Tickets Now On Sale For Musical Theater West's RENT Running 12/11-20

Musical Theatre West is proud to announce that tickets for their production of the Jonathan Larson Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-Winning smash Rent are available now. Rent will run December 11-20, 2009 at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center located at 6200 Atherton Street, Long Beach, CA 90815.

Musical Theatre West is proud to produce RENT at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center

Rent is being offered as a bonus special engagement in MTW's 2009-2010 Season. MTW has solidified its reputation as Southern California's Premiere Musical Theatre Company whose audiences and critics alike agree that recent productions of The Producers and All Shook Up surpassed the National Tour productions, and has produced regional premieres of The Andrews Brothers and Forbidden Broadway to additional acclaim. Indeed, Musical Theatre West is "currently the Southland's finest" musical theatre company (BackStage West) and "sets the bar for musical theatre in Southern California" (Gazette Newspapers). MTW is excited to be the first regional theatre to produce this show in the Los Angeles area. MTW Associate Artistic Director/Producer Steven Glaudini states "we are extremely honored to be the first professional regional theatre company to produce our own production of this Pulitzer Prize-winning phenomenon."

Tickets are available for every budget: currently prices are $30 (rows U & V), $45 (rows A-T), and $55 (Premium Seating in rows A-M center). However, this is a limited offer; ticket prices go up on July 1st and will range from $30-$80. All tickets are available by calling the Box Office at (562) 856-1999 x4, in person at 4350 E. 7th Street, Long Beach (corner of Ximeno Avenue), or online at www.musical.org.

Rent is one of the most popular musicals in theater history. With a twelve-year run on Broadway, the show is an update of the Puccini's La Boheme, but takes place in late 20th century New York. The gritty subject material and powerful songs of Jonathon Larson combines to make the show a new icon of modern musical theater. Larson set out to transform the tragic opera into a modern day New York setting, complete with rock music. Adding to the legend of the show is the tragic death of Larson at age 35 The Day Before the show's New York opening.

The story of Rent follows the lives of a group of young artists in New York City's East Village. In addition to being too poor to pay rent on their apartments, several of the members of the group are HIV positive. The play revolves around three couples, Collins and the cross-dressing Angel, the often-fighting Mimi and Roger, and the always-fighting Joanne and Maureen. The final member of the group is Mark, a filmmaker who spends more time taping the lives of his friends than he spends living his own life. All of the members of the group refuse to live a traditional lifestyle, embracing bohemian concepts and surviving as well as they can.

In 1996, the Broadway community would award Rent four Tony Awards, for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Wilson Jermaine Heredia, who played Angel. Rent also received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, only the seventh musical to do so.

Under the direction of Executive Director/Producer Paul Garman, Musical Theatre West remains one of Southern California's oldest and most respected theater production companies, and continues to be one of the fastest-growing arts organizations in the Long Beach area. The company is enjoying its 56th season and is currently celebrating eleven years since their inaugural production at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center, located on the campus of California State University, Long Beach. MTW has recently reached out to surrounding communities, performing at the Heritage Forum in Anaheim and the Curtis Theatre in Brea. Musical Theatre West is on Facebook.

The Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center is located at 6200 Atherton Street, Long Beach, on the campus of California State University, Long Beach. The theater is just west of Palo Verde Avenue. For more information please log on to www.musical.org.

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