RENT- Overpriced? No. Overrated? Yes!

My high expectations were destroyed this Tuesday by the highly rated performance of RENT showing at Playhouse Square. I went in with an open mind and left with a depressed spirit.

Some positive points may have brought enjoyment to the show, but the amount of innuendo, vulgar actions, and curse words, distracted me from the main plot. I found myself so busy trying to ignore the disturbing dancing and sexual promiscuity that I had great difficulty finding pleasure in any of the story.

Most of the time the innuendos can be overlooked in any performance, but to add to that, I was also unable to relate with the characters. Although each of the actors had extreme talent in acting and singing (especially Lexi Lawson who played Mimi), their raw talents were wasted on roles that failed to draw me into the story. When a person watches a movie, he or she expects to esteem and identify with at least one of the characters. None of the characters in RENT possessed qualities admirable enough for me to love them. Even after the characters were fully developed, I still could not find a “hero” in any of their personalities.

The most disturbing part of RENT was the main theme. Every character considered their “happily ever after” to include sleeping in whoever’s bed was closest and smoking or drinking to take away all the left over pain. Their overall lifestyles had no moral standards. In reality the general population of the real world would never desire to live that way. Instead, people dream of a perfect, long-term relationship with one person, in a cozy house. Most of the world objects to the idea of self-centered humans living with a please yourself mentality. In RENT every so often the ideas of love, peace, and happiness came out in the actions of the characters, but those few glimpses hardly made up for the shortage of moral concepts. So considering the painful plot, a person thinking about seeing this show must ask themselves if in the end self-gratification can truly bring happiness?

RENT now showing at Playhouse Square from January 6th- 11th. For more information call: (216) 771-4444 or go to playhousesquare.com.