RENT, the gritty, life-affirming musical experience celebrates the power of love and friendship and community. Set in NYC's East Village, RENT is a modern take on the classic Giacomo Puccini opera, “La Bohème”. The mustical that ran on Broadway for 12 years, written by White Plains High School graduate, the late John Larson, opens Thursday evening at the WBT, and will play through September 25.
Tonya Thompson and Andy Kelso (as Mark) on the set.
Photo, Courtesy,Westchester Broadway Theatre by Jennifer Edwards Kawa
This unforgettable story of a group of starving artists who, despite poverty and illness, learn to fall in love and find their voices, brings a universal message of hope for everyone. For information, go to www.broadwaytheatre.com or call 914-592-2222
When the National Tour of RENT played the Stamford (CT) Palace Theatre in 2008, John Bailey of WPCNR described RENT as
"powerful, exuberant, uplifting, gripping and downright everything theater is supposed to be. It is the work of a lifetime in the very short life of White Plains High Hall of Fame writer, Jonathan Larson, who wrote the book, the music and the lyrics. Recalling Jesus Christ Superstar in pace, message and listenability, the work is amazing. It is a roar of an express train of emotions that drives the audience with intricate, heavy, twangy rock-based tunes that deliver raw lyrics that carve your emotions with the cut of a switchblade knife, the skill of a surgeon’s scapel, and a the inspiration of a lover’s lips. "
The musical was first seen in a limited three-week workshop production at New York Theatre Workshop in 1994. RENT opened at the Nederlander Theatre on the 100th anniversary of the original “La Bohème”. Unfortunately, Jonathan Larson died unexpectedly the night of the show's final preview. But his creation would go on to become one of the biggest Broadway success stories of the decade. Before Rent, Jonathan Larson had composed another musical called Superbia, a rock monologue; tick, tick ... BOOM! and a variety of songs for children including songs for "Sesame Street."
Over the course of its groundbreaking 12-year New York run, RENT transformed the definition of musical theater -- and changed Broadway forever. RENT gained critical acclaim and garnered all the major theatre awards of 1996 including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Obie Award, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and three Drama Desk Awards.
The Show has left a powerful legacy in the theater community, which for many decades had seemed doomed to revivals of 1950s classic musicals. Many theater critics hold the show partly responsible for the restoration of the American musical. Since RENT premiered in 1996, the call for new Broadway shows has increased tremendously, and a new generation has been brought to the theater by the message and power of the show.
Note: For a WPCNR Review of the National production of RENT that played the Stamford Palace in 2008, go to http://www.whiteplainscnr.com/article6671.html
