Perth audiences will get to experience on of the most acclaimed musicals of modern times when Rent opens at His Majesty’s Theatre on 11th May.
Jonathan Larson’s Rent opened Off-Broadway in 1996 and quickly became a global phenomenon. The show earned Larson multiple Tony Awards along with a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a distinction not received again by a music theatre work until 14 years later.
Although Larson never witnessed the profound impact of his masterpiece, as he passed away suddenly just hours before the show’s public debut, the enduring success of his work stands as a tribute to its emotional depth and the timeless relevance of its message: “no day but today.”
Based on the opera La Boheme, the musical focusses on a group of young people filled with hopes and dreams and trying to make it in the big city.
When we catch up with Noah Mullins who plays Mark is the show, I joke that the last time we saw them in Perth they were playing the leader of the Jets in West Side Story. It seems Mullins is eternally in New York, at least in a fictional sense.
The performer shares that they can’t wait to get back to the west coast though, and they are excited about bringing Rent to Perth audiences.
“Rent is about a lot of things. Primarily, it’s about a group of people who are just trying to experience love, whatever that means to them.
“We have a lot of beautiful queer love in our show. We also represent platonic love amongst the AIDS epidemic that was happening in the late 80s and early 90s in New York. It’s about a lot of things, but ultimately, it’s just about finding love.” Mullins said.
In the show Noah Mullins plays Mark, an independent Jewish-American filmmaker, whose roommate is Roger – a HIV positive songwriter and musician. Anthony Rapp played the role in the original developmental workshops, it’s Broadway and West End debut seasons and the 2005 film adaptation.
Mullins shares that they were not entirely prepared for the emotional nature of their characters role and connections to the HIV epidemic when the production began.
“I was not quite prepared for that.” Mullins said. “I think when I first got the script, I was like, okay, he’s around it and that, but then once I got on stage, I was like, “Whoa, Mark is right in the centre of this storyline, and he’s really carrying the weight of everybody.” It gets quite intense, but it’s an honor to be able to be a voice in the show like that.”
The actor said that as a young queer person they’d taken time to learn a lot about LGBTIQA+ history, but the storyline of the musical has made it an emotional, rather than a factual experience.
“When I was young and queer and trying to figure out my own stuff, I felt like it was part of my responsibility as a queer person to understand and what was kind of going on at the time, and to trace back to the roots of our pioneers.
“So, I had done a lot of research when I was in high school, but it was really, really, really lovely to come back and do even more, and come back to it with a much more mature brain and be able to approach the subject in a lot with a lot more kindness and love.
“It was an honor to learn more about it, and it’s really beautiful to share this experience and have people share their experiences with me after the show too. It’s been a whirlwind.”
The show Mullins stresses is also a really good time, and the cast are having the time of the lives performing it each night. After seasons in Brisbane, Melbourne and Newcastle they’re now a tight-knit crew.
“The music is Rent is really exciting, it’s fun, we call it a rock opera, especially our version of the show.” they said.
“It’s exciting, we have nig beautiful ballads and really amazing ensemble pieces. Our band is phenomenal, and it’s a really good time.”
Mullins also shares that the cast have had a lot of creative freedom in the production in developing their versions of the characters.
“What I’ve enjoyed the most is we have a lot of creative freedom on this show. Typically in Australia, you don’t get to do that. You get a Bible that you got to stick to, and you’re allowed to move from the text that you’re given.
“We don’t change the text or anything like that, we try and stay as true to the original as possible, but we’re allowed to kind of have thoughts and bring them to the director and say actually, I would love to try to see them this way, and that that’s been a real privilege.
“It’s really exciting because I feel like it’s allowed us to show our true colors on stage which is ultimately what the show is about.” Mullins said.
While the world only got Rent and Tick, tick…Boom! from the mind of Jonathan Larsen before he passed away, leaving us to only imagine what else he might have created, Mullins notes that it leaves Rent as a very different kind of musical.
“I wasn’t prepared for this, but it is a relatively unfinished musical, because it kind of opened and when you open the show, you have all these previews and especially when it’s a new show, they tweak things or add new songs, or take things out. What’s been interesting is, the script is kind of bare.
“It would have been amazing to see what Rent would have become if he had still been alive to tweak things and as most people get to do, but I think that’s also kind of the beauty of it. This was his first-ish draft of the show, and the fact that it’s so raw has really spoken levels to people.”
The show has Noah Mullins as Mark, his best friend of Roger, an HIV-positive musician recovering from heroin addiction, played by Jerrod Smith (The Lovers). Martha Berhane (Hamilton) is Mimi, a reckless and passionate exotic dancer who lives only for today.
The Voice 2023 finalist Calista Nelmes (Jersey Boys NZ) plays spirited performance artist Maureen, Mark’s ex-girlfriend and current girlfriend of Joanne, a tough, headstrong Harvard-educated lawyer played by Thndo.
Philosophy teacher Collins, father-figure, friend and former roommate of Roger, Mark, and Maureen is played by Nick Afoa (Miss Saigon), with Carl De Villa (Kinky Boots) in the role of Angel, an HIV-positive drag artist with a passion for life in the face of inevitable adversity.
Benny, played by Tana Laga’aia (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), is the former friend and current landlord of Mark, Roger, and Mimi.
Completing the cast are Anna Francesca Armenia, Kelsi Boyden, Mariah Gonzalez, Sam Harmon, Lawrence Hawkins, Josslynn Hlenti, Hannah McInerney, Sam Richardson, Chad Rosete and Theodore Williams.
Head to the Rent website for tickets, the Perth season opens on 11 May.
