The theatre has acquired a new name just in time for Luke Sheppard’s stonkingly good revival of Jonathan Larson’s much-loved 1996 musical inspired by Puccini’s La bohème. It also has a new look. The Tom Stoppard Theatre (formerly the Duke of York’s) has been reconfigured to embrace a portion of the audience onstage, with the cast weaving through them and sometimes sitting among them before rising to sing. It’s a change that wraps the spectators in “la vie bohème”, as it’s depicted here, emphasising the communality at the musical’s heart and giving a rough, impromptu feel to the production that contrasts with the blazing professionalism of its execution. It just adds to the soaring emotion of this pulsating staging.
The sad irony shadowing the piece, which depicts a group of impoverished young artists living in late 1980s New York under the threat of Aids, is that Larson died, suddenly and far too young, hours before its first preview (though not of Aids). That loss lends a further bittersweet potency to a show that urges us to live in the moment and cherish life, brief as it may be. The beautiful “Seasons of Love”, about how you might quantify the passing of a year, only becomes more moving given the multiple years that have elapsed since 1996. And, as with so many artists who died young, Larson’s death, at 35, also robbed the world of the further works this immensely gifted artist might have produced.
His rich imagination drives this kaleidoscopic musical, but that wealth of invention does, paradoxically, create limitations. There’s an abundance of serious material here: the terrifying impact of the Aids epidemic as it scythes down young people; the impossibility of living in a city where the rents are crippling; the difficulty of staying afloat as an artist while retaining your integrity. But the storylines tend to crowd each other out. The torments of our narrator Mark (the genial and hugely likeable Gaten Matarazzo) over whether to use his filmmaking talent to document the lives of his hard-pressed friends or whether to sell out for some cash, feel like a distraction from the central love stories. And the episodic, propulsive nature of the piece undercuts the weight of the issues. The ravages of both Aids and heroin addiction are framed a little too aesthetically.
Flaws aside, this is still an exhilarating show, superbly delivered, its central message about making the best of your brief time on earth powering across loud and clear. The grunge-clad performers drench us in gorgeous harmony in the choral numbers and bring a swirling, edgy energy to Tom Jackson Greaves’ precise choreography (including a highly enjoyable tango). But they also define individual characters with warmth and concision. Travis Ross and Alexa Lopez are touching as Roger and Mimi, both HIV positive: he responding with despair; she with fierce defiance. Lazy Violet and Danielle Fiamanya are crisply witty as the couple Maureen and Joanne.
And the heart of the evening belongs to Jeevan Braich, outstanding as the ebullient but tragically shortlived drag queen Angel, and Billy Nevers as Angel’s distraught lover, Collins, who earns a mid-show ovation for his desolate reprise of their duet “I’ll Cover You”.
★★★★☆
To May 29, rentthemusical.com