OCPAC offers $20 Front Row Seats to RENT Tour, 10/20-10/25

Seats in the front two rows of the orchestra will be made available for just $20 for every performance of RENT: The Broadway Tour, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony® Award-winning musical, at the Orange County Performing Arts Center October 20 – 25. The $20 tickets go on sale at the Center's Box Office on the day of each performance only, two hours prior to the show and are available to anyone, cash only, with a limit of two tickets per person. The tickets will be distributed two hours before curtain on a first-come, first-served basis to those in line. The available seats are in two rows of chairs that have been set in front of the first rows of the house.

"In keeping with the spirit of the show and the vision of Jonathan Larson (the show's creator) we are happy to be able to offer prime seats to people who otherwise would not be able to purchase them," explained original RENT producer Kevin McCollum. "Jonathan was himself a struggling artist and his dream was to create a universal piece of musical theatre that's available to everyone."

The tradition of the $20 tickets was started in New York when the show moved to Broadway after a sold out run in a small downtown theater. Since that time people have lined up as early as the night before to guarantee their purchase of the $20 tickets. The producers of the show are committed to continuing the tradition of offering orchestra seats for $20 in each city the show will play.

Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp and Gwen Stewart will reprise the roles they originated on Broadway. Joining Pascal, Rapp and Stewart are Nicolette Hart (Maureen Johnson), Justin Johnston (Angel Schunard), Lexi Lawson (Mimi Marquez), Michael McElroy (Tom Collins), Jacques C. Smith (Benjamin Coffin III), and Haneefah Wood (Joanne Jefferson). The ensemble is rounded out by Toby Blackwell, Adam Halpin, Trisha Jeffrey, Joshua Kobak, Telly Leung, Tracy McDowell, Jed Resnick, Andy Señor, Shelley Thomas, Yuka Takara and John Watson.

Pascal, Rapp and Stewart originated the roles of Roger Davis, Mark Cohen and "Seasons of Love" soloist, respectively, at the New York Theatre Workshop and on Broadway. Johnston, McElroy and Stewart were all members of the final company of RENT, which played its last performance on Broadway on Sept. 7, 2008. after playing 5,124 performances and 16 previews. RENT is the eighth longest-running show in Broadway history and grossed more than $280 million during its Broadway run.

The original Broadway production of RENT, written by Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif, opened at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre, on April 29, 1996, following a history-making, sold-out, extended-limited engagement at Off-Broadway's New York Theatre Workshop. The musical went on to win every major best musical award, including the Tony Award, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

RENT: The Broadway Tour is once again directed by Greif, who received 1996 Tony and Drama Desk nominations as well as the Obie Award for RENT. Marlies Yearby, who received a Tony Award nomination for her work on the musical, choreographs the show and Tim Weil, the show's original music supervisor and conductor, serves as music supervisor.

Tours of RENT have criss-crossed the country almost continuously since late 1996 and the U.S. national tours have grossed more than $330 million. The musical has been translated into every major language and been performed on six continents, including in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

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RENT: The Broadway Tour visits OCPAC's Segerstrom Hall Oct. 20 – 25. The $20 tickets will be available two hours before curtain only at the Center's Box Office, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Regular tickets are $20 - $70 and are on sale now. They may be purchased at OCPAC.org, at the Center's Box Office or by calling 714.556.2787. For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 15 or more, call the Group Services office at 714.755.0236. The TTY number is 714.556.2746. The 2 p.m. performance on Saturday, October 24 will be sign-language interpreted.

For more information, please visit siteforrent.com.

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