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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Teen Actors Keep Up With
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Rent<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></I></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT
size=3>News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Chagrin Valley
Times 2</I>/26/09</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=managedhtml
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6.75pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; mso-line-height-alt: 10.5pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">“When
we teach our students,” notes Tom Fulton, executive director of the Fairmount
Center for the Arts in Novelty Township, “they learn about the power of reaching
– reaching for something beyond themselves, something greater than any single
one of them can be.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=managedhtml
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6.75pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; mso-line-height-alt: 10.5pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This
objective was realized this past weekend, when the <SPAN class=style171><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory
(FPAC), the theatre division of the Fairmount Center, opened its two-week run of
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Rent: School Edition.</I><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The cast, comprised largely of high
school students, tackled subject matter beyond their years and comfort zone,
accepted the challenge of performing a complex pop-rock opera beyond their
limited experience, and gave a performance that transcended
expectations.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=managedhtml
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 6.75pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; mso-line-height-alt: 10.5pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Jonathan
Larson's musical follows a year in the lives of seven friends pursuing the
Bohemian lifestyle in New York City’s East Village, where starving artists
reside in condemned buildings alongside the homeless. HIV/AIDS, drug addiction
and their physical and emotional consequences pervade the lives of these
individuals and lead to some truly somber moments in <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>the show. Yet, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Rent</I> is an uplifting, bittersweet
celebration of life.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">The show </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">gained critical
acclaim and won a Tony Award for Best Musical when it opened on Broadway in
1996.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It closed 12 years later and,
shortly thereafter, a moderately sanitized version of the show was released and
has been performed at schools and community youth theatres across the
country.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Although some profanity
and sexually explicit material has been removed, </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">the
intensity of its subject matter and characters remains, which can be quite a
challenge for high school performers to realize and convincingly
reproduce.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=managedhtml style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=managedhtml style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Under
the direction and choreography of </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Sean
Szaller, the FPAC troupe tapped this intensity and, in the spirit of Mr.
Fulton’s vision, generated something greater than any one individual player.
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Amidst the occasionally uneven
performances and technical glitches typical of every amateur production, there
were stunning moments of absolute brilliance and cohesion not typically found at
this level of production.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=managedhtml style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=managedhtml style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">These
moments seemingly came out of nowhere and left the audience grabbing for a
program to make sure that this was, in fact, an amateur production performed
largely by teenagers.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=managedhtml style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=managedhtml style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">True
to the spirit of the conservatory, most of these moments came during ensemble
numbers that showcased the incredible voices of the collective cast, including
local performers Katy Lucas from Bainbridge, Shelby Berger from Chagrin Falls,
Nikki Leavitt from Pepper Pike, and Miles Sternfeld from Moreland Hills. The
vibrant “La Vie Boheme,” which ends Act One, and the poignant “Seasons of Love,”
which opens Act Two, soared.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=style17 style="MARGIN: auto 0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Some of these moments
were generated by individual performers who had the sheer courage to seek them
out.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>T</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">he
love song “I’ll Cover You,” sung by a terrific Carlos Cruz, as the
cross-dressing Angel, and his lover Tom Collins, played by Joel Durr, is one
example.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Another, the hilarious
“Over the Moon,” featured an audacious </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Codie Higer from
Solon, who played avant-garde performance artist Maureen.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Yet another, an Act Two song entitled
“What You Own,” displayed the unbridled exuberance of Jesse Markowitz from
Orange, who played Mark,</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">
a struggling documentary filmmaker and the narrator of the show</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">, and Andrew
Parmelee, as his best friend Roger.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=style17 style="MARGIN: auto 0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">“The moment they've
begun to reach,” suggests Mr. Fulton, “their lives will never be the same.”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Come witness the transformative power of
live theatre in this FPAC production. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Five performances of <SPAN
class=style171><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Rent: School
Edition</SPAN></I></SPAN><SPAN class=style171><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> remain, to be presented this weekend
</SPAN></SPAN>at the Mayfield Village Performing Arts Center.<SPAN
class=style171><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
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