The spring musical, “RENT,” made its debut last weekend with a breathtaking performance given by the cast and crew at the John S. Umble Center. The pop-rock musical by Jonathan Larson handles heavy topics including poverty, death and loss, complicated relationships and particularly, the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and ‘90s. 

The story follows a group of friends, several of whom are living in an apartment in Manhattan’s East Village where the power has gone out, leaving them with no heat in the middle of winter. Characters are portrayed as they navigate their relationships and struggle in poor living conditions, questioning how they will be able to pay their rent.

Mark records Roger while Joanne (Aysia Adkins) talks on the phone.

There is a strong narrative of inclusion, specifically focusing on members of the LGBTQ+ community. For this group of friends, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is at the forefront of their lives as several people in their circles are living with the virus and needing to come to terms with the reality of death. 

For the cast of the show, it was very important to portray all of these characters with respect. Many of the actors are playing characters who greatly differ from themselves, requiring care and exploration from each performer. Amy Budd, assistant professor of theater and director of the show said, “I think that’s important and worthwhile in terms of building empathy for other human beings and learning to play people that are really different from you with honor and to not make fun of them ever, ever.”

While the production of “RENT” was selected by the directors, it was initially proposed as an option by students. Fatima Zahara, a senior theater and music major, and Phil Witmer-Rich, a senior English and music major, both felt that “RENT” would be meaningful to the Goshen community, with topics that speak to the modern experience. They worked together to write a detailed proposal, which was then signed by others in support of the project and then presented to the directors. 

Benny (Phil Witmer-Rich), calls Mark (Jocsan Barahona Rosales) and Roger (Leif Billings).

Although it was written in the ‘90s, “RENT” contains themes that are’ still relevant today. Zahara said, “I think that the concepts within the show are super time appropriate right now like rights for all people, human rights and capitalism and how it affects us.” Budd also spoke about the musical’s raw and timeless depictions of love, life and death, saying, “I think it’s important to ask those questions and let those stories be present because frankly, aren’t we all making those mistakes, surviving them and thinking about who to stay close to and keep in our lives? We all need to do that together.”

With “RENT” being written in the ‘90s, it contains several elements that were jarring to members of the production team at first, such as several synonyms for homosexuality which are considered slurs in today’s language. The cast had many discussions about how best to portray this and whether to use the words or switch to alternate terms. Zahara said, “A lot of us were really uncomfortable with that, but I think that we wanted to preserve the time period where people were taking these slurs and reclaiming them.” 

In a show with a lot of difficult topics and physical closeness to other actors, the production team took great care to be considerate with the boundaries of the actors. 

Mark and Roger sing to one another.

Keegan Wyse, a first-year music major, said in reference to a specific scene with a lot of physical contact, “I think everyone did an amazing job with talking about boundaries with the people they performed with … our choreographer did an amazing job of accommodation people who weren’t okay with the contact aspect and did contactless choreography for some people and I thought that was a very strong thing to do just to make sure everybody was comfortable.”

Overall, “RENT” has been a moving experience for directors, cast, crew and audiences alike. The characters are lovingly portrayed, allowing audiences to feel empathy for them and be immersed in the humanity of the story. 

The cast is shrouded by fog following the title track.

For those who have not yet had the chance to witness it, “RENT” continues this weekend with performances on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Umble Center.