Power chords, high-energy choreography and six-part harmonies will fill the Campus Theatre at 8 p.m. tomorrow with the premiere of “Rent.” The Theatre Department presents the uncut, original with a live band as one of the first colleges in the country given rights to the full -stage production of the Pulitzer Prize winning musical.
“We were the most persistent and Music Theatre International, who licenses the show, finally agreed,” Ron Scarlata, artistic director, said.
Although the department gained the rights last spring, it was not allowed to announce or publicize the title until after the national tour passed through Orange County in November, Scarlata said.
Loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s Italian opera, “La Boheme,” “Rent” will show Fridays and Saturdays. Tomorrow, Saturday and March 19, 20, 26 and 27 at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees March 21 and 28 at 3 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at the Campus Theatre box office for $25. Students with ASB will receive a 50 percent discount, good for only one ticket.
The rock ‘n’ roll musical, set to modern times, follows seven friends over the span of a year who are struggling artists living in New York City’s east village.
Though AIDS is a central theme, the musical illustrates the concept of survival of not only the disease, but also life in general, according to an EC press release.
“It’s about the love that these friends have for one another, which speaks to all people. It is not just about AIDS awareness,” Lorne Stevenson, theater major, said.
With only five weeks to learn the music, choreography and lines, the cast worked many hours for the production to be where it is today.
The musical’s cast includes mostly students along with a few community members, a unique element common of community college productions, director William Georges said.
“It was important to create a community environment, much like the bonds between the characters in the musical. People who have years of experience already working in theater come and work alongside younger artists. It has been very exciting to watch,” Georges said.
