Skyler Volpe News

This week the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association is voting on the final award list in preparation for the Third Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony to be held on Monday, November 12 at 7 pm at the Zion Lutheran Church, 74 First Street (Route 7) in Pittsfield, MA.

Casting is complete and the design team is in place for the world premiere musical THE HELLO GIRLS produced by Prospect Theater Company at 59E59 Theaters.

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 WEST SIDE STORY, MAMMA MIA, and More!

The world's greatest love story takes to the streets in the landmark Broadway musical, West Side Story at Barrington Stage. The show began August 3, with opening night set for August 8, for a run through September 1.

The notably attractive, and extremely talented ensemble plays out every moment of this classic so well it will delight the eyes and the ears of those that have seen the piece before, as well as those who are experiencing it for the first time.  This is true of the acting, singing, and the dancing. 

The streets of Pittsfield, (more precisely Barrington Stage Co's Boyd Quinson Mainstage on Union Street) became the streets of 1957 New York City as one of the greatest Broadway Shows of all times, West Side Store had it's opening night performance.  Nowadays you don't have gangs fighting on Pittsfield streets but you do have theater goers fighting to get into the many productions of Barrington Stage Co. and the sold out season at Mr. (Bill) Finn's Cabaret.

The world's greatest love story takes to the streets in the landmark Broadway musical, West Side Story at Barrington Stage. The show began August 3, with opening night set for August 8, for a run through September 1.

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), the award-winning theatre in the Berkshires (Pittsfield, MA) under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, is pleased to announce additional casting for the 2018 Season.

In an age of angst, with an administration that threatens the fabric of our communities, Broadway San Jose presents RENT and all of sudden, it's all about LOVE! We will survive!

I care about Angel. But in all honesty . EVERYONE cares about Angel. Angel was created to be loved, and the actor Aaron Acaraz was made to be Angel.

The New Year will kick off at Overture Center with the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning landmark rock musical written by Jonathan Larson, from Tues., Jan. 2-Sun., Jan. 7, 2018.

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of RENT, the Overture Center in Madison kicks off the year with the ground-breaking production from Tuesday, January 2, through Sunday, January 7, 2018. Honest and gritty to its core, RENT forever changed the face of musical theatre and continues to speak loudly and defiantly to audiences across generations and all over the world.

The New Year will kick off at Overture Center with the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning landmark rock musical written by Jonathan Larson, from Tues., Jan. 2-Sun., Jan. 7, 2018.

Work Light Productions and The Smith Center for the Performing Arts announced casting for the highly-anticipated Las Vegas engagement of RENT Jan. 30 Feb. 3, 2018.

Rent was one of the first musicals I truly loved. My affinity for musicals didn't start as early as a lot of theatre people I know. I first picked up Rent in junior high, a 2-disc set from the library. I'd borrow it over and over until I learned all the words. Rent is the reason why angsty rock musicals will forever be my niche.

BWW BLOG: RENT 20th Anniversary Tour Takes on Oklahoma City's Civic Center Music Hall

Major Broadway musicals are bound to have many different incarnations over time, from early workshops to original runs to revivals and regional productions. Shows that stand the test of time, the way that Rent does, appear on the stage in touring productions, long, open-ended runs, and international productions all over the world. The current tour that's travelling the country, heralded as the 20th Anniversary Tour and currently running at the Civic Center in Oklahoma City, is a mostly disappointing production that doesn't really do the show as a whole the justice it deserves.

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.