RAPP & Kitt Team Up on WITHOUT YOU Musical; Premieres in 2010 NYMF, 9/27

The 2010 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and Royal Family Productions will present the New York premiere of Anthony Rapp in his musical Without You September 27 - October 9 at the TBG Theater, 312 West 36 Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, third floor. Anthony Rapp stars in Without You, book and lyrics by Anthony Rapp, based on his bestseller Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent; music by John Keaney, David Matos, Joe Pisapia, and Anthony Rapp; featuring songs from Rent, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson; directed by Steve Maler.

In 1994 Anthony Rapp was working at a New York Starbucks and about to audition for a new musical by a young guy named Jonathan Larson. This is where Without You begins. In his new one-man musical, Rapp shares his audition for Rent, getting cast, rehearsals, and his view from the stage during the tribute performance on the night after Jonathan's tragic death. Without You also details Anthony's achingly beautiful relationship with his mother during this turbulent time. Featuring Anthony's own lyrics and melodies, stories adapted from his memoir, and the landmark songs of Rent, Without You is a valentine to the groundbreaking musical and celebrates all of our seasons of love.

Without You had its world premiere at Pittsburgh's City Theatre in 2008. Christopher Rawson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote, "A joyful, emotionally raw account. I wasn't exactly bawling at Without You, but I was certainly choking up, brushing back a tear, then doing it again a few minutes later. You don't need to know Rent to respond to the human story Without You embodies. Its music is appealing and poignant on its own. But to the extent that you do know Rent, the story widens into operatic impact."
Rapp's memoir Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent (Simon & Schuster, 2006)-about his struggle to balance the demands of life in the theatre with his responsibility to his family during his mother's battle with cancer-was a New York Times bestseller and is currently in its sixth paperback printing (and had nine hardcover printings). 

Anthony Rapp has been acting and singing professionally since he was nine years old. He is best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in Jonathan Larson's Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, Rent, for which he shared an OBIE Award with the rest of the cast. He reprised his role in Chris Columbus's film version opposite other members of the original cast. Rapp recently visited the role once more with original cast member Adam Pascal in a national tour of the show. He will next be seen in Don Roos's Love and Other Impossible Pursuits opposite Natalie Portman and Lisa Kudrow. His Broadway credits include the revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation. His Broadway debut was in Precious Sons with Judith Ivey and Ed Harris, for which he received an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Drama Desk nomination. His most recent stage appearance was in Second Stage Theatre's Some Americans Abroad. Film credits include Adventures in Babysitting, School Ties, Dazed and Confused, Six Degrees of Separation, Man of the Century, David Searching, Road Trip, and A Beautiful Mind (SAG Award nomination for ensemble). He has also appeared in Winter Passing, a film written and directed by his brother, Adam Rapp. On television, Rapp has appeared in "The Lazarus Man," "The X-Files," "The Beach Boys: An American Family," "Kidnapped" and "Law & Order: SVU." In 2000, he released his debut album, Look Around. He has performed his music in clubs and at colleges throughout the country. Mr. Rapp will perform Without You in Seoul, South Korea and a series of concerts with Adam Pascal in Japan, both later this year.

The set design for Without You is by David Korins; costume design is by Ange Vesco; lighting design is by Justin Townsend; sound consultant is Brian Ronan; musical direction is by Dan Weiss; additional arrangements are by Tom Kitt; production stage manager is Sharika Niles.

Without You is produced by Royal Family Productions (Katie Avebe, Mary Bernardi, Chris Henry, and Andy Theodorou).

Now in its seventh year, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is the largest annual musical theatre event in America and is widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF provides a launching pad for the next generation of musicals and their creators to ensure the continued vitality of one of America's greatest art forms. Hailed as the "Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF discovers, nurtures, and promotes promising musical theatre artists and producers at all stages of development, and inspires a diverse audience through vibrant, accessible, powerful new work.

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2010 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by AP-Red.com, Back Stage, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Broadway.TV, Clear Channel Spectacolor, DFD-TV, Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos, King Displays, NASDAQ OMX, New World Stages, Next Magazine, PMD Promotions, Queerty.com, Reuters, TheMenEvent.com, Times Square Squared, and Yelp. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The Broadway League, The BWF Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Ariel Phinney, The Charlie & Jane Fink Charitable Fund, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating, and tickets to individual events are currently available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org. Single tickets for Festival events will go on sale September 1.

Without You performs at TBG Theater, 312 West 36 Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, third floor, at the following times: Monday, September 27 at 8pm; Wednesday, September 29 at 5pm and 9pm; Thursday, Sept 30 at 1pm & 8pm; Wednesday, October 6 at 4:30pm; Thursday, October 7 at 8:30pm and 11pm; and Saturday, October 9 at 5pm and 9pm. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased beginning September 1 by phoning 212 352 3101 or by visiting www.nymf.org.