NDNU Brings 'RENT' to Belmont

Five hundred twenty-five thousand and six hundred reasons why ’s production of the hit Broadway musical “RENT” brought audiences to their feet are easy to list.

Among those reasons: amazing vocal ability. It seems that there wasn’t a cast member in the show, which ran from Feb. 25 to March 6, who had a bad voice.

Mimi (Alanna Pinell) rocked the stage, strutting in heels with belting vocals and plenty of enthusiasm. Not to mention her well-choreographed number for “Out Tonight” where she danced in a cage-like manner and even hung upside down at parts from scaffolding.

And Joanne (Alina Fontanilla) wowed audiences with her abilities. Even some “Voice Mail” quick numbers, some sung by Alexi Darling (Elaina Vielbaum), were funny and well-performed.

The rock-opera, if you’ve never seen the Broadway show or 2005 film by the same title, is Jonathan Larson’s modern adaptation of Giacomo Puccini’s classical opera La Bohème.

It's a comment on society’s dealing with the epidemic of AIDS in the early 1980s. It's also an underlying love story between Mimi and Roger (Luther Simon), and yet so much more.

The two main characters do fall in love and of course it’s complicated: drug addictions, poverty and sickness. In Puccini’s version however, (spoiler alert) Mimi tragically dies of tuberculosis at the end in a grand finale. In this version, Mimi magically comes back to life to sing the finale, which the cast did with such energy and partially in the aisles that no one would have guessed this was a tragedy.

The musical was provocative: innuendos galore, sensual dances and lustful interactions between characters of both sexes. Just slightly inappropriate for the young children in the audience. Yet, the audience loved it. They laughed at the right parts and applauded enthusiastically after each number and the cast’s wonderful portrayals.

The only thing slightly missing from this performance was real chemistry between the characters. It was not quite believable the tension between Joanne and Maureen (Amanda Andrews) or the true love between Angel (Matthew Bettencourt) and Tom (Kelvyn Mitchell).

Not to be prude, but with some choices of character costumes, it was a wonder there weren’t any embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions. Hanging from scaffolding or wearing too-short skirts and shirts during dance numbers probably made some people squirm but luckily, it did not take away from the musical as a whole.

Speaking of Angel, recent high school graduate Bettencourt was so enthrallingly perfect in his character, he brought tears to many when he dramatically passes away. His outfits as a cross-dresser, in no less than four inch heels, and high-note songs combined with a sweet, lovable personality definitely turned out to be an audience favorite – especially in “Today for You”.

The company itself, when they sang the famous “Season’s of Love” worked so well together, notably the soloists’ amazing vocal capabilities. “Tango Maureen” with Joanne and Mark ( Neal Pascua) left murmurs in the aisle seats during intermission. “Did you see that tango?” said a woman. 

So yet again, NDNU Musical Arts Onstage brings some theatrical magic to Belmont and a little vie boheme. It makes one wish they did more musicals.