Friday 8 May 1998
Rent! gets its due in Ottawa
Free sneak peek at hit musical draws huge crowd
Janice Kennedy
The Ottawa Citizen
Bruno Schlumberger, The Ottawa Citizen / Karen Le Blanc, who
stars as Joanne in the musical Rent!, kicks up a storm during a
free concert yesterday.
Pat McGrath, The Ottawa Citizen / Shawna McSheffery, 22, cheers
on the cast of Rent! at the Rideau Centre.
Rent! fever hit Ottawa yesterday as kids started lining up at
8:30 in the morning for a free midday concert by the Toronto
company of the splashy musical.
But -- who knew? -- Ottawa fever has also begun infecting the
cast of Rent!
"We didn't expect this kind of reaction in Ottawa,"
said Tricia Young, a member of the Rent! ensemble. Hundreds of
whistling, cheering, stomping young people, as well as a good
number of older ones, filled the Eaton Court area of the Rideau
Centre for the public concert, the first by the company.
"We're used to the kids in Toronto making a big fuss, 'cause
we're right there in town. But we never thought the kids here
would be the same."
"It was amazing," said Los Angeles native Damian
Perkins, "Benny" in the Mirvish production of Jonathan
Larson's award-winning musical, which begins its national tour
this summer in Ottawa. "We can't wait to get back
here."
"Amazing" was the word of choice for both sides of the
stage. That was how Sean Canniff, 22, described the show he saw,
an exuberant half-hour affair that featured several of the
musical's most popular numbers, including the anthemic Seasons of
Love. That brought the crowd to its feet with the sweet
stratospheric solo notes of ensemble singer Divine Earth Essence.
Brash and vibrant and loud, the concert had its mostly youthful
audience singing along with accelerating volume: "We're not
gonna pay, we're not gonna pay, we're not gonna pay, last year's
rent!"
Canniff and his sister Sandra, 24, both plan to get tickets for
the show when it comes to Ottawa for previews at the end of July,
formally opening Aug. 4.
So does Frederique Delapree, spotted singing along to all the
songs, even those with the complex lyrics. A self-described
diehard fan of the musical, which she has not yet seen, the
17-year-old McGill University student knows the score pretty much
by heart, having listened to it all year long in residence, where
it was the music of choice.
"I plan to go several times," she said. "I know
it'll be expensive, but it's worth it."
The Rent! company made their Ottawa mini-debut yesterday with
everyone except the leads, Roger (Luther Creek, who will be
leaving the show soon) and Mimi (Saskia Garel, temporarily
sidelined with chiropractic problems). Standing in impressively
as Roger for One Song Glory was understudy Dean Balkwill -- the
first member of the company to receive a hastily scribbled fan
note afterward. As the group wolfed down a quick post-concert
lunch before heading back to the airport and Toronto, Balkwill
opened it and read it out.
"Good job, babe," he began, before being drowned out by
cheers and wolf whistles from the other members of the young,
energetic company. Chad Richardson, the young Newfoundland native
who has made a stunning showbiz debut in the key role of Mark,
also seemed pleased with a card in a delicate aqua envelope that
he was handed after the show.
Tickets for the Ottawa run of Rent!, which runs until Aug. 9, go
on sale Monday both at the NAC box office and through
TicketMaster (755-1111). Radio station CHEZ-FM, an Ottawa sponsor
of the tour, will broadcast live from the box office starting at
8 a.m.