OK, so this past Friday on November 9 I was lucky enough to see the tour cast of RENT! Here's the review!

November 9th, Eight p.m., Eastern Standard Time: The curtain goes up and we meet Mark (played by Jed Resnick). Jed was a very strong performer, easily tapping into the emotions of the character, and had a great voice - loved his 'La Vie Boheme'. In the scene with him is Roger (played by Heinz Winckler). He was really good, though sometimes I felt that he was just singing the song and trying to sound good rather than get the emotion of the songs. From Roger and Mark comes Benny (played by John Watson) He had an amazing voice, and even looked a little like Taye Diggs. He had these wicked awesome polaroid sunglasses adding to his supposed 'Mr. Cool' vibe. Then comes Mark and Roger's roommate,  Collins (played by Anwar Robinson) I was fortunate enough to get to talk to this performer backstage, and he was incredibly nice. (transcription of the interview will follow in a later blog) He also could've done better capturing the emotions of some of his songs, but he did a wonderful job considering it was his first role. From Collins comes his boyfriend Angel (played by Kristen-Alexzander Griffith) who was probably one of the best cast members. He was wonderful as Angel, and whenever he jumped on things (which was often) he would go 'WHEEEEE!!' It was hilarious. After meeting them, we meet Mimi (played by Jennifer Colby Talton) Jennifer was AMAZING as Mimi, her voice was perfect for the role, she easily hit her notes in 'Out Tonight' and showed wonderful emotion in 'Goodbye Love' and 'Without You.' Joanne (played by Onyie Nwachukwu) was simply amazing. Although she had a lisp, it didn't take away from her performance, her 'Take Me Or Leave Me' was great. From Joanne comes Maureen,(played by Christine Dwyer). HILARIOUS performer. Her 'Over The Moon' had me laughing the entire song, and she had a great belt and was very feisty in 'Take Me Or Leave Me.'

Overall, the touring cast was amazing, and was the best group of voices ever to come to Raleigh. Each of the cast was strong, and if you're going to see this show, you're in luck. AMAZING!!

Later, I'll post my interview with Anwar Robinson (who played Collins) in a future blog.