‘Rent’ a dream come true for Mecca

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This article was published 12/06/2024 (732 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“Rent” is one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history. When it first debuted in New York in 1996, it won four Tony awards including best musical and best score — and now, the musical is coming to Brandon’s Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium for a three-night run.

It is a rock opera, said Erik Fjeldsted, the show’s director.

“The music is some of the most beautiful music that I’ve ever heard in a show,” Fjeldsted said. “‘Rent’ is actually my favourite production of all productions.

“Having done it a couple of times, and now getting the opportunity to direct it, especially with a fantastic cast like we have assembled here, it’s like everything kind of comes full circle for me,” he said.

This will be Fjeldsted’s directorial debut for Mecca Productions, the Brandon theatre company that’s presenting “Rent.”

Fjeldsted was born and raised in the Wheat City and went to theatre school in Montreal. Since then, he has landed many theatrical leading roles — including a role in “Rent” — and has additional experience directing in the film industry.

“Rent” is set in 1989, and centres around a group of friends living in New York at the height of the AIDS epidemic. Some have AIDS or are HIV-positive, but others are not, said Fjeldsted.

“Besides winning all those Tony awards, ‘Rent’ developed a loyal group of followers because of the message that it was speaking about at the time it came out — which is basically it’s all about love. It’s all about being there in the moment and being present for everything that may happen to you. And our cast has really grasped that concept,” he said.

“Our cast has such a love of the show that it shines through with what they’re doing. I’m almost in tears every time I watch them work. And honestly, it’s one of the most beautiful blends of voices that I have heard in any show.”

One of those voices is Brandon’s Tyson Dornn, who plays Roger Davis, a lead character who’s a once-successful but now struggling musician addicted to drugs, and is HIV/AIDS positive from sharing needles.

This will be the second time Dornn has played Davis — the first time was in high school. After Dornn graduated from École secondaire Neelin High School, he attended the Vancouver Acting School, where he studied film and television — something different, he said, from his 13 stage performances, including several with Mecca Productions.

When asked about the subject matter of “Rent” with drug addiction and the AIDS crisis, Dornn said it’s an important story to tell.

“When you get into the nitty gritty of the show, there’s drug abuse, and a lot of characters are experiencing terminal illness and losing somebody that you love so deeply,” Dornn said.

“It’s all very realistic with real life struggles, and I think the audience can relate to that in one way or the other. I think people are very moved by realistic things like that. It hits home sometimes,” he said.

The musical has 42 songs, and there are a few that people will find particularly moving, said Dornn.

“There are some numbers in the show that are so hard hitting that I’m hoping once the song is over — and I don’t want to spoil too much — but in my mind, I’m hoping that the audience is torn between whether they clap or stay silent, because it is such a hard-hitting number. That’s my own little secret hope,” he said.

Dornn added that he feeds off the audience and adapts his performance pacing according to their energy.

“It really helps with how I say a line faster or hold back a bit,” he said.

“The audience drives the story — that’s something that I really, really love about theatre.”

Apart from the love of theatre that both Dornn and Fjeldsted share, they said they have something else in common — Lisa Vasconcelos.

During her 30-year teaching career, she taught drama and had Dornn and Fjeldsted as students at different times in each of their lives.

Vasconcelos founded the Mecca theatre company 23 years ago and since then has presented 35 community musicals, 10 all-kids musicals and six community plays.

It’s always been a dream of hers to present “Rent,” she said.

“We feel like we’ve waited our whole lives to do ‘Rent,’ so we’re pretty excited as a company,” said Vasconcelos, adding they specifically chose it to support the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in western Manitoba.

“Primarily because of what was happening in our community last year around banning books, and it felt like attacks on our friends and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community,” said Vasconcelos.

“Seeing ‘Rent,’ for me personally, changed the way I view people — that love is love. So we wanted to find a way to support, to bring that message back, and to support our friends in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and that’s why we chose ‘Rent.’”

Additionally, during each performance, Mecca Productions will provide space in the lobby of the WMCA for Brandon Pride, the Sexuality Education Resource Centre (SERC) and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) to set up information tables.

And once all the bills are paid, a donation will be given to all three organizations.

The curtain goes up for “Rent” on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee performance Saturday at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at the WMCA box office, or by calling 204-728-9510.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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