by Lorie Lewis Ham
After months of preparation, Rent finally hits the stage in Visalia on Friday, July 22. This will not only be a great show, but also a fundraiser for local HIV/AIDS charities. 
Rent is a rock musical set in the end of the 1980’s with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. It tells the story of a group of starving young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City. Much of the group suffers with HIV/AIDS, and those that don’t, have to deal with the heartbreak of the eventual loss. This is one of my favorite musicals. The stories of deep love, friendship, living life in the moment, and staying true to one’s art, touch the artist in me and touch my heart.
Left to right Cristian Duran as Tom Collins, JJ Pestano as Angel & Auggie Hernandez as Roger
My 18 year old daughter and I got the privilege of seeing a dress rehearsal of the Visalia production of this show this week and were blown away. Having seen this show on stage several times, including with the original Mark (Anthony Rapp) and Roger (Adam Pascal), I have to say that this production stands up well against those professional productions. Casting is excellent, voices were fabulous, everything was wonderful!
Peter Allwine as Mark
Danielle Jorn as Maureen
What makes this production even more wonderful and a must see, is that a portion of the ticket sales go toward local HIV/AIDS charitable work. You can learn more about that in a previous article about the show. You can also learn more about how this production came together in another earlier article.
So don’t miss out! Rent opens at the Main Street Theatre in downtown Visalia, 307 East Main Street, this Friday, July 22 at 8 p.m. The remaining performances are July 23, 29 and 30 at 8 p.m. and July 24 and 31 at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets.
Editor’s note: This is not a children’s show. There are sexual references and some strong language and adult content.
The original cast, which included the now familiar names Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jesse L. Martin, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, suddenly appeared everywhere, including the cover of Newsweek, marking the first time since “A Chorus Line” that a Broadway musical was on the cover of a national newsmagazine. Nice to know it is still ongoing.