Review: RCC's "RENT" Captures Current Social Climate Through '80s Nostalgia

Riverside Community College Theater Department's production of RENT is giving a voice to marginalized communities. Nowadays, when protesting for the voiceless has resulted in deportation for some, Jodi Julien's production of Jonathan Larson's timeless play serves as a call to resist the oppression of queer people, individuals with disabilities, and artists in our society.

"RENT" follows a group of artists living in New York City's East Village as they navigate life through the AIDS epidemic, gentrification and struggle as artists. The play revolves around Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, and his roommate Roger who is HIV positive, figuring out how they will pay for rent.

Their landlord, Benny, previously lived with them before owning the building. Initially, he wasn't going to charge them but demands payments from Mark and Roger unless they stop their friend's Maureen's protest against gentrification in their neighborhood.

Their friend, Tom Collins, falls in love with a drag queen. Meanwhile, Roger falls for Mimi, a dancer fighting drug addiction.

The lives of these artists continue to hit bumps on the road as they try to avoid the pitfalls of everyday struggles.

Watching college students perform a play about struggling artists creates a sense of kismet. The words of Larson become a clear metaphor for the struggle that exists in trying to make it out of the community college stage. It is hard to disconnect reality from fiction and the ensemble shines through the hardships.

The choreography of Brenda Jill Castillo allowed the ensemble to create a dynamic performance within the constructs of a black box-styled theater. Dance routines taking place on moving furniture helped avoid the staleness that a small stage musical can make.

The performances of Tien Sumanti as Mark Cohen and Victoria Villamil as Maureen Johnson rounded out the ensemble. Sumanti's soliloquies encapsulated the pain of his friends. Villamil's solo protest was filled with charisma. The ensemble was backed by an orchestra that rocked out through nostalgic tunes of the 1980s.

At times, the scenes played out with extra cheese on them. The scenes of the drug dealer selling to Mimi came off cringy, even for a musical. But, they did not completely take me out of the play.

The original production of "RENT," first went on stage in the mid 1990s. Its context pinpoints a specific time in history. The AIDS epidemic marked a dark time for the queer people. Clearing the streets of New York clean of drugs through gentrification is as '80s as it can be. Addiction ran through the streets of big cities across the U.S. Yet, Larson's words still amplify a struggle that is felt to this day.

The queer community still faces oppression from the people in power, gentrification is still pushing people into crumbling inner cities and the government is still making it harder for people with disabilities to survive.

"RENT" may have been written over 30 years ago, but RCC's production remains as timely as ever. As Angel puts it in the play, "Times are shitty, but I'm sure things can't get any worse."

More information: "RENT" opens April 3 and runs through the weekend at Landis Performing Arts Center, 4800 Magnolia Ave, Riverside. For tickets and details, visit rcc.edu/community/musical-theatre.