It’s different this time.
The subject matter seems weightier. The emotional moments pierce even more as Lyndie Moe reprises her role of Maureen in “Rent,” which is on its “Final Season of Love” tour, stopping in Evans Feb. 7 for one night only.
“I lost my grandmother to COVID. She was the first person close to me who’d died,” said Moe. “When I came back to the national tour, it was almost like I’d never done it before.”
Set in the 1990s, “Rent” deals with another pandemic, or epidemic depending on which immunology resource is used — AIDS. Major medical advances have been made in the treatment of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but during the time the play was written, the disease took many lives.
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Moe said in playing the role of Maureen from 2017-2019, she was a little more removed. AIDS seemed distant to her. She hadn’t known people affected by it. Now coming through the COVID pandemic which took her grandmother, who she called “Maboppa,” “Rent” and its songs can be cutting and raw for her.
One of those difficult songs is “Another Day,” even though she sings part of it off stage.
“It feels extremely emotional,” she said.
And it goes without saying that “Seasons of Love” is another emotional song, according to Moe.
“It’s OK to be overcome with emotions,” she said, but she added that she had a job to do. Sometimes, she just has to push through them.
Despite the emotions involved in the production, Moe said she’s grateful to have been called back for the 25th anniversary/farewell tour.
It carries special memories of her grandmother because it was the last stage production her Maboppa saw Moe in. Moe is dedicating the tour to her grandmother.
“Rent” is Jonathan Larson’s 1996 revisiting of Puccini’s 1896 opera “La Boheme” Larson was quoted in The New York Times as having analyzed Puccini’s work and broken it down before creating his 20th century take on it.
Whereas tuberculosis was the scourge of Puccini’s day, AIDS was the disease taking the lives of the artists and others who Larson knew. Four of the characters in “Rent” are HIV-positive.
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In the ensuing 26 years, people have made side by side comparisons of Puccini’s and Larson’s characters. Larson changed many of the names although the pivotal character of Mimi has the same name.
“Rent” won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, four Tony awards and was one of the longest running shows on Broadway, but its composer never got to see any of that. He died of an aortic aneurysm the morning of Jan. 25, 1996. “Rent” would open that night at the New York Theatre Workshop. “Rent” debuted at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre April 29, 1996.
“Rent” will be performed at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 7 at the Columbia County Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $50-$65 and are available at thecenterofcc.com.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Managing Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
