By Laura Bloom Farber

Palm Canyon Theatre’s production of Jonathan Larson’s Rent is a success.

Rent is a mostly through-sung rock musical composed by Jonathan Larson, loosely based on Puccini’s opera La Bohème, but set in the 1990s in New York’s East Village, and haunted by the omnipresent specter of HIV/AIDS.  Sadly, Larson did not live to see the success of Rent.  He died ten days before his 36th birthday, the day before the first Off-Broadway preview performance.  

Puccini’s Rodolfo and Marcello are now Roger, an HIV-positive singer-songwriter, and Mark, a documentary filmmaker, who also serves as narrator.  Puccini’s Mimi retains her name but is now an erotic dancer with AIDS.  The score contains some memorable songs including the title song, and Seasons of Love (my personal favorite), both sung by the entire ensemble, Tango Maureen, sung and danced by Mark and Joanne, Maureen’s two lovers, Take Me or Leave Me, by Maureen (the Musetta-inspired character) and Joanne, and What You Own, sung by Mark and Roger.  Some of the remaining songs are less memorable.

Special accolades go to Jovi Olivas, who went on with 72 hours notice, replacing the ailing Allegra Angelo as Mimi.  She gave a spectacular performance, although partially “on book”, singing and dancing with finesse and beauty.  New to Palm Canyon Theatre, Patrick Wallace, as Mark, acted and sang with great skill and assurance.  Palm Canyon favorite Ben Reece portrayed Roger with his usual aplomb.  Roger’s duets with Mark were particularly effective.   The remainder of the excellent cast included Christine Michelle as Maureen, April Mejia as Joanne, Dwayne Arvinger as Tom Collins, Travis Creston Detwiler as Angel, Raul Valenzuela as Benny, and a superb ensemble consisting of L.T. Cousineau, Jana Giboney, Jessica Lenz, Dani Jara Lesaca, Robert Lesaca, Jackie Padgett, Sonny Von Cleveland, and Sanai Wright.

The four-piece band, under the direction of pianist Jaci Davis, and under an onstage platform, did a splendid job with the challenging score.  The spare, graffiti-covered set served the play well.

Rent continues with performances on October 28 and 29, November 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, and 23. Ticket prices are $38 for most adults, $34 for seniors, and $17 for students and children. (For non-musicals, prices are $32 for adults and senior and $17 for students and children). For tickets, call 760-323-5123 or visit https://ci.ovationtix.com/36239/production/1161187. The theater is located at 538 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262, between N. Palm Canyon Drive and Indian Canyon Drive, on the north side of E. Alejo Road.

PHOTO CREDIT: Carlos Mendoza

 The rest of the 2023-24 season consists of:

Elf (Dec 1 -  17, 2023) Based on the beloved holiday film, this hilarious fish-out-of-water comedy follows Buddy the Elf in his quest to find his true identity. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a hilarious journey through New York City on a search for his family. This modern-day holiday classic is sure to bring out Christmas spirit.

Sordid Lives (Jan 19 - 28, 2024) When Peggy, a good Christian woman, hits her head on the sink and bleeds to death after tripping over her lover’s wooden legs in a motel room, three generations of a family gather in a small Texas town for her funeral. The sad, hilarious truth of their “Sordid Lives” erupts in this Del Shores cult classic, a black comedy.

Something Rotten! (Feb 9 - 25, 2024) In this mash-up of sixteenth-century Shakespeare and twenty-first-century Broadway, brothers Nick and Nigel are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of the master playwright known as "The Bard."

Sweeney Todd (Mar 8 - 24, 2024) An unjustly exiled barber, returns to nineteenth century London, seeking revenge against the judge who framed him. Renaming himself Sweeney Todd, the now-mad man vows revenge, applying his razor to unlucky customers and shuttling the bodies down to Mrs. Lovett’s meat-pie shop.

The Boys in the Band (Apr 12 - 21, 2024) In his New York City apartment, Michael throws a birthday party for Harold, a self-avowed “thirty-two-year-old, pockmarked, Jew fairy,” complete with a surprise gift: “Cowboy,” a street hustler. As the evening wears on – fueled by drugs and alcohol – bitter, unresolved resentments among the guests come to light

The Light in the Piazza (May 10 - 26, 2024) Based on the 1960 novella by Elizabeth Spencer, the show is set in the 1950s in Florence, Italy. Margaret Johnson, a wealthy Southern woman, and her daughter Clara, who is developmentally disabled. When Clara falls in love with a young Italian man, Margaret is forced to reconsider not only Clara's future, but her own feelings.

Bye Bye Birdie (July 5 - 14, 2024) Set in the 1950s, this story is reminiscent of the King of Rock. A songwriter finds himself in trouble when the rock and roll teen heartthrob he writes for, Conrad Birdie, is drafted into the Army. As a publicity stunt to record and sell one more hit record before he is sent overseas, a televised farewell is planned.