Theatre review: Via dance and voice, Metro Theatre’s ambitious RENT crackles with energy
Cast and company strike balance between humour and emotion while diving into the notoriously demanding score of this ’90s classic
Metro Theatre’s RENT. Photo by Matt Reznek
Metro Theatre presents RENT to September 20, in partnership with the Mary Cleaver Group,
JONATHAN LARSON’S ROCK musical RENT urges us to measure our lives in love, and that call resonates powerfully in Metro Theatre’s ambitious production. The company has taken a bold leap with RENT—and risen to the challenge with heart, creativity, and strong local talent.
Under Shel Piercy’s direction, Metro Theatre’s version delivers a full-on theatrical rock-concert experience, complete with booming sound and striking visuals. Musical director Sylvia Zaradic guides the cast and band through Larson’s notoriously demanding score, while sound designer Christopher King ensures a seamless balance. Even before the first note, Starlynn Chen’s industrial-inspired set commands attention. Along with radiant footlights and tendrils of smoke, a half-raised curtain resembling a garage door with “RENT” splashed across it signals the spectacle to come.
Loosely based on the opera La Bohème, RENT is about young artists struggling to survive amid the 1990s AIDS crisis in New York. Our heroes here are roommates Mark (Pier Francesco Marchi), a filmmaker, and Roger (Laren Steppler), a musician and songwriter.
As narrator, a confident and poised Marchi leads us through a year-long journey as Mark videotapes the lives of his friend group for a documentary. Marchi demonstrates charm throughout and offers strong, versatile vocal performances, from the charged duet “What You Own” with Steppler to lighter interludes of sung dialogue, often with humour. Steppler, meanwhile, is a vocal powerhouse. His soaring tenor and emotional depth give weight to Roger’s haunted past, especially in “One Song Glory”.
The central romantic plotline is between Steppler and exotic dancer Mimi (Nicole Laurent). Last seen delivering a standout performance as Anita in CTORA’s West Side Story, Laurent’s triple-threat skills are aptly put to use here. Laurent and Steppler’s onstage relationship offers playful moments, as in “Light My Candle”, as well as heavy scenes, and the pair fully capture the more complicated layers of Roger and Mimi’s relationship.
Laren Steppler and Nicole Laurent in RENT. Photo by Matt Reznek
As usual in this show, there’s a huge lead-up to the introduction of Maureen, originated on Broadway by Idina Menzel—an aspect heightened here by choreographer Shelley Stewart Hunt’s creative version of “Tango: Maureen”, where Maureen (Paula Higgins) symbolically puppeteers her ex-partner Mark and current partner, Joanne (Mary Cleaver). Higgins makes the wait worthwhile with a hilarious, well-sung “Over the Moon”, bolstered by backup singers Kayla Charchuk, Jaclyn Sim, and Hailey Fowler, whose comedic echoes are a clever touch.
The most compelling piece of this production is the relationship between Angel (Kurtis D’Aoust) and Tom Collins (Vicente Sandoval). D’Aoust previously played Angel in URP’s production of RENT, and according to his bio in the program, he later battled cancer. This production of RENT marks D’Aoust’s return to the stage after eight years, and knowing his journey, one can’t help but be moved and applaud him.
Often in drag, D’Aoust’s Angel still has dynamite spark, as shown in the sassy song-and-dance number “Today 4 U”, accompanied by fierce backup dancers Darian Ngai and Fowler wearing angel wings that give them a Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet look from the ’90s. On the serious side, D’Aoust’s scenes with Sandoval are tremendously moving. From their first encounter, the pair exudes an intense connection that can be felt at the back of the theatre. Every note they sing is coloured with sincere emotion, and they truly capture the heart of Larson’s message of love, even in fearful times.
RENT is a challenging show, so it’s understandable that not everything lands. Some lines feel “thrown away”, not registering with the audience. Elsewhere, one of RENT’s key scenes—“Light My Candle”—finds the stage flooded with light despite its setting during a building blackout.
However, Shelley Stewart Hunt’s choreography consistently elevates the production. Whether supercharging the opening number with exciting dance moves (including a standing back tuck by Matthew Valinho), using the ensemble to help tell Roger’s story in “One Song Glory”, or turning Angel’s “Today 4 U” into a percussive dance party, Hunt’s movement amplifies both story and emotion.
The Act 1 finale, “La Vie Bohème B”, is especially electrifying—a celebration not only of bohemian life, but of life in general. While “Seasons of Love” remains RENT’s most famous anthem—and is handled beautifully here—one could argue that this production’s signature is “La Vie Bohème B”. The joy and rush of youthful abandon exhibited by the company as they perform Hunt’s choreography is as authentic a celebration of life and love as you’ll ever see, and captures the spirit of Larson’s message. Viva la vie Bohème! 
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