That could reference either the number of times I've seen it or how many principal characters there are. Don't read this if you don't want to read a biased review of Rent written by a complete Renthead. Quick actor rundowns: Adam Pascal as Roger: I confess, I was a little disappointed. His voice sounded a little nasal and he kept getting to his lines kind of late. He got all of them in but one, though. "You can't quietly wipe out an entire tent city then watch 'It's a Wonderful Life' on TV." I always worry that whoever's playing Roger won't quite finish this line, but this was the first time I heard a Roger get cut off. Adam just seemed slightly off, though he got better in the second act, and his "Goodbye Love" was spectacular. Anthony Rapp as Mark: Since I am totally in love with Harley Jay's Mark, I wasn't expecting too much from Anthony. I was very pleasantly surprised; he was extremely enthusiastic, downright exuberant. He was crazier than I've ever seen in "Tango: Maureen." So much so that the Joanne (Haneefah Wood) actually caught him dancing crazy and said "Wow." Unscripted. "La Vie Boheme" was delicious as well. Anthony was on the whole night. It was great. And he sang like this: "We raise our glass, you bet your ass to...La Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie Boheme!" It was awesome. He held that note for about forever. Excellent. Lexi Lawson as Mimi: She had a very strong voice, excellent dancing, and portrayed the emotions very well. Her "Without You" was heartbreaking and beautiful. (Apparently she was once an American Idol contestant.) Justin Johnston as Angel: Wilson is and always will be at the top. But Justin is so close that were I to measure the increment between my fingers that you wouldn't see a gap. Top form. High energy, lovely singing, charming and adorable, perfect Angel. And his solo in "Contact" blew the roof off the place. Nicolette Hart as Maureen: I was worried because I saw her in New York, too, and she wasn't as I'd imagined. However, this performance, she was sexy and goofy and cute. Much improved from when I saw her last. "Over the Moon" had me laughing hysterically. Also, during the actual mooning in "La Vie Boheme," instead of just showing the left side of the audience, she hopped around and mooned the entire theater. I always thought it was unfair that only Benny and Mr. Grey got to see her ass facing them... Haneefah Wood as Joanne: She was fine and she did some variations with the vocals that I hadn't heard before, but I was underwhelmed. Also, I know Joanne is supposed to be a little butch, but Haneefah went so far as to make Joanne mannish, which she's not. Her singing was fine, though, and she held her own in "Take Me or Leave Me." Michael McElroy as Collins: I think I've seen him twice before and was consistently disappointed with his "I'll Cover You (Reprise)." Not this time, though. Still not as impassioned as I would have liked, but much better than when I saw him last. I actually felt emotion this time. Maybe the tour energizes people. Jacques C. Smith as Benny: I never really connect to Benny all that much, though Jacques made the character a little more active. He actually jumped on the table like a lot of the other characters do, which I've never seen a Benny do before. I liked it. He was better than Rodney Hicks, I'll say that, but he also didn't stick out too much. But way to go on the energy. Kudos. All in all, a very good performance, minus the random changes in the dialogue before "I'll Cover You (Reprise)." During the eulogies, they spoke in unison on "Angel was," "And then there was this time," and "us," during Mimi's Mark's and Maureen's respective eulogies. Not a fan. I realize they are all friends, but the unison lines there didn't work for me. And then I waited to get autographs and pictures and it turned out the cast had another event. Well, maybe I can convince Aunt B to wait with me on Saturday. Also, Caitlyn and Katy are awesome companions. Also also, I debuted my sexy red shoes and did pretty damn well. I didn't fall. Then the girls dared me to run. I managed a power-walk, and a parking lot attendant gave me a flashlight spotlight of sorts. Good times. | 
