RENT Legacy Revival To Play Diversionary Theatre For 40th Anniversary Season

Diversionary Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for its Legacy Revival of RENT, with book, music, and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. The production will begin low-cost previews May 21, with a press opening set for May 30 at Diversionary Theatre.

The musical, presented as the third production in the company’s 40th Anniversary Season, will be co-directed by Sherri Eden Barber and Coleman Ray Clark, with choreography by Nigel Semaj.

Diversionary’s Artistic Director Barber described the revival as both personal and timely. “RENT has always been about chosen family, about artists who refuse to disappear, and about love that endures in the face of crisis,” she said, noting that the production is not a recreation but a reimagining that reflects the realities of the local community.

Clark emphasized the production’s contemporary approach to storytelling, incorporating technology to expand the narrative. “Technology has transformed how we build community, how we document our lives, and how we process loss,” he said, adding that the design allows “memory, emotion, and present reality to exist all at once.”

Diversionary Theatre’s staging is described as a bold, intimate take on the musical, centering the experiences of a community shaped by love, loss, resilience, and artistic expression. The production aims to strip the story down to its core while maintaining the energy and urgency that defined the original, reminding audiences “what it means to live, to fight, and to love—no day but today.”

The cast includes Faith Carrion (Ensemble), Gio Coppola (Roger Davis), Andre Heimos (Tom Collins), Adelaida Martinez (Ensemble), David McBean (Benjamin “Benny” Coffin III), Jonathan Sangster (Mark Cohen), Maya Sofia (Mimi Marquez), Nio Russell (Joanne Jefferson), Michael Amira Temple (Maureen Johnson), and Allen Lucky Weaver (Angel Dumott Schunard).

Many of the performers bring extensive regional and national credits, including Broadway tours, major regional productions, and television work, contributing to a cast that blends established artists with emerging voices.

The creative team includes Jonathan Larson (playwright), Sherri Eden Barber (co-director), Coleman Ray Clark (co-director), Nigel Semaj (choreographer), Jesse Marchese (production dramaturg), Mathys Herbert (scenic design), Annelise Schultz-Salazar (lighting design), Claire Peterson (costume design), Kevin Antenhill (sound design), Nick Hussong (projection design), Jerrica Stone (music direction), Anthony Garcia (props design), and Shannon Humiston (stage manager).

The production also features projection and design elements intended to create a layered, immersive environment that reflects the evolving ways stories are told and remembered.

First staged in 1996, RENT became a defining musical of its era, exploring themes of multiculturalism, addiction, and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Following Jonathan Larson’s death just before its first preview, the production went on to achieve critical and commercial success, earning multiple Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Don't Miss a San Diego News Story
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...