Rent composer’s ‘lost songs’ impress

Southwark Playhouse Borough

The composer of Rent died young but left behind many songs, 18 of which have been brought together by Jennifer Ashley Tepper in revue, directed by John Simpkins. Some critics didn’t like the lack of structure but all thought Larson was a genius.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Anya Ryan of LondonTheatre reported: ‘Performed by a cast of five in a setting that initially evokes an East Village bar, the actors take turns stepping into the spotlight. Natalie Kassanga has a voice like silk‘. She liked the structure: ‘With the numbers largely removed from their original contexts, the music flows with only minimal interruption (…) Larson is presented in fragments, and while we might not get a complete picture of his musicals or of the man himself, his glorious, scrappy songs are more than enough to feed our souls.’

Paul Vale for The Stage described it as ‘a fascinating dissection of the composer’s journey, exploring themes and styles. There’s no formal story, but a distinct clarity of focus and a sense that Larson was baring his soul through his music (…) The Jonathan Larson Project might be a mixed bag, but it profoundly illustrates the genius of a talent lost. Simpkins’ production projects that talent, delivering a fun, diverse anthology with invention and flair.

Chris Wiegand for The Guardian wasn’t so sure about the concept: ‘Finding cohesion in songs from different projects is challenging without imposing a theme or storyline’ but he noted: ‘When the world is falling apart, playing the piano can “save my soul”, writes a 23-year-old Larson. Not only does he get away with such a sentiment but there’s an equivalent effect from hearing the night’s best songs. A revelation.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

Clementine Scott for BroadwayWorld noted: ‘there is more than a hint of Rent in John Simpkins’s direction and Nate Bertone ‘s production design for this song cycle’. She disagreed with Anya Ryan about tge structure: ‘Without any narrative to tie these disparate songs together, Larson’s gift for crafting character through song gets lost in the weeds.’ She concluded that it was ‘a great deep dive into what made the young Larson tick, for diehard fans or as an introduction to his work, but these songs deserve a bit of narrative structure.’

For WhatsOnStage’s Sarah Crompton: ‘The problem with the show, curated with love and dedication by Jennifer Ashley Tepper, who trawled through Larson’s archives to find the songs, is that it treats all this treasure trove with equal reverence, when some of the songs are clearly written by a man learning his craft and others – such as the magnificently crazed “Hosing the Furniture”, in which a woman loses her mind while keeping her house clean – are works of near genius.‘

Donald Hutera for the Times described it as ‘a variably effective but always heartfelt showcase of Larson’s wide-ranging, emotionally complex style and interests. It may not be revelatory, and occasionally it pushes too hard, but it is an often fascinating excavation of a gifted, influential artist’s process that reminds us of what was and what might have been.’

Critics’ average rating 3.5⭑

The Jonathan Larson Project can be seen at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 22 August. Buy tickets directly from the theatre southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

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