The Adventures of Pinocchio. It should be great.

Next week, feedback from the cast will be coming and hopefully from more of the musical theatre staff.