The UMW Department of Theatre & Dance will continue its 2011-12 season with a production of Jonathan Larson’s “Rent.” Performances will be Nov. 3-5, Nov. 10-12 and Nov. 17-19 at 8 p.m., and Nov. 6, 13 and 20 at 2 p.m. in Klein Theatre, duPont Hall. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $16 for students and senior citizens and $8 for faculty, staff and students with UMW IDs.
“Rent” is the story of Mark and Roger, two struggling artists with dreams of making lives for themselves on the Lower East Side of New York City in the mid-1990s. Relationships are challenged as the AIDS epidemic threatens to tear their close-knit community apart. Mark, Roger and friends grapple with the meanings of life, love and loss, and find hope in friendship as they struggle to make ends meet.
“Rent,” with book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, is based upon Giocomo Puccini’s “La Bohème.” “Rent” first premiered at New York Theatre Workshop in 1994, opened off-Broadway in 1996 and moved to Broadway later that year. In 1996, “Rent” won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. It closed in 2008 after running for 5,124 performances, making it one of the longest-running Broadway musicals in history. The rock musical has seen numerous productions across the United States and abroad and was adapted into a major motion picture in 2005.
“Rent” is directed by Gregg Stull, professor and chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance, with musical direction by Christopher Wingert and choreography by Samantha Packard. Scenic design is by Julie Hodge, associate professor of theatre, and costume design is by Kevin McCluskey, associate professor of theatre. Lighting and sound designs are by guest artists Jason Arnold and Tony Angelini. For more information, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111.
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