From onstage, Anthony Rapp solemnly looked out into the crowd. The audience stayed quiet and respectful as Rapp recounted his story about losing his mother to cancer.

‘It’s been about 15 years, then, since she died in May of ’97,’ Rapp said.

The audience gave heartfelt applause for the songs he dedicated to her during his performance. One of the songs he belted, ‘Without You’ from ‘Rent,’ was the song he sang at his mother’s memorial service.

On Thursday at 8 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium, Rapp and Adam Pascal stopped at Syracuse University on their tour ‘Adam & Anthony Live.’ The show featured two acts. The first featured Pascal on the guitar with his band. The second act, after a short intermission, paired Rapp with a band. Then, the two sang some songs together.

The line stretched from the entrance to the theater to the doors leading into the Schine Student Center. People tittered and chatted excitedly. Some were students just intrigued to see the performance, others obvious fans, proudly wearing ‘Rent’ shirts.

‘We were originally big fans of Anthony Rapp in ‘Adventures in Babysitting,’ but we also obviously love ‘Rent,” said Jennica Vehrs, a first-year graduate student studying childhood education at the State University of New York College of Oswego. Vehrs saw the show with Justin Nylen, a teacher at Fulton High School, located about 30 miles from Syracuse.

‘We don’t get to New York City all the time, but we still love musicals,’ Nylen said.

The night was filled with a variety of songs and stories from the duo’s time on Broadway and on tour. Some songs were from ‘Rent,’ while Pascal also covered ‘Maria’ from ‘Westside Story’ and Rapp redid ‘Creep’ by Radiohead. The two also performed original songs, some with special weight to them. Rapp sang the song that he sang for his audition for ‘Rent’: ‘Losing My Religion’ by R.E.M.

Student fans of the ‘Rent’ actors were glad to see them come to campus.

‘I’m a fan of ‘Rent’ and the show was awesome,’ said Billie Driscoll, a sophomore social work major. ‘I mean, how could I not like it?’

The concert also had its humorous moments. While setting up for a song and switching guitars, Pascal gasped: ‘Oh, my gosh. I forgot a song.’

He picked up a different guitar with a laugh.

‘Pretend that never happened. And it’s going to be funny when you realize what song it is,’ he said.

Pascal and the band started playing, and Anthony Rapp came out onstage to join him for a cover of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Solsbury Hill.’ During the song, Rapp messed up lyrics, but laughed it off with Pascal. The audience chuckled with them, not minding their small mistakes.

‘It’s really cool to see someone from theater and film do little things like screw up. It shows that he’s a real person,’ said John Charitable, a first-year medical student at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

The end of the concert inspired multiple standing ovations. After the last song of the set, Pascal and Rapp each had an encore. For the last song of the encore, Rapp and Pascal came together and sang ‘Seasons of Love.’ The crowd was on its feet, clapping and singing along.

No matter the subject of the song or the intensity of the fan, the end effect of the music on the crowd was apparent – pure joy.

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Published on April 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Claire: [email protected] | @ClaireDunderman