Last Thursday, November 13, marked the premiere of Rent, which happens to be the Catawba College Theatre Arts Department’s first ever collaborative production with Lee Street Theatre. This was by no means a small project; Rent is a Tony Award-winning rock musical written by Jonathan Larson about a group of artists struggling with poverty, drug addiction, sexuality, and issues relating to HIV/AIDs in New York City in the early 1990s. A large cast was to perform and a multifaceted set was to be built on Hedrick Little Theatre’s stage for the showings at Catawba College, and, afterward, this set was moved to Lee Street’s stage.
The success of the collaboration could be seen in the fact that all of the seats for the performances of Rent in Hedrick Little Theatre were soon sold out, and that campus was buzzing about the show for the entire month preceding its premiere.
One could tell upon entering the theatre that they were in for a vivacious performance. Ensemble actors such as Catawba College students Alex Donato, Holly Fuller, and Victoria Wetzel stumbled up and down the rows of seats, in character, begging for loose change and shouting nonsensical statements. Before the show, Fuller announced that any money collected would be donated to Rowan Helping Ministries, and then she shocked the audience with some violent swearing as she ordered them to turn off their phones.
The show itself could be described as provocative and poignant. The actors made the audience gasp, laugh out loud, applaud with excitement, and some viewers even cried. Those who attended were warned by signs on the outside of the theatre that they would be seeing and hearing things that were considered profane and/or inappropriate for younger audiences. The actors showed no signs of being intimidated by performing risqué choreography; Larissa Garcia, who played the exotic dancer, Mimi, did her dancing in thigh high platform boots, and Emily Olszewski, as Maureen, shocked the audience when she came on stage in revealing chaps. Sometimes, the ensemble interacted with the audience. During Saturday night’s performance, Alex Donato, in character, put an older gentleman on the spot and asked him for a spare dollar. When the man claimed he had nothing to give, Donato proceeded to flash him a rude hand gesture before returning to the musical number.
Rent was a fantastic show and a brilliant example of community members coming together to produce something meaningful for those involved and those who are able to see the final product. If you have yet to see the show, hopefully you already have your ticket reserved for the performances at Lee Street theatre next weekend because they are sold out.
