Rent returns music theatre to the Oakville Centre

There’s a special reunion happening at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts this week: Burloak Theatre Group is opening the rock opera Rent tonight, now playing from today, April 6, 2022, until this Sunday, April 10.

After 18 months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is Burloak’s first time back on the main stage since January 2020 with The Odd Couple. It’s also the first musical to play the Oakville Centre in more than two years.

Jonathan Larson’s Rent, however, is no ordinary musical - it’s closer to a cultural phenomenon. The show is in the top ten of the longest-running musicals in Broadway history and one of the most commercially successful theatre shows of all time (not to mention its 2005 film and 2019 TV adaptations.)

The original production in 1996 won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, but it more impressively won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, becoming only the seventh musical to win theatre’s highest honour.

Twenty-two years later, it’s now being performed in Halton Region for the first time. And Burloak Theatre Group (BOTG) has spent nearly six months getting the show ready as their big comeback in the Oakville arts scene.

"This is our first show back on the OCPA floor boards in over two years," says Tim Cadeny, Rent’s co-director and the president of BOTG. "Being back feels like home."

Co-directors Cadeny and Chantal Forde are both real-life husband and wife, as well as the same pair of directors and co-authors on last December’s pantomime show for BOTG, Alice in Wonderland. After the show’s sold-out premiere, most of the run was cancelled due to the Omicron variant surge last Christmas.

"Closing the pantomime early was heartbreaking for everyone involved," says Forde. "The energy of being on a stage, with a full cast and crew - it breathes much-needed life into all of our theatrical souls."

Cadeny explains that fear and hope are two of Rent’s most relevant themes: "The fear comes in because we lost our pantomime three shows in. And we know that the pandemic is still a reality and can impact us."

At the same time, "We are doing everything we can to be safe and get back to love theatre," he continues. "There’s hope that once again opening night is here. The past two years has impacted us all in so many different ways. We have been locked down, forced to stay away from those we care about, out of work, and losing people we love."

Cadeny continues by affirming those themes of loss, connection and learning to both live and thrive in a shifting world are all at the forefront of Rent, and "they’re still here today."

"We may not be facing the exact same issues as when he [Jonathan Larson] wrote it," adds Forde, "but the messages: to stand up for what you believe in, to fight for the betterment of all, and to do it now, those messages are always relevant."

Quoting one of the show’s most famous lines, Forde adds, "there really is ‘no day but today.’ We cannot wait for someone else to make the world a better place."

She and Cadeny agree, "What we hope people take away is think about the last two years and what can we learn from it."

BRINGING RENT TO LIFE

If you’re unfamiliar with the story, Rent’s first act follows the lives of several friends in 1990s New York City on Christmas Eve and their intersecting relationships.

Aspiring documentarian Mark Cohen chronicles one day in the lives of his roommates, ex-roommates and friends through the city’s East village, living under the shadow of homelessness and HIV/AIDS. The second act tracks their lives in the year (or 525,600 minutes) that follow.

Bringing the massive scale of Rent to life is no easy task, but producing it in the waning days of COVID-19 and overlapping production with this winter’s Omicron wave only amplified the challenge. Most of all, Rent poses several creative challenges beyond the normal demands of producing and directing musical theatre.

Forde explains, "One of the hardest parts in directing a well-known and well-loved show like Rent is striking a balance between honouring what people hold dear about it while also infusing it with a new and personal perspective."

That perspective is key to staging the complex show. There are several plot lines interwoven through the 42 musical numbers in the script (that’s the same number as Les Miserables, another well-known sung-through stage musical.)

"It’s one thing to present what’s been done before," Forde continues, "but finding new meaning and relevance is what can bring it to the next level. The beauty of what Jonathan Larson is saying with Rent is that it’s timeless."

Then there was planning around an unpredictable pandemic. Cadeny shamelessly admits, "The pandemic was our biggest challenge."

"When we started rehearsals, we were still in the Omicron phase with lots of restrictions in place. And safety was always our top priority." The solution? The first four weeks of music and dance rehearsal with the cast were done over Zoom to accommodate distancing and isolation.

"To start a show like Rent on Zoom is hard because it’s a show that needs the directing team together each step of the way. Not being able to be in person for our first month of rehearsals was definitely the biggest challenge."

After in-person rehearsals were allowed to begin in early February, the cast was able to finally meet face-to-face and face the next biggest task: learning the show together.

MEET THE CAST OF RENT

Leading the cast as filmmaker Mark Cohen is Vincent Perri, best known to local audiences as Aaron in 2018’s production of First Date, which was also at the Oakville Centre.

"Playing Mark is interesting because he’s an observer and narrating," says Perri. "I’ve really enjoyed watching the full vision realized. Everyone in the cast is so talented, and they’re expressing themselves in such a fulfilling way."

Like the interweaving loves and friendships in the story, he says it’s been "cool to see everyone excel at what they do. I love getting the chance to come together as a community again and create something after all this downtime."

Best said, "Rent is love. There’s so many expressions of love in the show in every form, and that’s been reflected in our time as a cast."

His main co-stars are love interests Karim Bayoumi as songwriter Roger (last seen as Doc Hatter in Burloak’s 2021 pantomime show) and newcomer Crea Wilkins as dancer Mimi Marquez.

For Bayoumi, the thrill comes from the show’s score: "The music is just fantastic," he says. "The show is about making the best of what comes; Illness, fear and the threat of time is running out. You want to make living as meaningful as possible."

"Roger is the opposite of who I am," he continues. "But I feel empowered and confident when I’m in character. I’m not the most confident person, so getting to portray this person feels like a second skin. I’m experiencing his life in a way I haven’t in my own."

Wilkins, meanwhile, says she "loves the adrenaline. Rent is so unique and has such a different feel in comparison to other shows. The feeling I get while performing this show is unmatched."

She describes it as "an emotional rollercoaster," a common description from much of the cast. "There’s so many moments where we have fun and make jokes, but there’s also sad moments and important issues throughout. It’s our job to convey the message across to the audience, which can definitely be challenging with such an emotional storyline."

Iconic characters from the show like Collins, Joanne and Maureen are brought to life by Joema Frith, KC Martinez and Hailey Haughton-Rogers, respectively. Fans (sometimes known as ‘Rent-heads’) will be floored hearing their renditions of "Santa Fe" and the famous duet "Take Me or Leave Me."

However, one of the most recognizable characters is Angel, played by Khalen Moodie-Powell. "This is a part I’ve wanted to play for years. Her personality is something I relate to and can see in myself."

Moodie-Powell exudes the same spirit, pluck and vivacity as Angel, one of the toughest roles in the show. It requires a multi-talented singer, dancer, actor, comedian and percussionist. And most of it is done in heels.

"The heels are so challenging," Moodie-Powell says. When asked about the most exciting part, he jokes, "Also the heels!"

"I am living out all of my costume fantasies in this one show. Men in theatre don’t always get the most exciting things: but here, I get heels, wigs, and full-make-up. I get to do things I can’t do every day, and it gives me a lot of Angel’s confidence, which is so different from my own."

The last of the principals is actor Robert Glean, who has a particularly special connection to the show. From 1997 to 2001, Glean spent three and a half years in the cast of the original Broadway production before doing the show across Canada and in two of Rent’s national tours.

Now, 21 years later, he’s returning to the role of Benny, who he covered as a swing. When recounting the story, he says, "I was so fortunate to originally join the show in New York because someone broke their ankle."

"I’m very humbled when it comes to this show," continues Glean. "My favourite part has been hearing the music again and the live music behind the harmonies. That is the pièce de résistance and the drive in this show."

Even after all these years, "I feel grateful that I’m able to still pass on Jonathan’s [the author’s] message. Having touched the play itself where it started at the Nederlander Theatre in New York and singing with the cast who started it - it resonates with you. Coming back now is a way for me to pay homage to the show."

Rounding out the show’s talented cast is an 11-person ensemble that plays dozens of roles throughout the play. Those performers include BOTG veterans like Diana Bernasiewicz and Brady Morrison to the debut of Jade Stafford, who herself has seen Rent 29 times.

It also features Victoria Shalygin, who appeared in the cast of Footloose back in March 2020 - the last time a musical was performed in the Oakville Centre. Now, two years later, she’s one of the actors to help bring musical theatre back to the same venue.

After months of preparation and hard work, the entire cast, crew and producing team at BOTG are ready to take the stage once again.

"It’s like the lyrics so beautifully say," suggests Cadeny, "Forget regret or life is yours to miss." That’s one of the lyrics sung through multiple numbers in the show. "We can't stay inside and wait. We as a community need to get back out and experience life."

Even in the face of adversity and uncertainty, seizing the moment is the source of power in Rent. These days, that’s a message that stirs through all of the town and our world.

RENT

Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson.

Directed by Chantal Forde and Tim Cadeny.

Choreography by Keleshaye Christmas.

Now playing at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts until April 10, 2022.

Tickets are available online here.

Starring Vincent Perri, Karim Bayoumi, Crea Wilkins, Joema Frith, Khalen Moodie-Powell, KC Martinez, Hailey Haughton-Rogers and Robert Glean.

Also starring Diana Bernasiewicz, Cleopatra Burton, Alexandra Chappell, Annie Drysdale, David Huffman, Samantha Lindgren, Brady Morrison, Victoria Shalygin, Jade Stafford and Sarah Stapleton.

Audiences should be advised the show is recommended for those aged 13 and up, and it contains both mature language and subject matter.

Editor's note: while this story is not sponsored by Burloak Theatre Group or the Oakville Centre, the author of this story is affiliated with the show and contributed to the production on a volunteer basis.