Pin It
ImageApril 28, 2009 (ITHACA, NY) The Hangar Theatre announced Tuesday that Rent will be the final production of their 2009 summer season.  The Hangar will be the first theatre in the Finger Lakes region to produce this smash musical since it closed on Broadway in September 2008.

The New York Times called Rent “…an exhilarating landmark.” It’s the story of a community of young artists struggling to make their mark in New York’s rapidly changing East Village of the 1990s.

“Rent and its source material, the opera La Bohème, tell the timeless story of finding love and family in the most desperate of circumstances. We’re thrilled to bring this important piece of American theatre to our community,” said Hangar Theatre artistic director Peter Flynn.

Rent, with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, is the seventh longest running show in Broadway history and won every major award, including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Rent will be directed and choreographed by Devanand Janki, who directed and choreographed the hit Off-Broadway musical Zanna, Don’t! (winner of the Lucille Lortel, Callaway & GLAAD Media Awards). Other credits include Junie B. Jones (Lortel nomination), Henry & Mudge (Lortel nomination), Cupid & Psyche, Judy Speaks and the Broadway concerts of Hair, Funny Girl and Dreamgirls all at the New Amsterdam Theatre.

Eric Jordan Young, who starred in the Hangar’s 2006 production of Sammy & Me, will be playing the role of Tom Collins.  Young has appeared on Broadway in Chicago, Ragtime, Seussical the Musical, and The Look of Love.

Recent Ithaca College graduate Jared Zirelli will play the role of Roger Davis, and Zirelli’s good friend in real life, Ithaca College senior Catherine Stephani, will play the role of Maureen Johnson.

Joining Young, Zirelli, and Stephani are Adam Hose (Mark), Nik Walker (Benny), and Maria-Christine Oliveras (Joanne).   The ensemble is rounded out by Jevon McFerrin, Danielle Brooks, and Kyra Selman who played Belle in our production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in 2007.

----
v5i17
Pin It