Stroker, Frost, Herrod, Feldman, Courtney & Boniello Join the Cast of RENT at the Kennedy Center

Initial casting has been revealed for the symphonic world premiere of RENT in Concert at the Kennedy Center, taking place next month.

The cast will be led by Ali Stroker as Maureen, Myles Frost as Benny, Jimmie Herrod as Angel, Andrew Barth Feldman as Mark, Lorna Courtney as Mimi, and Alex Boniello as Roger. 

As previously announced, the National Symphony Orchestra, led by Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke, will present the symphonic world premiere of RENT in Concert, directed by Sammi Cannold, July 26-28, 2023. 

RENT is the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning musical written by Jonathan Larson, set in New York City's East Village in the 1990s. This newly created concert version will feature orchestrations by Sean O'Loughlin and an acclaimed cast, which will be announced with additional creative team members in the coming weeks. RENT in Concert is created and produced by AMP Worldwide.

About Ali Stroker

Ali Stroker is a Tony Award® winner for her role as 'Ado Annie' in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in Deaf West's acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. She's a series regular in the Netflix series Echoes and starred in the Lifetime holiday film Christmas Ever After. Ali recurred in the final season of Netflix's Ozark and is a recurring character on Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. She co-wrote the 2021 novel The Chance to Fly and wrote the 2022 children's book Ali and the Sea Stars. She played 'Lady Anne' in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Richard III. She's performed her one woman show at institutions all over the country-some of her favorites being the Kennedy Center, Town Hall, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. Ali's mission to improve the lives of others through the arts is captured in her motto: "Turning Your Limitations Into Your Opportunities."

About Myles Frost

Myles Frost  is the winner of the 2022 Tony Award® for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance in MJ The Musical. He made history, becoming the youngest solo actor to ever win the award. He is a nominee for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards® Best Musical Theater Album as principal vocalist for MJ The Musical's cast album. Myles is also a winner of the 76th Annual Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut Performance during the 2021–2022 theatrical season, a winner of the 2022 Chita Rivera Award, a 2022 Drama League Award Nominee, a 2022 Drama Desk Award Nominee, and a 2022 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominee. He is also a recipient of the Next Generation of Heavy Hitters as presented in Variety's Power of Young Hollywood Impact Report 2022, an honoree for Ebony's 2022 Power 100 List, an honoree of The Root.com's 2022 100 most Influential Black Americans, 2022's HBCU Top 30 under 30, Bowie State University Dean's Excellence Award for Outstanding Student Achievement, and the Senate Resolution by the State of Maryland.

About Jimmie Herrod

Vocalist Jimmie Herrod brings singular power and expressivity to his globe-trotting career as a singer, songwriter, and entertainer on stage and screen. Herrod first came to worldwide prominence as a finalist on the NBC nationally broadcast television show America's Got Talent earning the rare "Golden Buzzer" recognition from actress Sofia Vargara and returning the following year on the AGT All-Stars series. As a solo artist, Herrod has appeared to critical and audience acclaim with the National Symphony Orchestra at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he performed as a featured soloist for the globally televised PBS Joni Mitchell Songbook concert, sharing the stage with musical luminaries like Renee Fleming, Lalah Hathaway, Raul Midon, and Aoife O'Donovan. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Oregon Symphony.

Traversing many musical styles and genres in many languages including jazz, pop, funk, and his own original songs, Herrod has headlined concerts at the The Luxor Theater (Las Vegas), New Jersey's South Orange Performing Arts Center, and Portland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, and since 2017 has toured with world-pop band Pink Martini as a featured vocalist. With two EP's under his belt-his debut Falling in Love and Learning and 2022's Elated-Herrod's singular style and unique voice is poised to make an ever larger impact in the world of music and entertainment. Herrod is an alum of the Cornish College of the Arts and Portland State University.

About Andrew Barth Feldman

Andrew Barth Feldman is the winner of the Best Actor Award at the 2018 National High School Musical Theatre Awards (known more commonly as the Jimmy Awards). He made his Broadway debut in the title role in Dear Evan Hansen. Feldman starred as Linguini in a benefit concert presentation of Ratatouille the Musical, originated on TikTok, inspired by the 2007 Disney/Pixar film. He can be heard playing himself in As the Curtain Rises, an original Broadway soap opera podcast from the Broadway Podcast Network. He is currently starring alongside Jennifer Lawrence in the film No Hard Feelings. 

About Alex Boniello

Alex Boniello was born and raised near the Meadowlands of Bergen County, New Jersey. He started performing in numerous rock bands in the New York/New Jersey area, acting as guitarist and singer. He began acting in the theatre during High School. These theatrical endeavors lead to him getting set up with a manager and he has been auditioning constantly ever since. His first professional job came from Cartoon Network as a host for their "Nintendo World Takeover." Since then he has appeared in print ads, television shows, and feature films. His first film appearance was in "Detachment," directed by the acclaimed Tony Kaye. The film was produced by Academy Award winning actor Adrien Brody. Other film credits include " Contest" and "Alien Dawn." He performs constantly in the theatre, recently appearing regionally as Princeton in "Avenue Q," Moritz in "Spring Awakening," and the national tour of "American Idiot."

About Lorna Courtney 

Lorna Courtney was raised in Jamaica, Queens, NY and attended LaGuardia High School for Vocal Performance. Her first professional job was in the gospel musical Mama I Want To Sing where she toured for 2 months in Japan at the age of 15. She performed with her gospel choir, Gospel For Teens on the Today Show and behind Chance The Rapper on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. After graduating a year early from the University of Michigan for musical theatre, Lorna performed as a stand-by for "Alana" and "Zoe" in the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen and most recently played "Rosalia" and understudied "Maria" in the 2020 Broadway revival of West Side Story.