Thoughts on the Rent cast.

So the Rent cast has finally been announced. I posted 9 Works Theatrical's link to the video on Facebook, with the perfunctory "Congrats!" Yet, my Facebook status reads, "Hmmm... A bit doubtful, but interesting. Let's just hope it works." Complete with a smiley face.

Yes, this is a filtered post. Because as much as I want to speak up about this, I'd prefer to just air this out to a few select people. Kaya sa atin-atin lang ito, okay?

I have to say, I've been getting little hints here and there from Peachy before the cast announcement, and I managed to find out a couple of the cast members beforehand. She dropped hints, but most of the time, I didn't really want to know who they were before it was announced to the public. So Peachy had just said that the rest of the cast were "exciting" daw. She built it up so much, so I guess it's my bad as well that I expected more. So yeah, I was a little disappointed when the announcement appeared. But at the back of my head, a lot of thoughts on the casting starting to form.

It's not naman na wala akong doubts or tiwala sa casting ni Robbie, it's just that there are so many weird things I could think of about how the 9WT production was cast.

First of all, I was told that it was an open call before the word got out. Cattle call daw because they said that they really have no idea who to cast in any particular role. A little over 300 people came to the auditions, and yung iba ay nag-effort pa lumipad galing probinsya para dito. Of course, who wouldn't be excited at the fact that Rent has returned to Manila? So syempre, excited din ang mga tao sa 9WT because of the really good turnout. Marami talagang undiscovered Pinoy talent out there. They did say so themselves. Tuwang-tuwa sila because there are so many really talented people who came and sang in front of the panel.

So how come they came up with a cast composed of them?

Hindi naman sa sinasabi ko na hindi sila magaling. Oo, magagaling ang mga napili nila Rob, we all know that. We've seen all of these people perform, and yes, they are talented. Yes, they may have the X-factor. Pero parang sila-sila na lang ulit eh. These are just my two cents, but it came out to me as if parang takot silang mag-risk to cast new-found talents who are equally good and maybe even better. Parang playing safe na lang lagi with the people they already know. Wag naman sana tayo mag-recycle ng mga actors tulad ng mga ibang directors diyan.

Then we see Fred Lo casted as Mark, and Carla Guevara-Laforteza as Maureen. I have to admit, I love Carla. She's really beautiful and talented, and I love watching her perform. But casting them as exes? May maniniwala bang naging mag-boyfriend silang dalawa? OK, sure, we could say that it could be possible. Pwede naman gawin na yung age-gap ang isa sa mga reasons kung bakit sila naghiwalay, diba? So sana maipakita yun sa audience. Fred Lo looks too young for Carla and vice versa. If they really wanted Fred as Mark, maybe they could've cast Maureen na bagay sa kanya, or kung si Carla talaga ang gusto nila, someone that looks close to Carla's age.

Oh well.

Then there's Carla herself. Hindi naman sa ayaw ko kay Carla. Yes, she's an amazing thespian. I adore her onstage and off. Pero matagal ko nang naririnig na gusto raw talaga niya makasama sa cast ng Rent. I also heard that she wants to be assistant director plus dance captain. So parang feeling ko (feeling ko lang ha) na napilitan si Robbie to cast his own cousin to save him from the pressure? *shrug*

And while we're on to that, I can't help to not overlook Peach and Anna as well. Girlfriend ng direk si Peach, asawa ng executive producer si Anna, and both men were on the panel. May narinig pa nga ako dati while I was having lunch with some of these people nung panahon pa ng Christmas Carol that Robbie used to cast people "out of awa." Dahil anak siya ni ganito, dahil friend kita, ganun. But I don't know. Yes, again, these ladies have beautiful voices, pero bagay kaya sa Rent? Hindi naman sa nawalan din ako sa tiwala sa kanila, but there could still be a lot of girls there who could surpass their talent. Parang lumabas sakin tuloy na formality lang yung open call.

Ewan, it all boils down to "sila-sila rin lang ulit." I was expecting a little more diversity, I guess. Santi had said during 9WT's very first press conference that one of their missions was to provide more avenues to showcase these actors' talents. So yeah, maybe they did. But aren't we forgetting one of the other missions? He also said that another mission was to come up with good shows to showcase what Filipino talent is all about. Kung ganon, sana they did come up with the best cast. If this is the best cast they could find, sana this will be an awesome show that could possibly be incomparable to the previous Rent stagings.

So I'm just really hoping that they pull off a really good show. Marami nang nagiging issues lately about Broadway shows here in Manila.