Photo: Joan Marcus

Fabulous Fox Theater, St. Louis
June 2-7

As a certified RENT fanatic, nothing brings me greater excitement than seeing my favorite musical with three of its Original Broadway Cast (OBC) members when "The Broadway Tour" hits the Fabulous Fox for a limited engagement next week. Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, who played Mark and Roger respectively in both the OBC and the film version of RENT, reprise their roles joined by fellow OBC member Gwen Stewart, the phenomenal soloist of "Seasons of Love."

I've seen RENT about half a dozen times, and have always enjoyed the touring casts, but this will be a truly special event, to hear these songs sung by the voices I have listened to on the soundtrack and in the film so many times over. RENT: The Broadway Tour is directed by Michael Greif, who received 1996 Tony and Drama Desk nominations as well as the Obie Award for RENT.

Adam Pascal received Obie and Theatre World awards and Tony and Drama Desk nominations for best actor for his portrayal of the tortured romantic Roger Davis.

Anthony Rapp has appeared in numerous films in addition to his Broadway roles, including Dazed and Confused, Six Degrees of Separation, Road Trip and A Beautiful Mind. His book, "Without You: a Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent," about his experiences on and offstage became a national bestseller.

RENT is one of Broadway's longest running musicals, and it has won every major best musical award, including the Tony Award, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Sadly, RENT's creator, Jonathan Larson, passed away unexpectedly on the evening of the show's first Broadway dress rehearsal - never living to see the incredible success his masterpiece achieved. Larson's incredible gift and his loss make the show's timeless messages of "No day but today" and "Measure your life in love" even more powerful.

Larson based the story and the characters of RENT on the opera La Boheme and placed them in end-of-the-millennium Manhattan. There is a special offer for patrons of Opera Theatre St. Louis' presentation of "La Boheme." Ticket purchasers of "La Boheme" may bring their ticket stub to the Fox Theatre box office for $10 off select seats for the June 2-4 performances of RENT (limit four tickets).

Also in keeping with a longstanding tradition for the show, seats in the front two rows of the orchestra pit will be made available for $20 for every performance of RENT: The Broadway Tour at the Fox Theatre box office, on the day of performance only, two hours prior to the show. The tickets are available to anyone, cash only, with a limit of two tickets per person, while tickets last.   

“In keeping with the spirit of the show and the vision of Jonathan Larson, the show’s creator, we are happy to be able to offer prime seats to people who otherwise would not be able to purchase them,” says original RENT producer Kevin McCollum. “Jonathan was himself a struggling artist and his dream was to create a universal piece of musical theatre that’s available to everyone.”

The tradition of the $20 tickets was started in New York when the show moved to Broadway after a sold-out run in a small downtown theatre. Since that time people have lined up as early as the night before to guarantee their purchase of the $20 tickets.
 

Curtain times for the U.S. Bank Broadway presentation are Tuesday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are available at the Fox Theatre box office and through MetroTix. To charge by phone, call MetroTix at 314-534-1111 or log onto www.metrotix.com.  Prices range from $66-$24 and are subject to change.  | Amy Burger

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