A one-night-only revival of Rent will take place at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre on Oct. 26
NEED TO KNOW
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The late Jonathan Larson’s acclaimed rock musical first premiered on Broadway in 1996
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Per a release, the 30th anniversary concert will bring back original director Michael Greif and “a bevy of special guests”
Viva La Vie Bohème!Rentis coming back to Broadway.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the lateJonathan Larson’s beloved rock musical, a one-night-only concert will take place on Oct. 26 at New York’s Richard Rodgers Theatre.
Per a release, the benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS will include “original cast members and a bevy of special guests.” Tickets areon saleto the public on June 1.
Rent’s original director, Michael Greif, is returning to direct the special evening. Joining him will be the show’s entire original band and music director Tim Weil. More names will be announced at a later date.
“Jonathan wroteRentin honor of the people he knew who were living and struggling with HIV and in honor of the many friends and contemporaries he lost to AIDS,” Greif said in a statement. “I know he’d be proud and honored to join forces with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS to celebrate the 30th year anniversary of his milestone musical."
Rent, which was inspired by Puccini's 1896 operaLa Bohème, follows a group of free-spirited New York City artists amid the HIV/AIDS crisis in the late 1980s. The musical took Broadway by storm back in 1996, running for 12 years and winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, theTony Awardfor Best Musical and more.
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It spawned many national tours and international productions, and was adapted for the screen in a 2005 movie musical directed by Chris Columbus and in a 2019 FoxTV special.
The original Broadway cast includedAnthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Wilson Jermaine Heredia,Idina Menzel,Taye Diggsand more. Larson, who wrote and composed the show, died at only age 35 on Jan. 25, 1996 — the night beforeRent's Off-Broadway premiere at the New York Theatre Workshop — of an aortic dissection believed to have been caused by undiagnosed Marfan syndrome.
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Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the top nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations in the country. “Few works have captured the urgency, humanity and resilience of a generation likeRent,” the org’s executive director Danny Whitman said in a statement about the concert.
Larson, he continued, “reminded us all of the power of compassion, care and showing up for one another. We are proud to carry that legacy forward every day, providing lifesaving meals, medication, health care and hope to people living with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the country. And through this extraordinary anniversary concert, that spirit of collaboration will translate into even more care and critical support for those who need it most today.”
The 30th anniversary concert revivingRentwill take place on Oct. 26 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
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