About Last Night…RENT, SUPERGIRL, CHARMED, and More

Let’s talk about Sunday night’s TV!

SUPERGIRL: Nia is probably my favorite part of SUPERGIRL season 4, and I enjoyed the deeper dive into her backstory. I loved that her mother wholeheartedly accepted Nia being her daughter who got powers. And given Kara’s recent loss of her sister—to some degree—it was nice that she was able to tell Nia the truth about her powers.

I’m still very on the fence about Alex wiping her memories. I get why the characters felt like it had to be done, but it feels so cruel.

(Jimmy’s decision to protect Lena is very, very, very dumb.)

RENT: I’m starting this off with noting I’m a big RENT fan; there’s no show I’ve seen live more times, and I was really hopeful for this production.

It’s hard to write (or even think) about this production without feeling awful for Brennin Hunt (Roger), who broke his ankle the night before the live show. The production opted to air the dress rehearsal—which had completed up until “What You Own” before Hunt’s injury—and only cut to a live staging for the final few moments. It’s heartbreaking for Hunt, it’s heartbreaking for the other cast members. It’s awful.

But…eesh. There are cases to be made that Fox should have A) had an understudy, B) had a back-up plan in case of any injury, especially given how physical the show is, and/or C) performed a stripped down version of the show instead of running what they did. I’d agree with all of those—had Hunt broken his ankle earlier in the show or before they started, what the heck would they have done?!—and C is especially bittersweet given the footage that emerged last night of the cast putting on the show for their live audience, complete with Hunt in a wheelchair.

The show itself was mostly fine. The problem with using the dress rehearsal footage is that it certainly felt like multiple cast members were holding back. It makes sense…if you have one shot to give it your all and you’ve been rehearsing for weeks, you don’t want to risk blowing out your voice the night before. But this is not a show that should feel lackluster/sans emotion. Brandon Victor Dixon delivered when it counted with “I’ll Cover You (Reprise).”  I’ve seen a number of not-great Mimis, but Tinashe was fun and sounded great. Plus, she was able to deliver “Out Tonight” well, which is not easy—especially since the RENT live stage seems so much bigger than the touring sets. And Vanessa Hudgens was perfectly over the top as Maureen. But the others…it was hit-miss, at best.

It makes sense the producers would have to edit the show a bit, both for time and content. (“La Vie Bohème” could never air as written thanks to television restrictions.) What baffles me a bit more is the era change and the song lyrics that were simply altered to be, well, different?

Also, look, I get why you have an audience there. But goodness, what a mess. They were louder than the singers at points, and it was rude/distracting when people close to the stage were trying to get the stars’ attention so they’d touch their hands. I don’t know if this was the audience going rogue or this is what they were told to do, but it didn’t work for me.

I wish I felt more from much of the show. The stage was gorgeous, but it felt like the cameras/directing struggled to keep up with some of the action. (The directing early on for the pre-“Rent” songs was very not-great.) A lot of the issues—both with the cast and the show itself—may have worked had they been able to go live on Sunday as planned.

But the final moments had more energy than most of the show. And the original cast coming out to sing “Seasons of Love” made me cry. (Jesse L. Martin‘s smile and joy was so perfect, and I just want him happy and singing on my TV constantly.) So at least there’s that?

SAG Awards: I’m very happy for Sandra Oh, who was the best part of KILLING EVE, but it’s also fascinating to see her get recognition by the Globes and SAG after the Emmys went in a different direction. A number of odd/disappointing wins, but at least she was a bright spot.

CHARMED: Macy was…dead?! I’m glad Macy revealed what she knew about her sisters ASAP, but I keep thinking about Macy being dead. Why? How? Is that why she was separated from her sisters? Is that why her mother died? What???

Which shows did you watch last night?

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