THOUGHTS: "RENT Remixed" Closing

(Second post today, read below for more.)

So the RZ bit the bullet and went to the production of doom for a third time. It just seemed like the right thing to do - having been in the front row for the first production, he was in the back of the circles for the last. And what do you know, this time it almost clicked. Perhaps it was Jesse Wallace not being as vulgar and in-your-face as Denise Van Outen. Perhaps it was having a Mimi who could sing without gasping like she were drowning and fading into the ensemble. Or maybe it was just not caring anymore. The production retained its major flaws in structure and text, but taken as a concert of Larson's songs, it was a passable and dare the RZ say, entertaining evening. While it fails as a production of a cohesive musical, the RZ still feels there is enough interesting material here to justify aural preservation but doubts a legit CD will ever come.

Meanwhile, as far as the West End Disaster Watch goes, the internet is eagerly anticipating April's opening of Gone With The Wind, and the RZ's first preview ticket is thankfully purchased and at the ready. For the musically deprived otherwise, Stratford East have a Barbican transfer opening soon, an in-house production doing the same, and Hackney Empire are working through a musical about Sister Wendy, the great art-show Nun. Indeed, there are good times ahead.