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WAYNESBORO, VA (Rocktown Now) – The Wayne Theatre presents “RENT”, a musical by Jonathan Larson, opening April 25th at 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Wayne Theatre Artistic Director Lesley Larsen, the production is about a group of artists living in New York City in the 1990s. A few of the issues the group deals with includes substance abuse, illness and finding identity.
“This play deals with the AIDS crisis that happened in the 80s and the 90s,” said Larsen. “So, Jonathan Larson uses this and based the story, he was the playwright, on a lot of people that he knew living in the East Village in New York City around that time.”
The source material is loosely based on the opera “La Boheme” by Giacomo Puccini. Larsen said some of the musical aspects of the opera is tied into “RENT” as well as inspiration for the character names. One of the numbers presented during the showcase is called “La Vie Boheme.”
Ian Callahan plays the character, Mark, who is a filmmaker and the narrator of the show.
“Mark is sort of the one friend who doesn’t really have a romantic partner at the time, doesn’t really have a path, doesn’t really know where he’s going in life with his art or with his career, or just really his friendships sometimes,” said Callahan. “So, he kind of feels like the outsider looking in.”
One number in particular showed Mark observing in the background while filming with his camera.
“That’s kind of a motif for Mark. There’s a lot of scenes where we’ll see him with his camera and really taking the time to be on the fringe and look in,” said Callahan. “That’s sometimes intentional, sometimes he wants that, but sometimes he’s sort of forced into that situation too.”
He said the process of getting into the production and character was layering stage blocking, acting decisions, props and costumes.
“So little by little you get to immerse yourself in this world as you continue to rehearse,” said Callahan.
This is also his first production with the Wayne Theatre after moving to Waynesboro in December.
“I’ve loved every second of it,” said Callahan.
Larsen said that the heart of “RENT” is found family.
“What we really wanted to focus on is how we find each other when the world feels unstable,” said Larsen. “There’s a line in the song ‘Rent’ that asks the question, ‘What binds a fabric together when the raging shifting winds of change keep ripping away?’ That kind of got me thinking about, how do we help show that?”
In a press release for the show, it was said that “RENT” is as relevant today as ever. Larsen said it is about humanity and living in a time of division. She said the show asks the audience how they measure their lives. One of the songs, “Seasons of Love” says to measure lives in love.
“It feels 100% appropriate that now, as we’ve all suffered this collective trauma. We’ve come out of COVID, but we still haven’t I don’t think dealt with COVID. And dealt with the things that that illness broke for us. This musical asks us to stop and ask really hard questions to admit total vulnerability and then to embrace possible solutions,” said Larsen.
Callahan said differences that challenge society’s “norms” are a big part of the themes of the show. He added that since the show is set during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, there was a stigma at the time.
“I think today we see a lot of stigmas still in a lot of different ways,” said Callahan. “Through different peoples’ identities, the way they sort of see themselves in the world and unfortunately it’s not respected by all. So, I think those themes of accepting differences and celebrating what makes us unique is something that is still really relevant.”
“RENT” will open on April 25th at 7:00 p.m. The production will run from April 25th to April 27th and May 2nd to May 4th. For more information about showtimes and tickets, the link can be found here: Rent – Wayne Theatre | Waynesboro, VA.