RENT TO THE HEART
The Toronto Sun, November 22nd, 1998
by John Coulbourn
 Art imitates life. Life iminates art. But when it comes furter extensions, that whole life-imitating art-imitating-life thing can get tedious, or tired, or even too-cute-by-half, all in the space of a heartbeat.

 It can also catch in your throat and do funny things to your eyes, things that make you grateful for the unseasonable nip in the air, the bracing cold that makes your skin feel as if it's two sizes too small and brings a tear to any eye.

 Krysten Cummings and Jai Rodriguez don't so much enter a restaurant as ride into it on a wave of youthful enthusiasm.

 This morning, bundled against the early Toronto winter, they could be just two more local kids strayed south from Queen Street to King; she, for fashion's sake, none-too-well insulated from the unseasonal chill; he more kindly wrapped in the more climate-appropriate confines of rapper-chic.

 They bicker. They grouse about the ungodliness of the hour. Mostly the laugh, recounting Rodriguez's streetbound attemps to awaken a determinedly somnolent Cummings for this pre-noon interview as she slept four storeys above him.

 "So typical," he says with a roll of his eyes while Cummings laughs. There is little typical about what brings them to this table, in this city, on this morning.

 Both Americans - she from New Jersey, he from Rhode Island - they are two of the featured performers in Rent, the Jonathan Larson musical slated to have its Canadian premiere at the Royal Alexandra Theatre next Sunday.

 In this updated and vastly re-worked re-telling of Puccini's La Boheme, Cummings is cast as Mimi, perhaps the most recognizable remnant of Puccini's 1830 Paris as it is transformed into Larson's very 1990s New York.

 Rodriguez's character is very much of Larson's invention, a reflection of a contemporary take on a world where AIDS has replaced tuberculosis and colour has replaced class. Set in a seedy New York warehouse loft, Rent is a story about homelessness, hopelessness, disease, love, death, hope, art and the whole ball of wax.

 As the transvestite homosexual Angel, Rodriguez's teaming with Cummings' Mimi doesn't so much give the show its heart, as it follows them to lead an audience to that heart.

 Not only does the audience love them, but the script also calls for them to be pretty tight with each other.

 "That part of it is a cake walk," they say.

 "In the show, we're supposed to be best friends, and (outside the show) we get along so well," Rodriguez reports with obvious affection. Indeed, their friendship appears to have flourished in the short time since they began rehearsals.

 Before that, Cummings was a struggling actress in England and Rodriguez, having finished high school, had embarded on a secondary education in the performing arts before he was cast.

 "I was in college for 30, 35 days and I just left," he says without apology. "This is just one of those things." Rodriguez had fallen in love with the show the first time he saw it in its Broadway incarnation.

 That was last March, he recalls. "Then I slept in the street (to get $20 rush seats). I was a Renthead. The show just totally moved me. In school, everyone said I'd be Angel in the show."

 Cummings, for her part, still hasn't seen the show - at least not from the outside looking in.

 She's heard plenty about it - first through the union of Ma and Ma Bell. "I got a call in England from my mother," Cummings recalls.

 "She'd just seen a piece on Rent on TV, which I do not own." And no, it wasn't mother's way of getting her back on North American soil.

 "My parents are very heavy supporters of the arts," she says, "and they've accepted that I'm really not getting anotehr job. This is it." As for her character, Cummings is finding life as contemporary Mimi a perfect fit.

"She's great," she enthuses.
"She's me."

"I think that timing is everything and this timing is perfect. No, I'm not HIV-positive adn I'm not a heroin addict, but I've experienced these things close enough to be there."
"All the things I've done before have led to this moment."

 There's a personal element in Rodriguez's attachment to the show, too, portraying as it does life amongst the AIDS-infected.

 "My aunt is HIV-positive and my passed away from AIDS in 1987," he recalls. "Rent was really close to home and I think that's why I loved the show so much."

 As for his character, he's crazy about him, so much so that he doesn't even mind the women's wardrobe that is Angel's everyday attire. "He's a wonderful guy," actor says of character. "I like him a lot. I'm just really comfortable with it. I think Angel is really proud of who he is. I think he's already cool with himself."

 Rent is a New York show - set in New York, about New Yorkers, created on the New York stage - but both actores are certain that the show's appeal stretches far beyond the limits of that city's five boroughs.

 "The issues that are dealt with in this show are universal," Cummings insists, looking out the window at Toronto's winter landscape. "Homelessness is a big issue here."

 "It's a big deal here," chimes in Rodriguez, adding that in some ways, it's even worse than in Manhattan, where, he points out, "It's not common to see kids sleeping in the streets."

 Raised by a very religious mother, Rodriguez admits that it's unusual to find someone of his background playing a part like this in a show like this.

"Growing up," he muses, "I think I had a sense of what was correct and that wasn't correct. I think I've developed what I believe in." Religious people might have a problem with the show, he concedes: "If they are looking at it from the point of view that God forbids this sort of thing."
"But for most of us, God is love. I see the show in that light. You can view the show any way you like. The show just throws it out there and says: "Here it is, do what you want with it."

 Besides, they both insist, there's so much more to this show than sexuality.

 "Suddenly, there are all these issues flying around on stage, and they aren't really issues," Cummings says with relish. "Every single couple on stage is an inter-racial couple. . . "

 It's a whirlwind lunch, made more so by the breath and the depth and the sheer enthusiasm of the conversation and, too soon, both actors are donning winter garb to head out for reahearsal.

 I watch them cross the street, laughing and joking, clowning but deep in youthful conversation, and, just for a second, it's hard to remember whether that is Krysten and Jai - or Mimi and Angel.
*I found that so touching...being a Renthead myself and all.*

Tuesday, July 15, 2003
'Queer Eye For the Straight Guy' offers witty fashion advice
By MELANIE McFARLAND
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

 To be painfully honest, most men are slobs. Smelly, hairy, crusty boars in desperate need of fashion sense, a shave, a haircut and cologne that doesn't make their loved ones cry.

You know this, and so does the quintet of gay experts in Bravo's "Queer Eye For the Straight Guy."

 Each week the Fab Five have 24 hours to turn a sloppy zero into a style-savvy hero on all fronts, from grooming skills and an updated wardrobe, to amped up interior decoration and better taste in cuisine.

But these guys don't use brutality to whip their victims into shape. "We just become friends," explained Jai Rodriguez, the team's "culture vulture." "I love that, finding things in common It's overwhelming. I wish they could show more of the interaction off camera. We've had guys well up."

 Yes, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" is heartwarming and witty. We encourage you to plop down and watch the show with your favorite fashion criminal -- perhaps it'll help him mend his ways.

And to help convince you, we pulled three of them aside in Hollywood at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour for a little dish.

One of the things we hear a lot of complaints about is on TV shows like "Will & Grace," being gay is mentioned. But you never actually see --

Jai: Will doesn't get kissed! He lives in New York and he ain't got no ethnic friends! I'm mad, I'm calling, and I want to be on the show! (laughter) No, a lot of those things bug me. But it's baby steps. I think we're at a really good time these are the times where we're trying to all be one. We all have gay friends. I have a lot of straight friends. And something automatically changes when they put that on TV

 You know, it's up to you whether you decide to turn on that television set and tune in at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night to watch the show. We all try to have a good time, and nothing's ever inappropriate.

Why are men so helpless?

Jai: Once you get a certain pattern in your life, you get comfortable and you're used to doing things, you don't want to change it and step out of your comfort zone Things tend to build up. It's like that nasty pile of things in the corner of your room. The socks are dancing with your T-shirts, the knits have joined in the party and you're scared to go there. The minute people take hold of their lives and say, I need a change, I need to start pacing my life a little differently,' is when they're open to actually trying new things and giving themselves a better lifestyle.

That's actually kind of a social commentary on the show itself, that this is a show that takes straight men out of their comfort zones.

Jai: We're all different. There's a little bit of every kind of gay guy represented on the show, thank god Like, I like all kinds of music, I'm in touch with the hip-hop culture scene. My world is very cultural as far as, like having a lot of interests Thom (Filicia, design doctor) will always walk in, I know his mission is to make the space amazing Carson (Kressley, fashion savant) is so crazy and over the top.

What are some rules that people shouldn't break?

Kyan Douglas, grooming guru: No nose hair. Ever. You'd be surprised at all the little twigs sticking out. I just can't get it. How can you see that and not just want to hack it off?

Carson: It happens. It happens.

Kyan: I think a lot of the time, with the guys, there's just not an awareness of details. Women tend to notice details more. I think that in the way straight men are raised, those sorts of things aren't supported or encouraged.

Do you think that's a generational thing? It seemed like there used to be much more passing down of grooming skills.

Carson: It's even with clothing. I ask guys today, who do you want to look like? Who inspires you? Did your father teach you how to tie a tie, did he teach you how to shave? Did he teach you what a good quality suit was? Depending on what his style was - and it doesn't matter, you didn't have to embrace it - but, did you have any influences? With a lot of guys, the answer's no. Because we've become so casual, and we all have cell phones, and we can work at home. That whole kind of cell phone generation, we don't get dressed up .Just find someone who is visible, who you like to identify with, and that maybe will give you some ideas. And give it a try. Have fun with it.

I think guys do have role models. They just tend to be badly dressed role models. The whole starter suit thing tore across the country, and people can't let go of that low-slung pants thing.

Carson: That's true. Find a role model, but make sure it's a good one. Words to live by.