In daylights? In sunsets? In midnights? In cups of coffee? How would you measure the hard work and dedication of the cast of “Rent” in preparation for their premiere this weekend?
The Binghamton University theatre department’s Mainstage production of “Rent” has been in rehearsals all semester, first with vocals because the characters in “Rent” communicate almost exclusively in song.
“This production is wall-to-wall music,” said Tom Kremer, “Rent” director and theatre professor. “There is a page and a half of dialogue at most at one time, that’s it.”
Alex Gill-Pelchar, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, is playing Roger, a rock band singer who is dying of AIDS and dealing with the recent suicide of his longterm girlfriend. Gill-Pelchar has never seen the movie or musical live, but watched the Broadway production recording in a theater class before auditioning for the production.
“All of my opinions of ‘Rent’ are from doing it,” Gill-Pelchar said. “I didn’t have expectations going in; if the audience wanted to see a production of the movie, they should watch the movie. This is our take on ‘Rent.’”
With an immobile, mostly bare set adorning the Watters stage, the cast brings the musical to life with their own physicality and passion for each other and their performance.
“The set is highly theatrical and non-realistic, which is what we have been going for,” Kremer said. “It is the complete opposite of the movie.”
Adriana Caminero, who is playing uptight lawyer Joanne and a junior double-majoring in environmental studies and theater, added, ”We create the places on the set, from the lot to the loft to my apartment. Not that it isn’t important to have a set, but we keep the space alive with our words and how we interact with each other on stage.”
The theatre department Mainstage productions are the only theatrical productions on campus that offer students the opportunity to work with professors. When asked what it is like to work on an actual production with the department in comparison to taking theater courses, Erik Young, a senior majoring in theater, describes the two experiences as completely different.
“It is theory versus practice,” Young said. “You can work scenes in class all day long but once you get it on stage in front of 900 people, the work becomes a completely different animal, and there’s a different level of excitement there.”
While Mainstage productions are run through the theatre department, students do not need to be theater majors to audition. As a student in the Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Gill-Pelchar didn’t believe he would have the time or opportunity to do theater in college.
“I am so grateful for the reception I’ve received in the department,” Gill-Pelchar said. “Being able to audition for productions and to be welcomed in by the community was a really good feeling, and I never once felt like I was on the outside.”
Gill-Pelchar encourages students to come support the department and their fellow students by seeing “Rent.”
“This is something students should be proud of because it is students from their school up on that stage who have practiced and worked hard all semester,” Gill-Pelchar said. “They should want to go and support people doing what they love.”
“Come for the fun. It’s entertaining, it’s moving and it’s a chance to enter into another world for a couple hours, hopefully taking something back from it,” Kremer said.
Audiences can expect a wonderful night of high energy and musical euphoria. There is a reason students have been begging the department for years to perform this musical, and their passion for these characters and this story will be evident in the cast’s performance.
Performances are at 8 p.m. on Nov. 15, 16, 22 and 23, with an additional 2 p.m. showing on Nov. 24 in Watters Theater. Tickets are $10 for students, $16 for faculty, staff and seniors and $18 for general admission. You can purchase tickets at the Anderson Center Box Office or by calling 607-777-ARTS (2787).