Its conflicting elementsmake a truly satisfying production difficult to come by. The slick, touringBroadway production often lacks the heart, soul and passion that drive thestory. A recent Greendale Community Theatre production featured a passionatecast almost entirely the same age as the characters they were playing, butwhile the unevenness of community theater aided the grunge aesthetic of themusical, it lacked the poise and technical prowess found in a more professionalstaging. Next week, however, the SkylightOpera Theatre raises the curtain on a production of Rent that could have both the technical brilliance of a Broadwaytour and the raw energy of local theater.
Skylight ArtisticDirector Bill Theisen seems to be trying to strike a balance between passionand form. “We won't be blasting out your eardrums as is often the case with Rent,” Theisen says. The show’s musicdirector, Jamie Johns, who has worked extensively with the Florentine Opera,should lend musical precision to the production.
The talented Tommy Hahnanchors the raw rock of the musical in the role of Roger Davis, an aspiringrock star dealing with AIDS. Hahn has a solid background in theater, but latelyhe’s been better known as the lead singer of local “indie alternative pop rock”group Revolush. Joining Hahn in the musical’s emotional center will be RickPendzich as aspiring filmmaker Mark Cohen. Pendzich’s nice-guy charm should drawaudiences into the story.
The cast features Milwaukee native JuliaBlack as Joanne and UW-Milwaukee theater major Ron Lee as Benny. There’s alsoan interesting mix of talent in the chorus, including highly recognizable localactresses Alison Mary Forbes and Ericka Wade and 2010 Milwaukee Poetry GrandSlam champion Nigel Wade.
Skylight Opera Theatre’sproduction of Rent runs May 21through June 20 at the Broadway Theatre Center.
