Review: RENT at Coastal Players & Theatre On The Bay

Recognized as the “newest theatre company in the Marinette and Menominee area”, Coastal Players brought live theatre back to the Menominee Opera House in 2019.  Fast forward five years, and they have teamed up with Theatre on the Bay, the well-known community program based at the UW-Green Bay, Marinette Campus.  While you may not look at Marinette, a town of just over 11,000 people, as the epicenter of performance art, performers from many communities across northeastern Wisconsin are honing in on the possibilities for non-profit arts in outlying communities.

When you look at the production history of Coastal Players, you see a theme with their show selections.  They bring a youthful edge to community theatre.  Previously they have staged The Last Five Years, The Rocky Horror Show, and Tick Tick, Boom!  Toss in this year's collaboration on RENT, and you start to see a theme.  All of these musicals tell stories of individuals confronting and overcoming personal struggles, challenging norms, and striving to stay true to themselves, embodying the power of resilience in both personal and societal arenas.  These themes connect deeply to the mission of both organizations. Theatre on the Bay has been inspiring “community pride, inclusion and enrichment” since 1966, with Coastal Players largely doing the same in their short existence.

Chase Grabowski in the role of Mark Cohen led the show with a vocal voracity that didn’t quit. While I felt at times Grabowski’s character took a different approach to some of the typical first act subtleties of Cohen, Act II grounded the character in its true essence. Throughout the early scenes of the show, I would have hoped for a more stoic and contemplative Mark Cohen to help progressively build to the emotional climax in Act II. While his character was energetic and playful, vocal stamina was the crown jewel of his performance.

The role of Mimi Marquez, played by Audrey Soberg, stole the show.  From her entrance in “Light My Candle” to her dramatic ending sequence, Soberg delicately balanced the internal and interpersonal conflicts of the character without leaving the audience behind.  Her consistency in character delivery combined with a powerhouse vocal made her performance the standout of the production.

The ensemble added very necessary variety and lent an eclectic feel to the production.  A large portion of the show's emotional content was derived from effective ensemble acting. Vocally, the supporting company left nothing to the imagination.  The harmonies in numbers such as “Seasons of Love” were memorable and well delivered.

The diversity and socioeconomic disparities of the neighborhoods of New York City are difficult to recreate on the community theatre stage. At times there seemed to be a lack of the essential grittiness and tension of the content. Although not all moments landed with as much magnitude as was likely desired, there were several sequences that spoke beautifully to the struggles and triumphs of the bohemian subculture.

This rendition of RENT took a relatively predictable and standard approach to the overall production, one that a RENT purist would appreciate.  Against a backdrop of vibrant, bohemian commotion, the characters navigated dreams and desperation, clinging fiercely to friendship, passion, and fleeting moments of joy.  The score, a work of the late Jonathan Larson, is one that is both haunting and hopeful. It was handled with care by an overall talented cast.  

RENT is finishing its run this weekend with performances on November 9th and 10th.

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