‘Rent’ showcases an impressive group of young actors at Art House Productions in Jersey City

SUNJAY VENKATRAMAN

Ned Way, on left table, and, Jake Smerechniak, on center table, co-star in Art House Production’s “Rent.”

Jonathan Larson’s “Rent,” the hit Broadway musical that reimagines Puccini’s “La bohème” in New York’s Lower East Side in the ’90s, comes alive at Art House Productions in Jersey City through Oct. 18. The production succeeds on every level — cast, scenic design, sound and direction — with a talented group of 20somethings whose singing, dancing and acting provide a transcendent 2½ hours of entertainment.

As for “Rent” itself … well, that’s another story.

When “Rent” debuted Off-Broadway in 1996, it was immediately hailed as a masterpiece, but Larson died of an undiagnosed heart ailment the night before it opened. The show later moved to Broadway (where it ran 12 years) and won a Pulitzer Prize and several Tonys.

SUNJAY VENKATRAMAN

Jake Smerechniak and Oriana Nash in “Rent.”

Seen today, though, it is hard to overlook the play’s flaws: a large, unwieldy number of characters, a paper-thin book, and a barrage of songs (20 in the first act alone), with only one, “Seasons of Love,” that has entered the mainstream. Larson always claimed he wanted to reinvent the American musical, but what he mostly gave us were rock songs that don’t really rock, love ballads, and a couple of novelty tunes.

Still, Art House Productions has assembled an ensemble that will blow you away, and the most impressive set I’ve seen to date in its black box theater, using scaffolding against the rear wall to simulate a tenement. The cast is mic’ed, and a five-piece band plays under the scaffolding, but the sound never blares and the singing and dialogue resonate cleanly. (The theater’s acoustics can be troublesome, so kudos to the sound crew.)

As for the cast (14 in all), Ned Way as the nerdy Mark, who is never without his Super 8 camera, leads the way, along with Jake Smerechniak as his roommate Mark, a wannabe rock star who dresses like Johnny Thunders and — like several characters — has been diagnosed with AIDS. Remember, at the time of the story, HIV was treated with the toxic AZT and pretty much a death sentence.

Mark and Roger are squatting in an abandoned industrial building on Avenue C, stealing electricity and burning wood in a bucket to keep from freezing. The story begins at Christmas Eve and ends a year later. Their former roommate Benjamin (Sanju Ebanks), who has married into money, has purchased the building, and his demand for rent starts the story. Like many of the show’s plot threads, though, it gets confusing; this archenemy later becomes a friend again and we’re never quite sure how.

SUNJAY VENKATRAMAN

Branden R. Mangan and Jordi Viscarri in “Rent.”

Many other friends pass through the apartment and we meet the neighborhood — Black, white and Hispanic, gay and straight, some indigent and others with jobs. The cast boasts eight principals and another six who play multiple roles, but almost all the characters get a chance to impress with their own song or solo, and the ensemble singing has been artfully arranged and is always moving.

Way’s singing and acting as Roger carry much of the show, while Jordi Viscarri as Angel, an AIDS-stricken drag queen, shines whether in street clothes or Christmas drag. He stops the show with his “Today 4 U,” as does Branden R. Mangan, as his boyfriend Tom Collins, with the song “Santa Fe.”

As someone who has sat through more than his share of truly awful art-rock at the Pyramid Club and Don Hill’s back in the day, I feel confident saying that Courtney Lauster absolutely nails it as cabaret performer Maureen doing her insane nightclub performance of “Over the Moon,” in which the audience “moos” like a cow with her. She is also moving in a steamy duet with her lover Joanne, a civil rights attorney (crisply played by Deanna Jolie Thomas), when the mismatched couple (sorta) breaks up.

“Seasons of Love (525,600 Minutes),” which opens Act 2, and “La Vie Bohème” stand out among the ensemble numbers. The former is somber and moving, the latter joyous and rousing.

SUNJAY VENKATRAMAN

Courtney Lauster in “Rent.”

The dance numbers work surprisingly well, too, and the bare-bones stage design creates the illusion that we’re in Mark and Roger’s apartment, a nightclub and a restaurant, as well as at a funeral, with only a few tables and chairs, rearranged by the cast, for props.

It is easy to draw a straight line from the focus, in “Rent,” on AIDS, heroin addiction and gentrification to more recent issues like the pandemic, opioids and affordability, but what truly makes this production feel relevant is Larson’s message that time is fleeting and we need to cherish those around us while we can.

Interestingly, the show has a unique following who call themselves “Rentheads” and travel to see every production they can, like the Deadheads who used to follow Grateful Dead tours. If any make it to Jersey City, they will leave happy. This is a “Rent” that does Larson proud and introduces a host of young talent whom you will remember.

The original cast introduced the world to Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel and Anthony Rapp. Hopefully, some of the newcomers in this production will follow a similar path. They deserve it.

Art House Productions in Jersey City will present “Rent” through Oct. 18; visit arthouseproductions.org.

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