CARLSBAD – Sometimes you have to go for the classics — even when it isn’t easy.
New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad is performing “Rent,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical from Jonathan Larson, through Dec. 24, which coincides with the show’s first act taking place on a free-spirited yet impoverished block of New York City on Christmas Eve.
The production was the longtime goal of NVA founder and executive director Kristianne Kurner, who worked for 10 years to get the rights to perform “Rent.”
This season, not only NVA but Diversionary Theatre in University Heights received permission from Music Theatre International to stage the hit musical that was a generation’s first exposure to queerness and gender nonconformity.
NVA’s production is traditional, with a fourteen-member cast bringing Larson’s rock musical to life. This works well in the intimate 100-seat theater where proximity to the actors makes the emotional beats of the show more harrowing and moving.
For Diversionary, the LGBTQ+-theater promises a never-before-seen “Rent” with experiential and immersive elements in May 2026, to close out its 40th season.
After the shock of two San Diego theaters receiving rights to “Rent” in the same season, NVA and Diversionary agreed to team up for cross-promotion and speaking on the relevance of the show’s message.
What it’s about
For those unfamiliar, “Rent” premiered in 1996 as a modern retelling of Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera “La Bohème.”
Both feature an ensemble cast of starving artists trying to live a bohemian lifestyle amid rising outside pressures, whether they are in 19th-century Paris or 1990s-era NYC.
In “Rent,” eviction, drug addiction and the HIV/AIDS crisis interfere with the friends’ artistic goals. The characters build community with each other despite their differences and learn to live each day to the fullest, while staring their own and their loved ones’ mortality in the face.
Larson’s musical is an entreaty to the audience not to hide from the terrors of life, but instead to learn from the marginalized people who survive them every day. In particular, “Rent” broke barriers to show how the HIV/AIDS crisis hollowed out communities.
Of the core ensemble, most are queer, including drag queen Angel (Xavier J. Bush) who is the heart of the friend group and show even as AIDS attempts to dim his light.
Van Angelo gives a raw and unflinching performance as Angel’s partner Collins, as he supports Angel through the final stages of the disease. The pair bring a palpable tenderness towards each other, so it’s no wonder they are partners offstage as well.
Meanwhile, upperclass lesbian Joanne (Eboni Muse) is torn between familial expectations and community responsibility as a public interest attorney during a tumultuous relationship with ever-cheating bisexual Maureen (Shannon McCarthy). In their San Diego debut, McCarthy channeled the weird energy of experimental performing arts stunts of the last century for much-needed comedic relief.
A decade ago, I would have railed at the harmful stereotype of the “bisexual slut.” Now I’ve met enough polyamorous people to see Maureen as a victim of her time, when the lack of language for non-monogamous relationship structures trapped her in a cycle of failing to meet heteronormative expectations. Maureen is deeply unhappy, as are the partners she burns along the way.
NVA’s production team
In Larson’s book, the plot is subservient to the character development. The director can tangle the convoluted plot more or simplify it through the actions’ emotional ricochets on stage.
Here, director Kym Pappas excels.
Under her direction, Juwan Stanford infused landlord Benny with a smug and manipulative air that clarifies why his former friends are so publicly protesting Benny’s plan to redevelop the Bohemian block that reeks of poverty, drug use and illness — and also a freedom only found on the outskirts of society.
Rounding out the cast, lonely documentary filmmaker Mark (Brennen Winspear), HIV+ songwriter and recovering heroin user Roger (Josh Bradford), and sickly, addicted stripper Mimi (Lena Ceja) are among the ensemble living in Benny’s illegal, unheated warehouse apartments.
The remaining ensemble cast members Emelysse Paez, Tommy Tran, Tyler Martinez, Shelby Garza, Maya Efrat and Griffin Hanson took on several small parts each as parents, waiters, unhoused people, drug dealers and AIDS support group members making up the fabric of the city.
From those on stage the least to its main stars, NVA’s cast has top-tier voices that shine over Larson’s pre-recorded soundtrack, made up of iconic musical theater melodies like “Seasons of Love,” “Take Me or Leave Me,” and “La Vie Bohème.”
Although synchronous to the ‘90s, Christopher Scott Murillo’s scenic design could have used a few more elements to differentiate when the cast was outside in the lot and when they were in the warehouse apartments, a point of confusion for the audience.
Likewise, some of the ‘90s attire from costume designer Jess Moreno Caycho felt too crisp and inorganically torn to truly be worn by the impoverished characters.
Meanwhile, wig design from local drag leader Amber St. James was shockingly good. Jordan Gray delivered impeccable sound design.
Performances run at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 24 at NVA, 2887 State St., Carlsbad. Call the box office at (760) 433-3245 or visit newvillagearts.org for tickets.
Stay tuned for Diversionary’s production next year.
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