RENT to Open at TriArts Sharon, 7/15

The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning musical Rent is set to open at TriArts Sharon Playhouse on Friday, July 15. Artistic Director John Simpkins directs a cast of 18 in the rock musical that has achieved international fame and is currently preparing to open a New York revival Off-Broadway.

The TriArts production runs July 15-24 and will include five post-performance talk backs with cast members. Capitalizing on the themes of community and making art, the TriArts cast has been appearing throughout the tri-state area educating people about the show and the importance of love and art. Local artists from CT communities and the 14th Colony of Artists in NY will also display their work which will include a sculpture garden at TriArts during the run as a way to underscore the collaborative spirit of the show.

Jordan Stanley and Jared Weiss lead the cast as documentary filmmaker Mark Cohen and his roommate rocker Roger Davis. Also in the cast are Jesse Havea (Tom Colllins), Kyrus Keenan Westcott (Benjamin Coffin III), Meggan Utech (Joanne Jefferson), Kanoa Goo (Angel Schunard), Monica Wright (Mimi Marquez), Alexandrea Tocco (Maureen Johnson), Jimmy Bain, Nicolas Casaula, Duane Estes, Kelsey Flynn, Tricia Giordano, Sarah Novak, Melanie Rothman, William Spinnato, Henry Staats III, and Emily Thaler.

MK Lawson choreographs the production, with music direction by Molly Gachignard. Rounding out the creative team are scenic designer Erik Diaz, costume designer Michelle Humphrey, lighting designer Chris Dallos, and sound designer Graham Stone.

Rent focuses on a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's East Village under the shadow of the AIDS crisis. Based on Puccini's La Boheme, the original production won 4 Tony Awards and went on to run on Broadway for 12 years. Sponsors are Robinson Leech Real Estate, Salisbury Bank and Trust, and WKZE98.1FM.

Tickets are available at the TriArts Box Office, by phone at 860-364-SHOW, or online at www.triarts.net. The theatre is easily accessible from New York City on the Metro North train line to Wassaic. For more information or directions, please call 860-364-SHOW.

The 2011 Summer Season at TriArts features 42nd Street (June 23-July 10), Rent (July 15-24), and Hairspray (August 4-21). TriArts Sharon Playhouse (Alice Bemand, Executive Director; Michael Berkeley and John Simpkins, Artistic Directors) is a not-for-profit theatre, located in Litchfield County, Sharon, CT, at the foot of the Berkshires. In addition to producing mainstage musicals and many special events each summer season, TriArts also offers a summer youth theatre program, workshops and readings of new musicals, concerts, and special events throughout the year in its Bok Gallery. For more information on TriArts Sharon Playhouse, please visit www.triarts.net or call 860-364-SHOW (7469).