Crafton Hills College Plans to Stage the Rock Musical RENT May 4-5 in Yucaipa

Actors and students at Crafton Hills College plan to stage the 1990s rock musical RENT on May 4-5 in Yucaipa, the stage manager/assistant director said Friday.

The musical tells the story of a group of impoverished artists and musicians in New York's Lower East Side, in the shadow of HIV/AIDS, Eliza Bishop of Crafton Hills College said.

RENT features music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, and it's based on the 1890s Giacomo Puccini opera "La bohème." New York productions of RENT won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for Best Musical. The Broadway production had a 12-year run that ended in 2008, making it the ninth-longest running show in Broadway history, according to the Internet Broadway Database.

Performances are scheduled at 8 p.m. Friday May 4, and at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday May 5 at Finkelstein Performing Arts Center, Bishop said. Tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for students and seniors.

Finkelstein Performing Arts Center is on the campus of Crafton Hills College at 11711 Sand Canyon Road, Yucaipa.