Eduardo Placer Replaces Esteban Cruz as Angel in ATC/About Face's RENT

Esteban Cruz has had to permanently leave the cast of American Theater Company/About Face's production of RENT for undisclosed personal reasons. As of today, Wednesday, May 23, the role of Angel will be taken over by Eduardo Placer.

Eduardo Placer (Angel) makes his Chicago debut with this production. Eduardo appeared in the world premiere production of Lucy Simon’s Zhivago directed by Des MacAnuff at La Jolla Playhouse and the posthumous world premiere of Frank Loesser’s Senor Discretion Himself at Arena Stage. New York City credits include Clincher Sr. (The Constant Couple) and Rosencrantz (Hamlet) at The Pearl Theatre. Regional credits include Emcee (Cabaret), Thurio (Two Gentlemen of Verona), Hortensio (The Taming of the Shrew) Puck (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Bud/Pan/Daisy (Bat Boy: The Musical), Ghost of Christmas Past (A Christmas Carol), Roderigo (Othello), Vicomte de Nanjac (An Ideal Husband), Neville Landless (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and Feste (Twelfth Night) all at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival & Great Lakes Theater Festival, Much Ado About Nothing (The Shakespeare Theatre), Camelot (Arena Stage), A Man’s A Man (Arena Stage), The Mineola Twins (Woolly Mammoth) Corpus Christi (Source Theater). Eduardo would like to dedicate this performance to the memory of Erick Wollschlager. MFA-UCSD. BA -University of Pennsylvania. AEA since 2003.

American Theater Company (ATC), together with About Face Theatre, presents a co-production of Jonathan Larson’s Rent, directed by David Cromer. Rent runs now through June 17, 2012 at ATC, 1909 W. Byron.

East Village. 1990. American Theater Company teams up with About Face Theatre to create a look at Jonathan Larson’s 1996 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning rock opera. At the end of the 1980’s, a group of Bohemian artists struggle to find life, love and art in a brutal economy and the height of the AIDS crisis. Director David Cromer will bring a staggering reality to this landmark musical.

Rent features Alex Agard (Tom Collins), Karla Beard (Woman 2), Lili-Anne Brown (JoAnne Jefferson), Esteban Andres Cruz (Angel Dumott Schunard - *NOW PLAYED BY Eduardo Placer), Grace Gealy (Mimi Marquez), AIleen May (Maureen Johnson), Aaron Nelson (Man 4), Danielle Plisz (Woman 1), Tyler Ravelson (Man 2), Tony Santiago (Benjamin Coffin III), Alan Schmuckler (Mark Cohen), Steve Tomlitz (Man 3), Derrick Trumbly (Roger Davis), Anji White (Woman 3), and Luke Wygodny (Man1).

The creative team for Rent includes Tim Splain (Music Direction), Jessica Reddish (Choreography), Collette Pollard (Scenic & Props Design), David Hyman (Costume Design), Heather Gilbert (Lighting Design), Lindsay Jones and Victoria “Toy” Delorio (Sound Design). The Production Stage Manager is Katie Klemme.

For more information, visit www.atcweb.org.