Ron Harrington News

As BroadwayWorld sadly reported last week, composer/lyricist/actress Carol Hall passed away at age 82. We remember the Broadway veteran below.

In the 20+ years that RENT has been impacting the theatre-loving world, views on AIDS, drug use, and acceptance of the LGBTQ community have shifted many welcomed steps forward, and recently trumped several steps backward. Although the topics of RENT may not have the original shock value they did upon the show's celebrated 1996 Broadway debut, the relatable characters and moving themes are timeless, even alongside the now dated giant JNCO jeans, frosted tipped hair and clunky Doc Martens. (Fashion was not the 90's best feature.)

BroadwayWorld is excited to share brand-new photos from the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour - scroll down to check out the cast in action!

RENT is a rock musical with music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson. It won the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize. The Broadway production closed on September 7, 2008 after a 12-year run of 5,123 performances, making it one of the longest running musicals of all time. The success of the show led to several national tours and numerous foreign productions and in 2005, it was adapted into a motion picture featuring most of the original cast members. This current touring production is the 20th anniversary production of Larson's re-imagining of Puccini's La Boh me. RENT follows an remarkable year in the lives of seven impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in New York City's East Village during the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, while under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. With its inspiring message of joy and hope in the face of fear, RENT is a timeless celebration of friendship and creativity, and a reminder to measure our lives with the only thing that truly matters love.

Under the direction of Evan Ensign, the 20th anniversary edition of RENT has become a no-fly zone for self-absorbed rockstar posturing and strutting.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME, GYPSY, RENT, and More!

Rent. Jonathan Larson's musical masterpiece inspired by Puccini's La Boheme celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Its theme, characters and life lessons are as current today as they were 20 years ago. You can't help but believe that Mark, Maureen, Joanne, Mimi, Roger, Angel, Tom, and Benny, continue to be watched over by Mr. Larson, their creator and guardian angel, whose untimely death missed opening night of his legacy by a few short days. I think his sudden death gave all the more meaning to the song 'No Day But Today'. Launching careers of performers such as Anthony Rapp, Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs, today these big names continue to pay tribute to him singing the show's most popular tunes to an escalating fan base of Rent admirers.

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.

The 20th Anniversary Tour of RENT is set to play at the Century II Concert Hall in Wichita, Kansas October 30 through November 1.

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.

Aaron Harrington is certainly Broadway bound after his stunning performance as COLLINS in the RENT National Tour.

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.

BroadwayWorld San Francisco spoke with Christian Thompson, who plays Benny in the 20th anniversary tour of RENT, coming to San Francisco February 7 - 19. Thompson tells us about the universal themes found in the musical, his own favorite Bohemian activity for each tour stop and, of course, love.

Katie LaMark is one of the new generation of this shows cast as they travel the country on the tour. Playing Maureen, Katie gets to being this outrageous activist and performance artist to life performing in this revival, from January 10th - 15th at the San Diego Civic Theatre.

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!