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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cWe kind of set that tone at the beginning that this is serious content matter and try to relate to them what it was like in the early 90s, especially with the AIDS pandemic going on,\u201d said Kohler. \u201cJust trying to explain to them what it was like, that there was no certainty, and diagnosis really did mean very grim things at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The actors took their roles seriously. Many of them watched stage versions to understand their characters.<\/p>\n
They were also well cast. Charline Pelloux-Gervais, 20, returned to RJJT to work with Kohler this summer, and embodied the character of Maureen.<\/p>\n
SPONSORED<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, I wanted Mimi when I heard about the show. Then I watched the show. The second I heard \u2018Take Me or Leave Me,\u2019 which is the big number between Joanne and Maureen, I was like, \u2018That\u2019s the one I want,\u2019\u201d said Pelloux-Gervais. \u201cI just loved how eccentric she was. I thought I could do a lot with the character.\u201d<\/p>\n 17-year-old Logan Watson concentrated on the underlying things driving his character.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of fun diving into his character, diving into the nuances. Why does he do the things that he does?\u201d said Watson. \u201cWhen he pushes Mimi away, I\u2019m like, \u2018Why would he do that?\u2019 I think, \u2018Well, it\u2019s because he\u2019s heartbroken. It\u2019s because he lost his girlfriend. Because he has AIDS, and he doesn\u2019t know that she does as well.\u2019 So, there\u2019s a lot of complexities to his character.\u201d<\/p>\n Opposite of Watson is 15-year-old Sira Valui of Santa Clara High School, who plays Mimi. She said even though RENT is about adult issues, there are things her peers can take away from the show.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever an age where we shouldn\u2019t be learning about stuff like this. I think it\u2019s good to expose yourself to \u2026 these are real world things that are happening. That\u2019s why I really like doing RENT because it really educated me more about HIV, AIDS and stuff like that,\u201d said Valui.<\/p>\n Watson said just because it was the 90s, it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s unrelatable.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like the overall theme of finding connection with others and finding love even in the hardest times is something that rings true even today,\u201d said Watson. \u201cI feel like no matter what era you\u2019re in, that\u2019s always a key point and key theme of this show. I feel like that\u2019s super topical to today\u2019s age, and it\u2019s about today\u2019s time.<\/p>\n RENT: School Edition is suggested for ages 13 and up. It takes the stage at the Mission City Center for Performing Arts at 3250 Monroe St. on Friday, July 31 and Saturday, Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 2 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $17 per person. You can buy your tickets here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Previous Posts:![\"santa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Image-6_30-7.png\"\/)
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<\/a><\/p>\n
Roberta Jones Junior Theatre Reprises Its Favorite Musical\u2014\u201cThe Wizard of\u00a0 Oz\u201d<\/a>
Go \u201cUnder the Sea\u201d in Roberta Jones Junior Theatre\u2019s \u201cThe Little Mermaid Jr.\u201d<\/a>
\u201cLet the Sun Shine On\u201d RJJT\u2019s \u201cFrozen Jr.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tony Award-winning musical RENT is known for tackling the difficult subjects of poverty, drug addiction and living…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":418225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[6036,167307,157200,88,90,89,197,2921,2922],"class_list":["post-418224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-bay-area-news","tag-mission-city-center-for-performing-arts","tag-roberta-jones-junior-theatre","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara","tag-santa-clara-weekly","tag-silicon-valley-voice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}