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Rent: On Stage at
the Carnival
Center
for the Performing Arts Nov. 2 to 4. |
Since its 1996 debut, Rent has been
one of the most talked-about musicals of its generation, with a
Pulitzer Prize and four Tony Awards to show for it. Now,
courtesy of the Broadway Across America tour, Miamians will be
able to see what all the fuss is about when the show plays at
the Carnival Center
for the Performing Arts Nov. 2 to 4.
Written
by the late Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif,
Rent follows the lives of eight young friends in New York
City’s East Village
during the late ’80s and early ’90s. The story begins and ends
on Christmas Eve and, in the course of one year, deals with
AIDS, poverty, love, loss and coming to terms with oneself in a
world that’s not immediately accepting of alternative
lifestyles.
Although
the 35-week, 90-city tour can be exhausting, the live energy of
the show invigorates the cast each time out. “I get tired of the
traveling, but never the show,” said Jed Resnick, who plays the
nerdy bohemian character Mark. To his credit, though, Resnick
didn’t tire of answering our silly questions. Here’s what he had
to say:
Mark
is an aspiring filmmaker. Do you ever follow your cast mates
around with a camera in the interest of “staying in character”?
I do.
I’m one of the “documenters” of the tour, so I’m constantly
taking pictures. I don’t have a video camera, so I’m stuck with
30-second video versions of action on my digital camera.
Tell
me something terrible one of your castmates has done that you’ve
recorded.
We hit
up a lot of interesting bars, so there are probably a few photos
of castmates with drag queens. Britney Houston, who used to be
an Angel understudy on the tour, is our favorite drag queen in
New York.
Speaking of incriminating, what’s one thing you’re dying to do
while in Miami?
I
probably have to make a trip to the Fontainebleau to see where
Top Chef took place.
Did
Hung deserve to win Top Chef?
Are you
kidding? It was Casey’s season. She just messed up. It was so
sad. Hung was a phenomenal chef; he just wasn’t my favorite on
the show.
Who
did you think would win?
Tre. I
almost cried when he got kicked off. I thought it was his
season.
If
there really is “no day but today,” as one of the featured songs
says, what does that make tomorrow?
Hmmm,
good question. I don’t know. [Reading the New York Times]
Tomorrow: showers and cooler. High 64.
Be
honest: Your touring version is better than the movie that came
out two years ago, isn’t it?
Yes. No.
It’s a different form than the movie. Theater acting is more
exciting than film. So in that respect it is better than the
movie. But it’s the same story.
Did
Anthony Rapp (the original Mark on Broadway and in the movie)
give you any advice about playing Mark?
No, but
I have gotten the chance to meet with him and chat with him a
few times. He’s so comfortable in the role that it’s a reminder
to be simple and true and that’s all it takes.
Rent
is playing at the
Carnival Center for the
Performing Arts Nov. 2 to 4. Performances are Friday and
Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. with
matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets range from
$27-$61 and are available at
carnivalcenter.org or by calling 305-949-6722. |
