Alaska Theatre of Youth and Theatre Artists United present RENT, showing March 30—31 and April 1 and 4–7 at the Syndey Laurence Theatre, Alaska Center for the Peforming Arts.

With music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera La bohème, RENT tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. 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.

This production has a local cast including students from local high schools and members of Anchorage’s LGBTQA community. The Wednesday, April 4 performance will be the Teen Understudy performance; all other performances feature the adult cast.  The full cast (teen understudies’ names in parentheses):

• Roger Davis: Leo Grinberg (Adam Ritter)
• Mark Cohen: Anthony Lounsbury
• Tom Collins: Mark Robokoff
• Benjamin Coffin III: Patrick Killoran
• Joanne Jefferson: Shelly Wozniak (Tessa Neeno)
• Angel Dumott Schunard: Jose Florez Isaza
• Mimi Marquez: Regina Catherine Macdonald (Cami Wood)
• Maureen Johnson: Danielle Rabinovitch (Jocelyn Stanley)
•  Company: Jennifer Alvarez, Sarah Baird, Mark Bautista, Shawna Borgen, Chae Colbert, Ali de Guzman, Samantha Emerson, Andrew Gillespie, Joey Murphy, Veronica Page, Luetta Robinson, Stephanie Steele, Bridget Sullivan, JC Holley, Tirrell Thomas, Henry Weaver, Dean Williams, Sam Fischback, Holley Utley, Tessa Neeno, Jocelyn Stanley, Cami Wood, Lana Ramos.

Runs approximately 2 hours including intermission.

• Date/time: Friday, March 30 to Sunday, April 1 and Wednesday, April 4, through Saturday, April 7. 7:30 PM—9:30 PM all days; an afternoon performance at 2:00 PM on April 7 will also be held.
• Location: Sydney Laurence Theatre, Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, 621 West 6th Avenue, Anchorage (see map)
• Mature content: Sex, drugs, language, adult themes. Recommended for ages 13 and older.
• Cost of admission: $25.00 or $35.00, depending on seating. Tickets through Centertix
• Further info: see Facebook events pages.

Watch this preview created by Artika Production Group: