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Actors Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, who originated the lead roles of artist roommates and friends Roger and Mark in “Rent” on Broadway, are returning home again together.

They’re back to headline a national tour of the popular rock opera, a timeless story about the alternating grit and gentleness of real life and relationships.

“Rent: The Broadway Tour,” which plays Tuesday through Nov. 8 at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in downtown Appleton, showcases Pascal and Rapp in roles that Pascal, 39, and Rapp, 38, helped shape with the show’s creator, the late Jonathan Larson. A different touring production of “Rent” played at the PAC in February 2006.

In popular culture as well as in theater circles, it’s said that “Rent,” with its honest portrayal of the modern-day Bohemian lifestyle, has changed the face of musical theater for a new generation.

“It means the world to me,” Rapp of New York City said in a recent phone interview. “To be a part of something that is revolutionary is extraordinary. I do think that theater has the potential to really make an impact on people, how they view themselves, how they view the world. There’s no question there’s a new (theater) audience that’s continuing to develop because of ‘Rent.’”

Larson died suddenly in 1996 on the eve of the final dress rehearsal of “Rent” at New York Theatre Workshop. His show, a story about a group of young artists and free spirits struggling to survive and thrive in New York, went on to become the eighth longest-running in Broadway history. “Rent” has won every major best musical award including the Tony Award, as well as a Pulitzer Prize for drama.

“There’s always that connection that all of us in the original cast will always have to these roles,” said Pascal, of Los Angeles. “It feels like that old cliche, an old suit that you just keep putting back on. It feels very comfortable and a little odd at first, but then it fits perfectly. It’s a huge blessing to have something like this to return to every so often and have the opportunity to perform in, and inspire audiences the way the show does. I’m amazed by it, but it still seems to have that power.”

To see Pascal and Rapp in their element onstage during this tour is a golden opportunity, said “Rent” producer Jeffrey Seller.

“I asked myself after ‘Rent’ was announced to close on Broadway, I wonder if Anthony and Adam would be interested in doing this, because I know there will be fans all over the country that will beg, borrow and steal to see these men play these roles this one last time,” Seller said. “It’s having the best Mark and the best Roger we’ve had, playing these roles. They bring the fact that they made the parts, they created the parts with Jonathan (Larson.) Those parts are a melding of who they are, what’s in their hearts, and what’s on the page, and that’s unique.”

In the show, Mark, a filmmaker, and Roger, a musician, are in danger of losing their home. A former roommate, Benny, has bought their apartment building and a nearby lot that’s home to a group of homeless people, because he intends to set up a cyber-arts studio. Mark’s former lover, Maureen, schedules a performance protest of Benny’s plan. When Benny finds out, he offers Mark and Roger a deal: stop Maureen from protesting and stay at home rent-free. Meanwhile, other friends pop in and out of their lives, each with triumphs and struggles of their own: drug addiction, terminal illness, poverty, elusive dreams, and fights for acceptance.

Because the show deals with hot-button issues including homosexuality, drug abuse and the AIDS epidemic, some have deemed it controversial. Pascal says those details are incidental when it comes to the show’s core message.

“The message is about how friendship and love affect how people deal with crisis, and the sort of support and generosity and encouragement that you get from those around you who love you and care for you even in the most difficult of times and situations,” Pascal said. “The audiences are incredibly responsive and receptive to that idea.”

Rapp said some people still see controversy, but he disagrees.

“I don’t think that it’s controversial to talk about the world, and the world that we live in, and the people who live in that world,” Rapp said. “There are members of the community of the world of ‘Rent’ whose stories don’t always get told in a way that shines a light on them with as much heart and compassion and truth as the way that (creator) Jonathan (Larson) tells their stories. A drag queen with AIDS who’s not just a victim. Friends of that drag queen, some of whom are gay, some are straight, some are lesbian. Their lives matter. Part of what Jonathan wanted to accomplish was to provoke discussion and hopefully open people’s eyes and minds and hearts.”

Next Page1| 2| 3Previous PageActors Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, who originated the lead roles of artist roommates and friends Roger and Mark in “Rent” on Broadway, are returning home again together.

They’re back to headline a national tour of the popular rock opera, a timeless story about the alternating grit and gentleness of real life and relationships.

“Rent: The Broadway Tour,” which plays Tuesday through Nov. 8 at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in downtown Appleton, showcases Pascal and Rapp in roles that Pascal, 39, and Rapp, 38, helped shape with the show’s creator, the late Jonathan Larson. A different touring production of “Rent” played at the PAC in February 2006.

In popular culture as well as in theater circles, it’s said that “Rent,” with its honest portrayal of the modern-day Bohemian lifestyle, has changed the face of musical theater for a new generation.

“It means the world to me,” Rapp of New York City said in a recent phone interview. “To be a part of something that is revolutionary is extraordinary. I do think that theater has the potential to really make an impact on people, how they view themselves, how they view the world. There’s no question there’s a new (theater) audience that’s continuing to develop because of ‘Rent.’”

Larson died suddenly in 1996 on the eve of the final dress rehearsal of “Rent” at New York Theatre Workshop. His show, a story about a group of young artists and free spirits struggling to survive and thrive in New York, went on to become the eighth longest-running in Broadway history. “Rent” has won every major best musical award including the Tony Award, as well as a Pulitzer Prize for drama.

“There’s always that connection that all of us in the original cast will always have to these roles,” said Pascal, of Los Angeles. “It feels like that old cliche, an old suit that you just keep putting back on. It feels very comfortable and a little odd at first, but then it fits perfectly. It’s a huge blessing to have something like this to return to every so often and have the opportunity to perform in, and inspire audiences the way the show does. I’m amazed by it, but it still seems to have that power.”

To see Pascal and Rapp in their element onstage during this tour is a golden opportunity, said “Rent” producer Jeffrey Seller.

“I asked myself after ‘Rent’ was announced to close on Broadway, I wonder if Anthony and Adam would be interested in doing this, because I know there will be fans all over the country that will beg, borrow and steal to see these men play these roles this one last time,” Seller said. “It’s having the best Mark and the best Roger we’ve had, playing these roles. They bring the fact that they made the parts, they created the parts with Jonathan (Larson.) Those parts are a melding of who they are, what’s in their hearts, and what’s on the page, and that’s unique.”

In the show, Mark, a filmmaker, and Roger, a musician, are in danger of losing their home. A former roommate, Benny, has bought their apartment building and a nearby lot that’s home to a group of homeless people, because he intends to set up a cyber-arts studio. Mark’s former lover, Maureen, schedules a performance protest of Benny’s plan. When Benny finds out, he offers Mark and Roger a deal: stop Maureen from protesting and stay at home rent-free. Meanwhile, other friends pop in and out of their lives, each with triumphs and struggles of their own: drug addiction, terminal illness, poverty, elusive dreams, and fights for acceptance.

Because the show deals with hot-button issues including homosexuality, drug abuse and the AIDS epidemic, some have deemed it controversial. Pascal says those details are incidental when it comes to the show’s core message.

“The message is about how friendship and love affect how people deal with crisis, and the sort of support and generosity and encouragement that you get from those around you who love you and care for you even in the most difficult of times and situations,” Pascal said. “The audiences are incredibly responsive and receptive to that idea.”

Rapp said some people still see controversy, but he disagrees.

“I don’t think that it’s controversial to talk about the world, and the world that we live in, and the people who live in that world,” Rapp said. “There are members of the community of the world of ‘Rent’ whose stories don’t always get told in a way that shines a light on them with as much heart and compassion and truth as the way that (creator) Jonathan (Larson) tells their stories. A drag queen with AIDS who’s not just a victim. Friends of that drag queen, some of whom are gay, some are straight, some are lesbian. Their lives matter. Part of what Jonathan wanted to accomplish was to provoke discussion and hopefully open people’s eyes and minds and hearts.”

Rapp said the story, loosely based on Puccini’s opera “La Boheme,” is especially popular with today’s young theater-goers, but in no way does that mean it eludes older patrons.

“It’s still tied to ‘La Boheme,’ a story of youth lost or youth wasted or youth ended too soon,” Rapp said. “That’s something that can resonate for anybody at any age.”

Although this tour has a finite end, “Rent” has taken up tenancy in the hearts of too many people for the enthusiasm surrounding it to wane anytime soon.

“Where does it go? It keeps going on and on,” Seller said. “High schools are doing it now, summer stock theaters keep doing it, local productions all over the country are sprouting up. So many people experience ‘Rent’ in their own backyards and that’s where ‘Rent’ will be next, and that’s a very good place for ‘Rent’ to be.”

Read article in Appleton Post-Crescent