Anthony Rapp Is Worried About a 'Watered Down' RENT Live

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, the live presentaion of the groundbreaking, Tony Award-, Grammy Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical RENT will air Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019 (7:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.

How do the original cast members feel about the upcoming broadcast? In a recent interview with Logo, Anthony Rapp, who originated the role of Mark on Broadway, is worried about the show being "watered down."

"I'm curious to see which version they're going to do," Rapp explains. "There are certain words in the text I'm not sure they can have on primetime TV. I wonder how they'll treat those moments in the show."

"I hope they get a really good cast together and do it with the kind of rigor, heart, and soul that Rent demands."

A re-imagining of Puccini's "La Bohème," and set in New York City's gritty East Village, RENT tells the unforgettable story of seven artists struggling to follow their dreams during a time of great social and political turmoil. After winning four TONY AWARDS and the Pulitzer Prize, writer/composer Jonathan Larson's tour de force celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, as it continues to offer an inspiring message of hope and friendship.

"Rent" originally was produced in New York by New York Theatre Workshop and on Broadway by Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Allan S. Gordon and New York Theatre Workshop.

RENT will be executive-produced by Marc Platt ("Grease: Live," "La La Land," "Wicked"), Adam Siegel, Julie Larson, Al Larson and Revolution Studios' Vince Totino, Scott Hemming and Marla Levine.

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