Rent in Concert

Stage director Bobby Garcia and his Dreamgirls, Bituin Escalante and Anna Fegi, are shooting the breeze, chatting up a storm, to unwind after hectic, back-to-back pictorials. Bobby, Bituin and Anna are reminiscing about the frenzy of mounting Rent in Singapore.

"We learned that if you are in a different country, you simply cannot say ‘Moo with me, Singapore,’" Bobby recalls, laughing at the recollection. Anna sheepishly owns up as the culprit, but backtracks a bit. "Actually, it wasn’t my idea," Anna exclaims with mock horror on her face. "It was another actor’s suggestion. It was just stupid of me to go along with it."

And what was the reaction of the usually stern-and-staid Singaporean crowd to such risqué behavior? "They all chanted ‘Moo!’ with me," Anna roars. "See, I’m not the only one who’s gullible."

Memories like those make Rent the ultimate dream musical for Bobby, his Dreamgals, and the entire Atlantis Productions troupe. "When we look back at our memories of a particular production, we go beyond the actual performance," Bobby chimes in. "The memories are mainly in the rehearsals!"

"The character Maureen had the embassy worried," Bituin remembers. "We were really scared," Bobby recalls. "We were worried about the lesbian kissing scene." "And I showed off my behind," Anna gasps.

What they would do for their art!

"You know that one of the best Maureens I ever saw was a man," Bituin states oh-so-casually. "It was Carlo Ledesma and he did Maureen once during rehearsal. He did Over the Moon. It was hilarious. He was so good."

Now, Bobby’s Rent veterans are revving up for a reunion. Atlantis Productions, the local theater scene’s most dynamic theater company, is mounting Rent in Concert at Onstage in Greenbelt Makati today.

For this unique musical odyssey, Bobby has gathered such Rent graduates as Michael de Mesa, Calvin Millado, JM Rodriguez, Carlo, Bituin, and Anna. Also featured in the concert is Rent neophyte, singer Nyoy Volante, who made waves as part of the Dreamgirl chorus.

Also included in the 15-strong lineup of performers are Amparo Sietercales, Manman Angsico, Beatrice Gomez, Lana Jalosjos, Ariel Reonal, Glory Sicam, Boyd Tinio and Joel Trinidad. Rachel Alejandro, who tackled the role of Mimi in the second Manila run, is also set to make a special appearance in the concert.

Fresh from the twin triumphs of The Rocky Horror Show and Dreamgirls, Bobby once again chose to take the road less traveled in theater, with Rent in Concert.

Why did Bobby choose a concert version of Rent? There’s a practical reason behind the decision, is how Bobby puts it. "It’s because RCBC, the venue for our next play, Urinetown, is not yet ready," Bobby explains. "And we had free time between two productions. And also we had that weekend in Greenbelt available. It all depends on whether we have an available venue or not."

As they say, everything just fell into place. As if the entire universe conspired to make this production possible. "Although we have already done Rent thrice in the past (in Music Museum and Singapore)," Bobby volunteers, "it will be the first time we’re doing it in concert form."

It was an idea whose time has come. "We want to celebrate the music," Bobby pipes up, "the beautiful music. And to celebrate the singers who sing the songs so wonderfully."

A musical celebration, Rent in Concert is similar in concept to the Les Miserables Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1995, where Lea Salonga moved the world as Eponine. Rent in Concert will allow audiences to enjoy the show’s main strengths: the music and the message, the story and the songs.

"The music and the words are so powerful that a Rent concert will have just as strong an impact on people as a full-out staging," Bobby professes. Rent in Concert is not only a fitting tribute to Jonathan Larson, the gifted composer behind the landmark musical, but also a chance to go back to its modest off-Broadway roots. "The first time Rent was performed off-Broadway in 1997, it was in concert form," Bobby chimes in. "The first preview fell on the day after Jonathan Larson’s death. The actors were so overwhelmed with emotion that they couldn’t go onstage and perform. So the director, Michael Greif, decided to do the entire play in concert form."

Even stripped of the industrial-age sets, the modish costumes, and the splashy staging, Rent in Concert still promises to be an unforgettable theatrical experience. "In choosing the plays that I do," Bobby reflects, "I usually focus on the story. Is it a story that the audience and I can relate to? Sometimes, it’s because of the music. Are the songs haunting and powerful? When it’s really a great show, it’s both."

The story is engaging and the songs are memorable. "Just like Rent," Bobby beams. "It’s really relevant. Especially in times of war and difficulty. It’s very now. It speaks to today’s youth – a generation that has never been addressed to before in musical theater."

And that’s more than enough reason to revisit Rent in Concert today, at Onstage in Greenbelt Makati.

(For ticket inquiries, call Atlantis Productions at 892 7078 or Ticketworld at 891 5610.)