RENT Tour Hits New Jersey Performing Arts Center February 10-15

Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum and Allan S. Gordon have announced that Rent, The Broadway Tour, engagement at New Jersey Performing Arts Center will have a day-of-performance lottery for $20.00 front-row seats, similar to that used during the Broadway run. Those wishing to enter the lottery should arrive at the NJPAC box office two hours prior to curtain to have their names placed in a box. 40 minutes before the show, names will be drawn for the 34 front-row seats. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person, cash only.

As the first show to sell same day orchestra seats for $20, Rent attracted a huge number of repeat visitors who came to be known as Rentheads. Many fans saw the show ten, twenty, or thirty times, and some as many as a hundred or more. Originally, hundreds of people lined up overnight (or over two nights!) to have a chance at the discounted tickets until the sale was changed to a lottery format, which then attracted huge numbers of contestants, often in the hundreds, for the prized seats in the first row.

Rent, The Broadway Tour, features Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, and Gwen Stewart reprising the roles they originated on Broadway. Joining Pascal and Rapp who reprise their award-winning roles, 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 Karmine Alers, Toby Blackwell, Adam Halpin, Trisha Jeffrey, Telly Leung, Caren Lyn Manuel, Jed Resnick, Andy Senor, Yuka Takara, and John Watson.

Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, and Gwen Stewart originated the roles of Roger Davis, Mark Cohen, and "Seasons of Love" soloist, respectively, at New York Theatre Workshop and on Broadway. Justin Johnston (Angel), Michael McElroy (Collins), and Stewart were all members of the final company of Rent, which played its last performance on Broadway September 7, 2008.

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

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 played its final performance at the Nederlander Theatre on September 7, 2008 after playing 5,124 performances and 16 previews. Rent is the seventh longest running show in Broadway history and grossed over $280 million during its Broadway run.

Tours of Rent have crisscrossed the country almost continuously since late 1996 and the U.S. national tours have grossed over $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, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Rent, The Broadway Tour, runs Tuesday, February 10 - Sunday, February 15 on the following schedule: Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30pm; Friday at 8:00pm; Saturday at 2:00pm and 8:00pm; Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Tickets are $23.00 - $80.00 and may be purchased online at www.njpac.org or via phone at 1-888-GO-NJPAC. NJPAC is located at One Center Street, Newark, NJ.

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in the heart of a newly emergent downtown Newark, New Jersey, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States. Home of the Grammyâ Award-winning New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, NJPAC has been widely cited as a catalyst in the revitalization of New Jersey's largest city, attracting over 5.5 million visitors, including one million children, in its first eleven seasons of operations.

For directions to NJPAC by public transportation, please visit
http://www.njpac.org/load_screen.asp?screen=directions_public_transportation; for directions by car, visit http://www.njpac.org/load_screen.asp?screen=directions.

Following its stop in Newark, Rent, The Broadway Tour will play Detroit, MI (February 17-22); Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; Tempe, AZ; Minneapolis, MN; Chicago, IL; Pittsburgh, PA; Rochester, NY; Houston, TX; Dallas, TX; Austin, TX; Washington, DC; St. Louis, MO; Denver, CO; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Tampa, FL; Boston, MA; Schenectady, NY. For complete tour schedule and information visit www.siteforrent.com

 

 

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