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Rent

Last night, we went to see the opening performance of a local community group's production of Rent.

We had seen a professional production of this show, oh, about a decade ago in Chicago, and greatly enjoyed it, so I was interested to see how this version would compare.

Not bad - actually, pretty damn good.

It was a really fun performance. Extremely well cast, and performed with enthusiasm.

The player cast as Collins had an amazing voice, and - according to his bio - he is still in high school. Man, do I feel like a talentless loser...

And I had forgotten about the role played by the Maureen character - and in this production, she damn near stole the show. A petite blonde with an incredible set of pipes and a palpable fearlessness. And - this is something I noticed - she really was having fun (but in character) up there. During the last number, where the entire cast forms a line across the stage and sings, she was (subtly) boppin' to the music, holding hands with the Mimi character, just really into it.

The only downside was the sound - sometimes the voices were too soft. Roger was really hard to make out for most of the show, unless he was really pounding something out. Maureen was clear first act; sometimes soft in the second.

But it was opening night - time to iron out the kinks.

Great play - solid, very enjoyable performance.

And I've been playing the Rent soundtrack the entire time I've been composing this entry...one of my favorite CDs, actually, and I'm not a musical theater buff.