Merle Dandridge To Return to "RENT"

[somethingwicked]

Merle Dandridge will return to "RENT" for just over a month, stepping in for the injured Tonya Dixon and returning to the role of Joanne, effective July 9th.

From her blog:

"Tango Anyone?

Oh yes. I will be back in the RENT for a limited engagement. Tarzan is closing July 8th and I will be at the Nederlander July 9th. I will stay to see in Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal. And then take my bow mid-august. Mama Gorilla needs a rest! See you there..."

[MotorTink]

damn, my tickets are in the end of August, but this gives me more reason to see it again in the beginning of the run, I love her!

[Johnnytoc]

Love her in anything she does. She was fantastic in Rent when I saw her.

[TapTapTapioca]

Woah, that is a pretty fast move. She closes Tarzan on the 8th and starts Rent on the 9th, has that ever happened before (not going from Tarzan to Rent but with any two shows)?

[Ourtime992]

Whenever I see Marle Dandridge's name, I think of Merle Louise, and think, "what the hell is SHE doing in RENT?"

[zepka102]

This woman is a goddess. I'm glad she's got something to go into... she's an amazing Joanne. I hope she hops into another new project!

[WithoutATrace]

Fantastic news. I'll see her on July 30th!

[MungoGypsy8232]

YESSS!!!

[BroadwayBound86]

When she told us tonight at the stagedoor I was beyong excited! I already had tickets to see Anthony and Adam and now that Merle is in it it makes me happy knowing I got my tickets when I did. She's really excited about it and was telling everyone to come see her.

[Anakela]

Is Nicolette Hart still Maureen? (She is listed on the Rent website, but I'm not sure how often that gets updated.) If so this will be both my most favorite Maureen/Joanne together at the same time.

[ikmbway]

I wish I could see her. She was a brilliant Joanne.

[friedrichVT]

Anyone know what happened to Tonya?

[C is for Company]

I'm glad she is returning, but it looks like they will need to take out the embalming utensils and prep her for her robot transplant. I think they will keep her backstage in a locker along with Matt Caplan as permanent residents of Rent.

[Craww]

Cool! But can we get a suitable Collins in there before August? Anyone? No?

[orangeskittles]

Marcus Paul James. That would be the closest to my dream cast that I could ever have hope of actually occurring (well, from the few characters I have strong enough feelings about to have determined a favorite actor).

[Show Off]

I love Merle, glad she's coming back.

[winston89]

I had been busy but I was thinking about how Rent recycles cast members and wanted to start a thread mentioningthisand asking if you guys thought if she was going to return to Rent. She is and I can't say I'm suprised.

[muscle23ftl]

She's the best Joanne I have ever seen.

[Born To Reign]

Ugh! Maybe I should go before The Return. I don't want to risk not seeing her, since it seems like she'll only be in a week or 2 while the boys are in. I can't count on winning lotto!

[smurfet]

for those who asked,

Nicollete is still in the show.

Tonya is on medical leave.

[me2]

Good for her! I'm a big fan since seeing her go on as Aida.
Broadway Blog: From the Mouth of Alan Jay Lerner

[goofy108]

nicolette is still in the show.
but is she staying through the return?

[shesamarshmallow]

To whoever asked about show-hopping, Asmeret was in In the Heights yesterday and will be in Legally Blonde today. AND she's not even going back to a role she already knew...

[wicked_beast4]

Yeah, but Asmeret doesn't have a main role in Legally Blonde, just one of Elle's friends, right?

[wicked_beast4]