Main photo: Some of the cast of Rent (from left) Jim Kelly, Jillian Robinson, Mallary Davenport, Jamarie Anfernee Brown, Nic Mencia, Frank Berg, and Skye Goulbourne (supplied)
The Monarch Performing Arts Studio (The Monarch) announces its second full scale musical of 2022 at the Algonquin Theatre.
Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice, and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a pop cultural phenomenon with songs that rock, and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.
Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, Jonathan Larson’s Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The physical and emotional complications of the disease pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom, and Angel. Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble. Benny has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.
This is theatre at its best—exuberant, passionate, and joyous.
Director Autumn Smith is back at it taking on this beast of a show with a cast of fifteen, blending professional performers and community members to bring this iconic show to Muskoka.
“Rent is not pretty or polite…it excavates the human condition and challenges us to become agents of change. This celebration of otherness reminds is that we all deserve care, kindness, and love. Rent is the most awesome kind of protest.”
With musical direction by Alana Nuedling and Justin Hiscox and starring an incredibly talented cast, this show is sure to move and inspire audiences.
The show opens Friday April 1 and runs for six performances over two weekends. For tickets, visit algonquintheatre.ca.
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