Porchlight Announces Cast And Creative Team For RENT

Porchlight Music Theatre presents the Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, RENT, music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson, at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., October 29 - November 27. Porchlight's production is directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo+, music directed by Michael McBride+ and choreographed by Laura Savage*.

Previews are Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 3 at 1:30 p.m. with the press opening on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3:30 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with weekday matinees Thursday, Nov. 10 at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. and Friday, Nov. 25 at 3:30 p.m.

There are Post-Show Discussions scheduled Friday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m and Sunday, Nov. 17 at 1:30 p.m. and Open Caption performances Saturday Nov. 19 and Saturday Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m. Subscriptions to Porchlight's 28th season are now on sale and may be purchased through the Box Office by calling 773.777.9884 or by visiting PorchlightMusicTheatre.org. Single tickets for RENT start at $25 and are now on sale.

Over the last 25 years, RENT, a Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical based loosely on the 1896 Italian opera La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, has become a cultural phenomenon with millions of fans around the world. Porchlight's production celebrates this legacy and adds a new page to the story of a year in the life of a diverse group of artists struggling to survive and create in Lower Manhattan's East Village under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. In the thriving days of bohemian Alphabet City at the end of the millennium, these friends are determined to follow their dreams without selling out.

The cast for RENT includes Bridget Adams-King* (ensemble/Maureen US); Wesly Anthony Clergé+ (swing/Collins US); Naphtali Curry+ (ensemble/Benny US); Leah Davis* (ensemble/Joanne US); Caitlin Dobbins* (swing); Lucy Godínez* (Maureen Johnson); Nick Johnson+ (swing/US Angel); Chris Khoshaba+ (ensemble); Nik Kmiecik+ (ensemble/US Mark); Teressa LaGamba* (Joanne Jefferson); Eric Lewis+ (Tom Collins); David Moreland+ (Mark Cohen); Alix Rhode* (Mimi Marquez); Abraham Shaw+ (Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III); Josh Pablo Szabo+/^ (Angel Dumott Schunard); TJ Tapp* (dance captain/ensemble); Brennan Urbi^/+ (ensemble/US Roger) and Shraga D. Wasserman^ (Roger Davis).

The RENT production team includes Adrian Abel Azevedo+ (director); Michael McBride+ (music director/conductor); Laura Savage* (choreographer); Ann Davis* (scenic designer); Gregory Graham+ (costume designer); Maggie Fullilove-Nugent* (lighting designer); Josiah Croegaert+ (associate lighting designer); Matthew R. Chase+ (sound designer); Rowan Doe^ (properties designer); Kirsten Baity^ (intimacy designer); Deborah Blumenthal* (dramaturg); Marcus Carroll+ (production stage manager); Frankie Leo Bennett+ (producing artistic associate); Alex Rhyan+ (production & operations director) and Michael Weber+ (artistic director).