Don't Miss Rent at Music Theatre of Connecticut

Music Theatre of Connecticut (MTC) MainStage, Fairfield County’s award-

winning professional theatre company, opens its 39th season with the groundbreaking, Tony

Award winning musical, Rent. 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

production runs from September 26th through October 12th.

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. The

physical and emotional complications of HIV/AIDS 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.

Rent stars Jacob Heimer (B’way- Beautiful) as Roger, Joe Tolentino (Regional- Rent w/

director Adam Pascal) as Mark, Cedric Leiba JR. (Tour- Rent, Miss Saigon) as Angel,

Darrick Penny (Regional- Rent w/ director Adam Pascal) as Tom, LaDonna Burns (Nat’l

Tour- Rent, MTC- Ghost (CT Critics Circle Award Winner)) as Joanne, Olivia Fenton

(Ivoryton- Hank Williams: Lost Highway, MTC- Moon Over Buffalo) as Maureen, Gabriela

Gomez (Disney Cruise- Aladdin) as Mimi, Matt Mancuso (Valley Shakespeare- As You Like

It, MTC- Ghost) as Benny, and Ensemble cast includes Sadie Seelert (B’way- Mary

Poppins), Leeanna Rubin (Nat’l Tour- Annie), Carlos Pérez (SToNC- The Little Mermaid),

Charles Romano (Legacy- Sweeney Todd).

Rent is directed & choreographed by Chris McNiff with music direction by David Wolfson.

The production team also includes stage management by Theresa Stark, fight & intimacy

direction by Dan O’Driscoll, scenic design by Marty Marchitto, lighting design by Scott

Borowka, prop design by Claudia Ruck, costume design by Diane Vanderkroef, and sound

design by Jon Damast.

Ticket prices range from $45-$60 plus fees and can be purchased online at

http://www.musictheatreofct.com/rent or over the phone at (203) 454-3883. MTC

MainStage is located at 509 Westport Ave in Norwalk, CT.