RENT the Broadway Tour

Review of RENT at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, MN

Decided to 'preview' the show (not that I needed an excuse... I do have tickets for the ASL performance on Sunday but still - I still miss 50 percent of the show by watching the interpreters so I thought if I saw it twice, it would help?)

So, no interpreters but armed with the entire libretto and a flashlight (just in case I blank out on the lyrics), I set off to try lottery.

No luck. (Stood near the lottery master whom recongized me as being deaf and ensured that he enuncnated the numbers clearly). Even checked my number to make sure he didn't already call it out.)

Student rush - got in. They put the kids in the back but I managed to convince them to put me up front (as I needed to be able to lipread the actors in order to keep up flipping pages in the libretto). Got A14 (roughly in front of Mark during "Seasons of Love"). Excellent sightlines and better seats than the lottery people (they sat in hard plastic chairs while I sat in the lap of luxury: a regular theater seat).

The interpreters were situated in the left boxes behind me and overhead but they came down to say hi and ask about understudies (Karmine Alers went on for Mimi) and some last-minute translation questions.

So I sat down extremely satisfied with the manner the box office handled my request (told them I was donating my time as an ASL consultant to the interpreters). Flipped through the program to match faces to characters' names and reviewed the libretto, tested out the flashlight (asked the usher - said it was fine as I didn't wave it around and distract others). Besides it was a small penlight, barely enough light to shine on one line of text.

The show starts - I'm fascinated by the level of bass that made the seats vibrate (oh yeah!) and forgot how extremely Deaf friendly the show was. How so?

The spotlight shines on the singer/speaker.

Some actors when finished singing/speaking, would point to the next person.

The blocking ensures that everyone is singing towards the audience (ease of lipreading) most of the time.

Most songs are between two people, makes the ping-pong watching easier - and closer together so I don't have to cran my neck towards each side.

Many, many visual gestures during "La vie Boheme" (the pregnant belly, the dog-walking, etc) that kept me on tab of where in the song they were.

The sound. When people lose their hearing, oftentimes the first pitches to go are the higher frequencies. So being bass-heavy, it was a haven for Deaf listeners who have remaining hearing (or like me, cochlear implants). Again, with the vibration, one can feel the beat as well.

Did some research and found that Rent was indeed interpreted during its NYTW run (most shows wait until 2-3 months after its Broadway run to offer an interpreted performance - so knowing that Rent beat the crowds by providing terps early in its run is a very big bonus.)

Even in the 2005 film, there are evidence of sneaky sign language (Idina - I mean, Maureen's signed ILY to the crowd before "Over the Moon" and 8BC in "La vie Boheme" and the fact it was open-captioned in the movie theaters for a LONG time, ensuring most of the college-aged Deaf community in Los Angeles saw it.)

The performance itself was wonderful. Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal (members of the Original Broadway Cast as Mark and Roger, respectively) were great. (Anthony has NOT changed one bit!)

The songs that I understood every single word without consulting the libretto or going "Huh"?: (not in order)

Rent (except the last 1/4 where the music drowned out the lyrics - the interpreters complained about not being able to hear the vocals. I relied heavily on lipreading during this section).

Over the Moon (typically, the Maureen is the easiest character to hear/lipread).
Tango Maureen
Take Me or Leave Me
Will I (my cochlear implants picked up all three harmonies and could hear/understand each harmony very well. This is the only song other than "For Good" from Wicked where I can hear and understand multiple parts simultaneously).
Life Support
Finale B
Without You
La vie Boheme A (lost half of LVB B - too fast)
Seasons of Love
What You Own

Songs I had difficulty following (knew the lyrics, cudn't match lyric with actual sound).
Out Tonight (basically it was "......ouuuuuttttt tonight...........blahblahblah.... ouuuuuutttt tonight!" Partly because I wasn't familiar with Karmine Alers' voice (knew Daphne Rubin-Vega's and Rosario Dawson's due to repeated listenings... I can't just hear the song and automatically understand it - it all depends on the voice. I understood both Idina Menzel and Eden Espinosa fine in Wicked but everyone else, eh. Even on the SAME song - "Defying Gravity".)
Christmas Bells
Happy New Year (too many people singing to pick out individual singers - any street scenes = difficult for me).
La vie Boheme B
You'll See


Songs I did catch MOST of it. (meaning I'd get a verse here and there while skipping other verses).
Santa Fe
Today 4 U
I'll Cover You
Your Eyes
Another Day

*During "Seasons of Love", I caught Anthony eyeing me multiple times (I think it was by the flashlight and the papers in hand.) I do know that Michael (Collins - was Jim in Big River with CTG/Deaf West - so he knew sign language) wondering why the Deafie was here on a Friday evening show while he knew the ASL performance was a Sunday matinee...)

Stage door. FREEZING COLD (okay it was 25 degrees but STILL! Especially when returning from a trip to California, it's a bit disconcerning to return to the whipping winds).

Most did not come out - only Karmine Alers, Nicolette Hart, Gwen Stewart and two others I forgot. Anthony and Adam didn't come out (not surprising). Caught Michael in the lobby.

I was surprised at the number of cast that knew sign language or at least knew one or two signs. Most touring productions have ONE if I'm lucky. But Rent hit the jackpot with five. (Not only that, three actually had some background/knowledge...)

Anthony Rapp - I didn't meet him but I knew from a friend that told me that he knew the difference between ASL and SEE and grew up using SEE but 'forgot' most of it. I'm sure if I do meet him, he'll remember more than he thinks - that happened with Gwen at stagedoor. (ASL: American Sign Language, SEE Siging Exact English - a visual sign system of English following the grammar and syntax rules so it'll come out as "I AM signING exactLY what I AM sayING at THE same time.")

Michael McElroy - the most fluent of them all. (from his Big River days with Deaf West, obviously.)

Gwen Stewart - knew sgn, regretted not being able to remember more - had a conversation with my mother saying SHE forgot it when I went to college so Gwen didn't feel too bad. She actually remembers more than she thinks (understood me fine without having my mother interpret, and signed a couple phrases back).

Both Karmine Alers and Nicolette Hart signed "thank you" (Nicolette Hart was surprised to see "another Deaf person at stagedoor" after encountering one at the Arizona stop - my friend - and told me about talking with her.)

Will have to see how the cast handles the Deaf crowd on Sunday - especially during the bows. Most productions take the extra steps to thank the interpreters (the cast of Spring Awakening forgot to) and some actually applaud them in the Deaf culture fashion (waving hands).

Told the interpreters about "who knew sign" and they went "oh crap." *grins*

Update coming after the Sunday matinee show. Still adding to my notes from multiple hours of mentoring/coaching the interpreters for the Sunday matinee show.

Final word: Rent - go see it.

Deaf Access: NYC versus the Twin Cities

Got the TDF (Theatre Development Fund) brochure yesterday in the mail (I subscribe to the TAP - Theatre Access Project - offerings even though I'm 1,000 miles away from NYC - good to know which shows have sign language interpreters or open captioning, I guess?)

But this is ridiculous. Pathetic even.

Of the 289 shows listed on TDF, only 8 (EIGHT!) are deaf-friendly for the next 2 months. (Only TWO musicals! Granted, Disney is the best with keeping up with a constant rotation of interpreted performances with TLK, Little Mermaid and Mary Poppins. There's always at least one Disney show on the offerings).

For those wanting to know:
MAMMA MiA! (The only show to offer all three - open captioning, I-Caption handheld captioning and sign language interpreter)
THE LION KING (okay, this one is in June) (ASL)
33 VARIATIONS (OC)
BLITHE SPIRIT (OC)
IMPRESSIONISM (OC)
REASONS TO BE PRETTY (OC)
EXIT THE KING (OC)
ACCENT ON YOUTH. (OC)
WICKED (I-Caption)
JERSEY BOYS (I-Caption - TBD)

Basically, while the others aren't accessible on a day-to-day basis, WICKED and MAMMA MIA! (and HAIRSPRAY while it was open) had the I-Caption which could be used EVERYDAY, at any seat in the house. (I used this at THE LION KING at the Animal Kingdom... sometimes it's in sync, sometimes it's not, so it can get frustrating. I spent more time fighting with my Gameboy-sized unit than actually watching the show... )

Seems that they are taking the easy way out by providing open-captioning than sign language interpreters... Those ASL performances are getting fewer and fewer in between.

Now, when one checks the Cultural Calendar for NYC for Deaf-friendly events that includes museums, art, theater (both Broadway and not), the whatnot... only 19 theater events (that includes Off/OffOff Broadway too!) are accessible for the Deaf.

That's sad, considering the number of offerings in Minneapolis-St Paul, MN are much MORE abundant than NYC.

Our calendar shows (according to VSA Arts MN):
ALL Broadway touring shows are interpreted at least once. (WICKED had two, and so will MARY POPPINS when it arrives here in September - basically, if it's a week or less, there's one day. But if it stays 3 weeks or more, there's two days).

For ALL shows (Broadway touring, regional, local, HS, community, nonprofit, etc), we have 61 (SIXTY-ONE!) shows in two months (Just March and April). Some days have up to 4 interpreted shows! More dates are always being added.

Many offer BOTH OC and ASL interpreters (mainly the larger ones like the Guthrie Theater does this).

Interesting?

I would like to know the factors that play roles in this discreprancy.

This is why I've never been to Broadway - I can't do a "weekend trip" I'm lucky if there's TWO in a month... Thinking there should be a promotion for Deaf HOH tourists to NYC - "Deaf Week on Broadway" where there's at least ONE show interpreted daily... even only for ONE week out of the year. Now, that'd be awesome! (Still mad at TDF for not providing interpreters for "Rent" while it was here - I gave up and went to see the tour. The last time Rent had interpreters was in 2001.

I guess I could do a 'weekend' and go to the I-Captioned shows - WICKED, MAMMA MIA! and soon to be JERSEY BOYS... Except I've already seen all three.

Discuss.