Jonathan Larson's RENT 20th Anniversary Tour made its way back to the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis this week. This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical could have come across as dated or unimportant with 20 years (actually 21) behind it, but lucky for me and the full houses who purchased tickets to the Minneapolis run, that was not the case.
It's hard to believe that the musical RENT is 20 year old, but watching it in 2017 it remains shockingly relevant, and strangely stuck in time. The story of the bohemian squatters in New York's Alphabet City seems almost like a museum piece about the horrors of AIDS, but at the same time, considering all of the technological developments of the last 20 year, the time of RENT should feel even more foreign. Gay marriage is now the law of the land and AIDS is no longer a death sentence, but many of the other struggles these beloved characters face are still real and universal. RENT is a story of the 90's, but it's also a beautiful story of friendships and how they evolve. The cast of this current touring production certainly have some big shoes to fill, but many of them manage to shake off the albatrosses of previous classic performances and make these roles uniquely their own.
The producers of the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning landmark rock musical written by Jonathan Larson, have announced casting for the upcoming National Tour.
RENT, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning landmark rock musical written by Jonathan Larson, returns to Boston to play a two week engagement at the Boch Center Shubert Theatre April 11 - 23, 2017. Presented by the Boch Center, tickets are on sale at the Boch Center box office, through www.bochcenter.org or by calling (866) 348-9738. Press night is set for Tuesday, April 11, 2017 at 7:00 pm.
With the 20th Anniversary of RENT currently touring North America, audiences are enjoying this production that is close to the original Broadway production. Kaleb Wells plays Roger who struggles with his own personal demons as he follows his dreams. Wells is living his dreams as he portrays Roger during this production.
'Rent' is certainly one of those shows where you either love it or you hate it. I'm firmly in the first camp. I was right there in the fervor when it first came out in 1996 and was the 'it' show the same way a current show about a founding father is today. And when that first tour came around I made sure I was right there and I bawled my way through it. Since then I've seen numerous productions over the years. Some really good that brought around those same emotions and some that felt very MEH. The current production at the Paramount Theatre did not make it all the way to the MEH camp but it certainly had a few issues and brought no tears to my eyes.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the producers of the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning landmark rock musical written by Jonathan Larson, announce casting for the upcoming National Tour. The award-winning musical will return to Orange County January 6 - 8, 2017 in Segerstrom Hall.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts will soon welcome the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning landmark rock musical written by Jonathan Larson, set to return to Orange County January 6 - 8, 2017 in Segerstrom Hall.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the producers of the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning landmark rock musical written by Jonathan Larson, announce casting for the upcoming National Tour. The award-winning musical will return to Orange County January 6 - 8, 2017 in Segerstrom Hall.
The RENT 20th Anniversary Tour, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning landmark rock musical written by Jonathan Larson, stars Danny Kornfeld as 'Mark Cohen,' Kaleb Wells as 'Roger Davis,' Skyler Volpe as 'Mimi Marquez,' AaRon Harrington as 'Tom Collins,' David Merino as 'Angel Dumott Schunard,' Katie LaMark as 'Maureen Johnson,' Jasmine Easler as 'Joanne Jefferson, and Christian Thompson as 'Benny Coffin III.' The production just opened in Long Island, and BroadwayWorld has photos below!
Rent: 20th Anniversary Tour will be coming to the Capitol Center for the Arts (CCA) in Concord, New Hampshire today, November 3, 2016 at 7:30PM. The show features New Hampshire-raised Kaleb Wells as Roger.
Here are our suggestions - our choices, as it were - for the shows to catch, the people to see, before Monday morning rolls around. Again. When work beckons, we promise you'll have so much more interesting water cooler chatter to share that you'll be the envy of everyone at the office:
It's hard to believe that Jonathan Larson's epic rock musical masterpiece, Rent, debuted on Broadway, making headlines around the world, winning the Pulitzer Prize and bringing a whole new generation of audiences to the theater 20 years ago. Larson who died just prior to the show's 1996 off-Broadway opening didn't live to see the acclaim with which his musical - based upon Puccini's La Boheme - was greeted, but if we believe in such things, we may rest assured that since his untimely demise he has watched over Rent's evolution, which includes the 20th Anniversary production now touring the country in an astounding revival which reaffirms its place among the very best of American musical theater.
Rent: 20th Anniversary Tour will be coming to the Capitol Center for the Arts (CCA) in Concord, New Hampshire on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 7:30PM. The show features New Hampshire-raised Kaleb Wells as Roger.
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts announced today, that seats in the first two rows of the orchestra section will be available for $25 for every performance of RENT, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the touring cast in action below!