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"La Vie Boheme" may just be one of the best numbers to come out of Broadway ... ever.

Musically, the Act I closer of Jonathan Larson's "RENT" is like a steamroller, the sort of thing you want to jump on the bed and play air guitar to. It's funny, with references to everything from handcrafted beer to "passion ... when it's new."

And lyrically, "La Vie Boheme" is smart. Who are Pablo Neruda and Vaclav Havel and Carmina Burana? What does entropy mean? At 17, I didn't know -- and not to be snide, but I doubt much of the cast in Broadway Kidz Wisconzin's current production does either.

I had my doubts about a "cleaned up" version of Larson's work about AIDS, drugs and the Bohemian life performed by Broadway Kidz (I confess, those "z's" irritate the business out of me). But when I swung by the Playhouse Thursday evening to see a little bit of the show, I was pleasantly surprised.

I figured the kids would be talented -- I attended the Tommy Awards, after all, and was wowed more than once by those young performers. Also I think I was told three or four times how many auditioned (74) versus how many were cast (24). The ones who made it in to director Michael Stanek's cast are hyper-enthusiastic, throwing themselves into the material with abandon. 

Singing seems to be the most difficult thing; even for some leading performers, songs sound tentative and staying on pitch is a constant challenge. But these are all pretty young folks, so I'll stick to what I liked most about what I saw in Broadway Kidz's "RENT."

In no particular order:

• The energy. In the first full-on number, the actors careen all over the stage like miniature explostions. It's frenetic and frantic, a total pump-you-up moment.
• Bridgette Well is a fantastic Maureen, brazen and audacious. I never thought of it before, but even the grown-up Maureen acts like a young teenager, the way she pouts and flaunts. Bridgette just gets it -- she gets her.
• As Roger, Jared Norton has my vote for the finest member of the cast, with a voice that will take him places. "One Song Glory" gave me chills, and his duet/meet-cute with Kaleigh Prange as Mimi is adorable. In a good way.
• Dancing, dancing, dancing. If the singing is underpitch or the lighting isn't working, just wait a minute for the dancers to come out and all is redeemed. The choreography in "Santa Fe" is exceptional, the many levels a good fit for the performers and the text (the movements sometimes made me think of a hamster wheel, going nowhere, or a wagon wheel rolling out west).
• The Tango Maureen. When Danny Well (as Mark) strikes his tango pose, I giggle aloud -- he seems so willfully geeky. Kianna Byrd holds her own in the song, too, making exasperated Joanne sound seriously near the end of her rope.

As I mentioned, the script is softened a little -- alcohol, so far as I could tell, is implied but not shown, though junkies do mime sniffing white powder off their palms. The worst curses turn into milder ones. Everyone is terribly concerned with how they look (there is much brushing away of hair) but these young actors do seem to have a sense of why they're singing what they're singing, notably in "Will I Lose My Dignity?" Their sense of pathos is better than some college productions I've seen.

Broadway Kidz Wisconzin's production of "RENT" runs through Sunday and the next show, "The Wedding Singer," has auditions in November and performances in January. I'm already looking foward to some sweet '80s dance tunes, complete with Stanek's fabulous moves.

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  Interview La vie des enfants: the children's version of Rent

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  by Ben Munson

  August 4, 2010 | 12:00am -