Paying their dues

Paul Saitowitz

Dan Rosenbaum does not give up easily. Tell him no once, and he’ll

come back. Tell him no again, same thing. At this point, his resolve

might seem like nothing special, but how about another no? Then

another one? How about six no’s?

Rosenbaum, 25, grew up dreaming of the opportunity to play the

lead role of Roger in “Rent,” an amalgam of rock, rhythm and blues

and pop inspired by the Giacomo Puccini opera “La Boheme.” He began

trying out for the production in 1997. He finally heard a yes earlier

this year.

“When I found out, I had to go into the room next door and just

let out a scream,” Rosenbaum said. “Getting the role allows me to

cross one of the things I need to do in life off my list.”

His counterpart in the performance, whose life may not have

reached the same nirvana as Rosenbaum’s by landing the role, took a

less tortured route to the stage.

Talia Brinson, 22, who plays Mimi, recently graduated from college

and, after a few auditions and callbacks, was awarded the role.

“It’s great for me to get this part,” Brinson said. “It’s my first

role in a traveling production. I saw ‘Rent’ once in high school, and

it never really jumped out at me, but now that I’m in it, I

understand ... the show is amazing; the way it’s written, sets it

apart.”

Rosenbaum, who went to college in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up

playing in punk bands, said what attracted him most to the role of

Roger was the likeness he has with the character.

“I can’t think of a character that is more well-written and

tailored to the kind of person I am,” he said. “I open the show by

coming on stage and playing guitar, and to me it doesn’t get much

better than that.”

The soft-spoken Brinson, who hardly seems like the same person

behind her powerful stage voice, also comes from a musical

background. She has toured the world as a backup singer for

rhythm-and-blues singer Jaguar Wright and hopes to one day put out an

album of her own.

“It’s something I’d like to pursue, but doing this right now is

like living a dream,” Brinson said. “I haven’t gotten nervous since

the first show I did in high school ... There is an incredible high

in doing this.”

A lot of the success of “Rent,” besides its soundtrack, is

predicated on the chemistry between the two leads, the interracial

draw between Mimi and Roger.

“I’ve been told that past performances have not had the same kind

of chemistry as me and Talia have on stage,” Rosenbaum said. “There

is so much drama that can happen behind the scenes on a production

like this, and me and her have made a pact to not let that get to us

... I think that really shows in the performance.”

Brinson chalks it up to something a bit simpler.

“Dan is just a great guy,” she said. “He’s really fun to be

around, and that makes acting with him really fun.”

“Rent” will open at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in

Segerstrom Hall at 8 p.m. Tuesday.