Rent is Due: Part 1

In 1996, Rent premiered on Broadway, speaking to a new generation of theater-goers (including me, who has seen the show 4 times -- I know, I'm a dork). With Rent’s Broadway run coming to a close in June, I thought it would be a good time to catch up with the original Broadway cast and see what everyone is up to:

Anthony Rapp (Mark Cohen) Or Daryl from Adventures in Babysitting, as I also like to think of him. He played Mark Cohen, the everyman of Rent. He’s had a steady, small career in TV (Law and Order alert), flim (School Ties and A Beautiful Mind) and Broadway, with Mark being his most memorable role. I actually have tickets to see him in concert next week at Northeastern University. He will sing selections from Rent and sign copies of his memoir, Without You. Hopefully, his songs will be heavy on the Rent, light on his rock band, Albino Kid.

Adam Pascal (Roger Davis) The Oscar to Mark’s Felix, the moody-Enrie to his Bert. Roger was the haunted Romeo of the group, with the big song (“Glory”). On Pascal’s official site, you can catch a glimpse of his real-life emo music. He’s also doing a college tour and mentions a final Rent Tour with Anthony in 2009 (mark your calendars). I guess the college tour/non-commercial band is where it’s at for former Renters. That and cop shows (Cold Case!)

Daphne Rubin-Vega (Mimi Marquez) The drug-addicted stripper in Rent (and tortured love to Roger), Rubin-Vega also has the obligatory CD (en Espanol!), Law and Order appearance, but besides shaking her tush as Mimi on stage (she was passed over for the film in lieu of Rosario Dawson), she is otherwise best know as the cop in Wild Things.

Stay tuned – tomorrow, I’ll check up with Collins, Angel, and Joanne!