Original RENT Broadway stars will grace the stage of the Batavia Fine Arts Centre

Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, the originators of the roles of Roger and Mark respectively from the Broadway production of RENT will make a one night appearance in conjunction with the Batavia High School Production of the same show on Saturday, April 29, 2017.

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, it has become a pop cultural phenomenon with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.

The high school full performance on April 29th is at 6:00pm, followed by a 60 minute show by Pascal and Rapp entitled Acoustically Speaking: 20 Years of Friendship. At the conclusion, the cast will join the
veteran professionals on stage for a once in a lifetime experience.

Director Dominic Cattero explains “We are glad to be able to present this valuable and pertinent piece of literature; it is one of the most brilliant shows to come from Broadway in the past 2 decades. This will be an incredible experience for students to have two of the original Broadway performers take part in this journey with us, and to be able to experience the stage with them is going to be something that most people in their
professional life would only dream of.”

The BHS cast of 45 members is working diligently at daily rehearsals to be ready for opening night. Ian Samsami, a Senior at BHS will play the role of Mark. When asked his thoughts on being able to meet
and work with Rapp and Pascale he said, “It’s nerve racking, but I’m so excited to hear their input on what we have been working on, how we have been putting our own stamp on these characters. I hope we can put a new spin on it to make it our own. To actually be meeting the person that originated the role is kind of insane! Not many get this kind of an incredible opportunity.”

JD Rodriguez, a Sophomore at BHS, will portray the role of Roger. Rodriguez said, “It’s going to be a flashback for me, because when I performed on Broadway in 2011-12, I found myself being around people that do what I love and want to do. It will be amazing to work with Pascal to compare how I portray this role compared to how he did it both on Broadway and in the movie.”

The performance with Rapp and Pascal will be one night only, Saturday, April 29th. Tickets are $30-42 and available online at www.BataviaFineArtsCentre.org and at the box office by calling 630-937-8930.
Tickets for performances on Thursday, April 27th and Friday April 28th at 7:30 pm, and Sunday April 30th at 2:00pm go on sale March 30th for $10- $16. RENT will be performed at the Batavia Fine Arts Centre.