By Erin Semagin Damio
Throughout his performance Saturday night at Blackman Auditorium, Anthony Rapp referenced other singers, like Elvis Costello and Michael Stipes from R.E.M., and expressed his admiration for them. At Blackman, though, Rapp was the idol in his own right who Northeastern students and locals had come to see.
Rapp, who is famous for originating the role of Mark in the Broadway show “RENT,” came to Northeastern to perform some of the songs that have impacted him the most and tell stories about his life and career.
“I thought it was fabulous,” said Collen McDonough, a freshman musical theatre major at Rhode Island College who came to Boston to see Rapp. “I was a fan of ‘RENT’ before anyway, so it was cool to see what was behind it.”
Rapp opened the performance singing “Why” from “Tick Tick Boom,” an autobiographical musical written by Jonathan Larson, who also wrote “RENT.” He immediately segued into a cover of “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol, telling the audience afterward, “I liked that song before ‘Grey’s Anatomy.'”
Rapp developed an easy rapport with the audience, chatting and joking between songs and explaining the context of each song. The music was accompanied by either a single piano or acoustic guitar, played with Adam Bloom.
Jim Cayer traveled from Providence with his daughter to see the show.
“I hadn’t seen him before and I was really impressed with Anthony’s voice, and the way that he told the story was interesting,” he said. “And his way of talking to his audience, you could feel him, you weren’t just sitting there.”
The cheers and applause in the packed auditorium grew louder as Rapp relayed the story of his audition for “RENT.” He had been working at a Starbucks, which he described as a “nice smelling place to work,” and looking for work as an actor.
“I ended up getting an audition for a studio production of a new rock opera, and that was called ‘RENT,'” he said, adding that he wasn’t crazy about the idea of a rock opera but auditioned anyway, singing R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.”
Rapp treated the audience to a performance of that song as he continued to tell the story of his audition, and “RENT’s” evolution from a 10-performance workshop to a Tony-award-winning Broadway show.
“Everything that has come since is unbelievable,” Rapp said.
Woo Joo Noh, currently taking evening English classes at Northeastern, came to Boston from Korea. She became a fan of Rapp after seeing “RENT” performed in Korean.
“I loved it, so I bought [the soundtrack], but not Korean music,” Noh said. “It was the original cast, so that’s why I know him.”
Noh said she had listened to Rapp’s music before and had seen “Hedwig and the Angry Itch,” another musical he had performed in. She said most musical performances she had seen prior to Saturday’s performance had bigger bands, so it was different, but she liked it.
Michelle Audain, a freshman nursing major, said she was a fan of “RENT” but had never seen Rapp live before.
“I thought it was really, really good,” Audain said. ” It was my first time [seeing Rapp], so I was like, ecstatic.”
Rapp touched on many subjects, loosely picking up some of the same threads as his book, “Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Musical ‘RENT.'” The book focused primarily on “RENT” and its role in Rapp’s life, along with his relationship with his mother and her death from cancer while he was performing on Broadway. However, Saturday’s performance was really about Rapp singing the music he loves.
Some of the music had personal connections to his life, and he explained the context of every song. “Visits to You,” for example, was a song Rapp wrote about his mother dying.
“Writing the book was pretty much the hardest thing I ever did in my life,” Rapp said. “But it was also in some ways the most rewarding thing I ever did.”
The heavier material was balanced with comedy, however. Before performing a humorous cover of Courtney Love’s “Miss World,” Rapp said, “from the sublime to the ridiculous, I know she’s a product of the ’90s…” The parody was complete with dancing and hand gestures, and Rapp had the audience laughing.
Rapp also sang several pieces from “RENT,” including his solo version of the duet “What You Own,” some songs from “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and even a song from “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” which he performed in on Broadway after he left “RENT.”
Rapp also talked about the future, and his sadness that “RENT” will be closing on Broadway in June.
“I’ve been singing some of these songs for well over 13 years now,” Rapp said, “and I will never grow tired of them.”
Rapp will be revisiting “RENT” when he and fellow original Broadway cast member Adam Pascal join the touring cast in 2009. Until then, Rapp said he is thinking about turning “Without You” into a one-man play. Rapp brought up the possibility of returning to Boston to perform it in the fall.
“Boston’s been very friendly to me and to ‘RENT’ over the years,” he said.
The performance closed with Rapp singing “Seasons of Love,” one of the most well-known songs from “RENT,” and an autograph session. Rapp, ever loyal to his fans, reassured them beforehand that he would stay as long as it took for everyone who was waiting to get something signed.
