Jonathan Larson's beloved musical about New York artists has been revived for its 30th anniversary, with a cast including Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo. The production is now playing at the Tom Stoppard theatre in London until 27 March.
A New Season of Love
Matarazzo plays film-maker Mark, who documents the lives of his friends including Roger (Travis Ross). Rent's popular songs include Seasons of Love, which asks how you measure a year – whether in minutes, sunsets, cups of coffee or love.
Rent was created by Jonathan Larson, who died aged 35 on the eve of the musical's first preview off-Broadway in 1996. It went on to win a Pulitzer prize, ran for more than 5,000 performances on Broadway and won four Tony awards.
Creative Team and Cast
This revival is directed by Luke Sheppard, an Olivier award-winner for Paddington: The Musical. Sheppard previously directed Rent at Manchester's Hope Mill theatre in 2020. The lighting design is by Howard Hudson, set design by David Woodhead and costume design by Gabriella Slade, with Tom Jackson Greaves as choreographer.
Danielle Fiamanya and Lazy Violet play girlfriends Maureen and Joanne, while Alexa Lopez plays Mimi, one of the characters who is HIV positive in the musical, set during New York's Aids crisis. Another central relationship is between Angel (Jeevan Braich) and Collins (Billy Nevers).
West End Debut
This is the West End debut of Gaten Matarazzo, best known as Dustin Henderson in the Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things. Rent was inspired by Puccini's opera La Bohème.
