It's a short run - it opened Tuesday, Sept. 23 and continues through Sunday, Sept. 28, but one with a major impact for the Adelphi community. This completely new and reconceived version of "Rent" kicks off the inaugural season of the University's new Performing Arts Center (AU PAC).
The new cultural space combines Adelphi's theater, music and dance programs, including a refurbishing of the Olmsted Theater, and enlarges the performance areas.
The Performing Arts Center comes to life with this new production of "Rent," which just departed Broadway, after 12 years. Its creator, Larson, began his musical career as an Adelphi student, writing and composing many of the Theatre Department's satirical cabarets, as well as other significant music pieces and songs for main stage productions.
Nicholas Petron, chair of the Department of Theatre, who was a co-writer with Larson on numerous works, has assembled a creative team comprised of alumni who all worked with Larson during his Adelphi years. "I can't put into words how ecstatic and honored we feel to be the first production in New York of Rent subsequent to its closure on Broadway," Petron said. "It's our testimony to Jonathan, his work, and all of our theatre alumni."
This production of "Rent" is directed by David Glenn Armstrong, a classmate of Larson's, and a veteran director. He and Larson wrote three musicals together in the '80s, including Saved! - An Immoral Musical on the Moral Majority, which won them both ASCAP Awards.
"I am absolutely thrilled to be returning to Adelphi after 26 years to share my Jonathan stories with our amazing cast," said Armstrong. "It is a palpable rush to direct the first full new production of Rent to be seen in 12 years. We will tell the story of these unforgettable characters in an innovative and incredibly intimate way. I'm approaching the show as a period piece - and as I'm working with actors in their early twenties, I feel a paternal responsibility to "scare them straight" about what New York City was like when the spectre of AIDS loomed over all of us in the arts world creating an atmosphere of fear, anxiety, instability and ultimately, community. Due to the stunning work of our designers, this Rent will be an incredibly theatrical and emotionally cathartic experience. Our audiences are going to revel in Jonathan's heartfelt work in a completely new and shockingly different way."
Another alumnus, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Todd Robinson, whose most recent film was Lonely Hearts with John Travolta and James Gandolfini, directs the production's film segments.
"Jonathan was one of my closest friends pretty much from the moment we met at Adelphi," said Robinson. "We continued our friendship and creative relationship as roommates in college and later in New York and far beyond. In those early days trying to survive and be heard as artists in a climate of disease, fear and political neglect was difficult for all of us...so I understood completely what Jonathan was writing about. We all did. The existential questions of expression and survival raised in Rent are as potent today as they were in the early '90s. Therefore, I consider it a privilege to play a small role the continuing legacies of both Jonathan Larson's work and Theatre Department of Adelphi University."
Kerry Prep, an actor, singer, and composer, serves as musical director. Prep reflected that "the creative team is in a unique position to bring not only our personal experience of the zeitgeist of the late '80s and early '90s, but also our experience of having been a part of Jonathan's life during his formative years at Adelphi. In essence, we are living bridges; connecting today's performing arts majors to the unique history we all shared with Jonathan."
Rounding out the creative team is another alumnus, choreographer Regina Larkin. She collaborated with Larson on numerous cabaret pieces while at Adelphi as an adjunct professor of dance and in New York City during the latter '80s.
The cast of 18 is a combination of Adelphi alumni and current performing arts majors, including Christopher Caron as Benny, Joey Elrose as Mark, Benjamin Farha as Angel, Natalie Margiotta as Maureen, and Katie Murphy as Mimi.
A special gala performance of "Rent" takes place on Saturday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m. It celebrates the official opening of the Performing Arts Center. Tickets include a pre-performance tour of the new 53,000 square-foot facility and a post-performance champagne reception with an opportunity to meet Al and Nan Larson (Jonathan's parents), one or more members of the original Broadway cast, and members of the Adelphi production. Tickets are $150. Proceeds from the Gala evening will be used to support student scholarships in dance, music, and theatre, and the new Performing Arts Center.
General ticket prices are $7-$15. To purchase tickets, call (516) 877-4000 or visit aupac.adelphi.edu/buytickets.php.
