RENT IN CONCERT Announced At The Lied Center

RENT in Concert, directed by Broadway's Sammi Cannold and conducted by Sarah Hicks, is a full symphonic concert evening performed with thrilling live vocalists and Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra, celebrating Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking Tony and Pulitzer Prize Award winning musical. Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice, and living for today. 

The cast includes Tony Award nominee A.J. Shively (Broadway: Paradise Square, Bright Star, La Cage Aux Folles) singing Mark, Tony Award nominee Crystal Lucas-Perry (Broadway: Ain't No Mo', 1776) singing Joanne, Tony Award nominee Sidney Dupont (Broadway: Paradise Square, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) singing Collins, America's Got Talent finalist Jimmie Herrod singing Angel, and Lincoln native Broadway performer Mary Kate Moore (Broadway: Into the Woods, National tours: MJ the Musical, Les Miserables) singing Maureen. 

Additional cast includes NYC-based actor and Omaha native Ruchir Khazanchi singing Benny, Elkhorn, NE native Will Hastreiter singing Roger, and Omaha native Isa Gott singing Mimi. The ensemble is rounded out by UNL student Elise Anderson, IAMT student Evan Jennings, Nebraska Wesleyan student Quinlyn Hunt, and Samara Follette, who recently represented Nebraska at the 2024 Jimmy Awards. Both Follette and Anderson are alumni of the Lied Center's Triple Threat Broadway Intensive. Full bios for all performers are available at liedcenter.org/rent.

With book, music, and lyrics by Jonathon Larson, symphonic orchestrations by Sean O'Loughlin, and casting by Peter Dunn, RENT in Concert is created and produced by AMP Worldwide and licensed by Music Theatre International.

Director Sammi Cannold says, ““The Rent in Concert team and I are thrilled and honored to be bringing our production to Lincoln. Working at the Lied and with the Lincoln Symphony is especially meaningful to me personally as half of my family lives in Nebraska and I'm endlessly excited to share this production with them and Nebraska audiences. Moreover, we're so fortunate to be joined by an incredible company of Tony nominees, Broadway veterans, and extraordinary emerging Nebraska talent. I hope you'll join us at the Lied this January!”

Lied Center Executive Director Bill Stephan says, “"The Lied Center is thrilled to be among the first venues in the nation—following the iconic Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park in San Diego—to present RENT in concert. Under the direction of acclaimed Broadway director Sammi Cannold and conductor Sarah Hicks, this extraordinary production features an exceptional cast of top-tier talent from both New York City and Nebraska, performing alongside Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra. This promises to be one of Nebraska's most unforgettable concerts of the year, celebrating the music of one of the most beloved musicals of all time.”

Set in the East Village of New York City, 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, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The physical and emotional complications of the disease pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel. Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble. Benny has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.

RENT in Concert will be at the Lied Center on Saturday, January 18 at 7:30pm. Tickets are available now at liedcenter.org, (402) 472-4747, and at the box office. 

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