Nashville Repertory Theatre is proud to open its 22/23 season with Jonathan Larson’s renowned musical, RENT at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s James K. Polk Theater, 505 Deaderick Street, from Friday, September 16^th through Sunday, September 26^th, 2022. For ticket and showtime information, visit www.nashvillerep.org.

“We are excited to open our 38th season with one of the world’s most popular musicals. RENT has thrilled audiences worldwide, and the Rep’s Nashville-based cast, filled with both familiar and new performers, is extraordinary,” said Drew Ogle, Executive Director of Nashville Rep.

For a quarter of a century, Jonathan Larson’s Rent has inspired us to choose love over fear and to live without regret. 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, RENT has become a pop cultural phenomenon, with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages. Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, Jonathan Larson’s RENT follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.

RENT features book, music, and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, musical arrangements by Steve Skinner, and original concept/additional lyrics by Billy Aronson.

“At the heart of RENT is a group of people yearning for a community and searching for connection. The past two plus years of pandemic life has felt, at times, very isolating and uneasy. This period in our lives has left us to grapple with a sense of disconnect and a profound sense of loss. A loss of time.  A loss of art.  A loss of community,” says director Micah-Shane Brewer. “These characters teach us how to face these challenges and live, because, as a song in the show says, we have no day but today!”

Nashville Rep’s production of RENT will star Wood Van Meter as Mark Cohen, Mike Sallee, Jr. as Roger Davis, Natalie Rankin as Maureen Johnson, Deonté L. Warren as Angel Dumott Schunard, Carli Hardon as Joanne Jefferson, Justin Marriel Boyd as Benjamin Coffin III, and making their Nashville Rep debuts: Marena Lucero as Mimi Marquez and Lando Hawkins as Tom Collins. RENT also features as ensemble including Delaney Amatrudo, Molly Brown, Dustin Davis, Piper Jones, Dustin Lafleur, Calvin Malone, Rachel Meinhart, and Gregor Patti.

Micah-Shane Brewer returns as director after the record-breaking success of last year’s Disney’s Mary Poppins! Joining him includes Musical Director Randy Craft and Tosha Marie as choreographer. The creative team for RENT includes scenic by Gary C. Hoff, costumes by Skyler Glaser, lighting by Michael Barnett, sound by Jacob Allen, video/projections by Kyle Odum & Sam Lowry, stage management by Isaac Krispin, and props by Abigail Nichol.

RENT launches Nashville Repertory Theatre’s 2022-2023 season. The rest of the season includes the Nashville premiere of The Cake October 21 – 30, 2022; the joyous holiday production of Elf The Musical December 21, 2022 – January 1, 2023; one of the greatest American plays of all time August Wilson’s Fences March 3 -5, 2023; the stage adaption of the beloved novel The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time March 24 – April 2, 2023; and closing the season with the intimate musical Violet May 12 -21, 2023. For Nashville Repertory 2022- 23 season tickets and showtime information, visit www.nashvillerep.org or www.tpac.org.

The Nashville Rep has been named Best Professional Theatre by the Nashville Scene, Best Local Theatre by The Tennessean, Largest Arts Organization by Nashville Business Journal, and recognized by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County for 35 years of service to the community. The Rep’s shows, actors, directors, and designers have been honored by Nfocus, Nashville Scene, The Tennessean, and the First Night Awards.