'Rent: School Edition' at Trumbull High School - My Review

I do my best to attend as many high school theatrical presentations as I can. On behalf of the real journalists that cover the arts, this volunteer strongly encourages producers of local high school events to send their press releases to all of the local outlets, especially those with an online presence. I can't guarantee that each one of them will have room to print every one of the announcements, but the school website is usually not sufficient to get the word out, and I say that as the webmaster at the school where I teach.

I certainly was well aware of the current production of Rent: School Edition at Trumbull High School. Weekend performances sometimes overlap, which makes it difficult to make every opening night. Unfortunately this was the case with Rent: School Edition, but I wanted very much to catch a performance of the show that I knew would be a good one. All I will say about the controversy that preceded opening night is that even though I have already gone on record saying that Rent is not one of my all-time favorite musicals, I will vehemently defend any drama club's right to present it. I have heard that the THS principal attended the show on opening night, as well as the dress rehearsal Wednesday and reportedly was extremely impressed with the show.

Despite the pouring rain, supporters filled the large auditorium on Saturday night performance, so I was glad that I had already purchased my ticket online. The crowd was obviously excited to witness the result of all the hard work that the Trumbull students and the adults who work with them had put into this outstanding production. The students seated near me were as impressed with the performances of their friends as I was.

Artistic Director/English and Drama teacher Jessica Spillane fell in love with Rent in 1998 and over the years has taken hundreds of students on field trips to see it. "Now I am thrilled to be sharing it with my amazing and courageous students (almost all of who have never seen it on stage) and for all of us to now be sharing it with you," she writes. She also notes the ways that her 16th show at THS has expanded learning and leadership opportunities for her students and she expresses her gratitude to the connections that were made with some amazing people that will forever change the theater program.

The huge group of students that came out for this show should be very proud of their final product. I found the minor changes that were made for the school edition of Jonathan Larson's book to be positive and the five-piece onstage band played his soaring score beautifully. The large ensemble in effective costumes gave many of the musical numbers added depth and breath and the small "voice mail" groups were spot on. The harmonies of "Support Group" brought chills.

As for the production numbers like "La Vie Boheme/I Should Tell You," the iconic "Seasons of Love" and the title song, this cast (under the musical direction of Jerold Goldstein) brought them to new heights. Ms. Spillane's staging on the two-level set (designed by alums Sam Maloney, Stephanie Bont and student Beena Jacob and lit by Jess Rende) was sparkling. Choreography was done by Frank Root and student/dancer Morgan Fried; the ambitious "Tango Maureen" was well done.

In the lead role of Mark, Michael Ell was a natural. This senior already has many acting credits including To Kill a Mockingbird at Seven Angels and My Pal Bette Off Broadway. The lead role of the rocker Roger was played to perfection by sophomore Zac Gottschall.

Sophomore Ava Gallo took on the tough role of Mimi Marquez and sang and danced her way to the top. Emily Ruchalski, a senior, played the feisty Maureen with flair and Casey Walsh, in her final performance as THS, displayed her wonderful singing voice in the role of Maureen's long suffering girlfriend Joanne.

Michael Lepore was strong in the role of Collins who gets beaten in the opening number and meets Angel, played by the brave sophomore Matt Buckwald, in his first THS musical. This young actor has many other credits and pulled off this role with aplomb. Daniel Satter, a senior and accomplished musician, played the role of Benjamin Coffin III with the required severity.