San Francisco Tour Of RENT Announces 1st And 2nd Row $20 Rush Tickets

Seats in the first 2 rows of center Orchestra and the 1st row of side Orchestra will available for $20 for all performances of "RENT: The Broadway Tour"' the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical playing in San Francisco at the Curran Theatre. These tickets may be purchased on the day of show only and are available 2 hours prior to performance at the Curran Theatre Box Office.

These tickets are available to anyone, with a limit of two tickets per person. Cash only, these tickets will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. Valid ID must be presented at the time of purchase. Tickets are VOID IF RESOLD. Resold tickets will not be honored.

"In keeping with the spirit of the show and the vision of Jonathan Larson, the show's creator, we are happy to be able to offer prime seats to people who otherwise would not be able to purchase them," said original "RENT" producer Kevin McCollum.

"Jonathan was himself a struggling artist and his dream was to create a universal piece of musical theatre that's available to everyone."

The tradition of the $20 tickets was started in New York when the show moved to Broadway after a sold-out run in a small downtown theatre. Since that time people have lined up as early as the night before to guarantee their purchase of the $20 tickets. The producers of the show are committed to continuing the tradition of offering orchestra seats for $20 in each city the show will play.

Stars Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp and Gwen Stewart will reprise the roles they originated on Broadway in "RENT: The Broadway Tour". The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical written by Jonathan Larson returns to San Francisco beginning Tuesday, October 6 through Sunday, October 18 at the Curran Theatre. "RENT: The Broadway Tour" is presented as a special attraction of the 2008-2009 Citibank Best of Broadway series season under the direction of Carole Shorenstein Hays. Tickets are on sale now.

RENT, considered by many the most exuberant and original American musical to come along in a decade, has single-handedly reinvigorated Broadway and is taking the country by storm. RENT captures the heart and spirit of multitude generations.

San Francisco's deeply felt relationship with RENT began in March 1999 when the American rock musical opened and played an extended-6 month engagement at the Golden Gate Theatre through September 1999. In his review at the time, theater critic Steven Winn extolled the virtues of this ground-breaking musical and its significance to popular culture when he wrote: "Time has worked its wonders on "RENT," clarifying its strengths, softening its weaknesses and lightening its burden as a socio-cultural landmark. Now with an excellent touring production, settled in for a long run in San Francisco, there's something new that makes RENT a deeper and more satisfying experience." The show returned to San Francisco for three special engagements in 2001, 2002 and 2006 playing to devoted Bay Area RENT fans. And then it was a special coup for San Francisco in 2005, when the motion picture adaptation of RENT was filmed in San Francisco with filming in soundstages at Treasure Island and in the SOMA district neighborhood.

RENT, written by Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif, opened at Broadway's Nederlander Theatre, on April 29, 1996, following a history making, sold-out, extended-limited engagement at off-Broadway's New York Theatre Workshop. The musical went on to win every major best musical award, including the Tony Award, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama. RENT played its final performance at the Nederlander Theatre on Sept. 7, 2008 after playing 5,124 performances and 16 previews. RENT is the eighth-longest-running show in Broadway history and grossed more than $280 million during its Broadway run.

Tours of RENT have crisscrossed the country almost continuously since late 1996 and the U.S. national tours have grossed more than $330 million. The musical has been translated into every major language and been performed on six continents, including in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

To experience what goes on backstage at SHN shows, go to http://shnsf.com/podcast/index.asp and listen to Backstage, the SHN podcast series, to hear interviews with members of the creative teams or actors for all SHN productions.

Tickets for "RENT: The Broadway Tour" range in price from $30 to $99 and can be purchased online at shnsf.com, through Ticketmaster by calling (415) 512-7770, at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers and at the Orpheum Theatre Box Office (1192 Market at 8th St., Mon-Sat 10am - 6pm). The Curran Theatre Box Office will open on Monday, October 5. Groups of 15 or more may order now by calling Group Sales at (415) 551-2020. To learn more about "RENT: The Broadway Tour" and other SHN shows, please visit www.shnsf.com

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

TUE - FRI AT 8PM; SAT AT 2PM & 8PM; SUN AT 2PM & 7:30PM

SHN is the pre-eminent theatrical entertainment company in San Francisco and owns and operates the Curran, Orpheum and Golden Gate Theatres-San Francisco's premier theatrical venues. SHN's Best of Broadway theater series provides Bay Area audiences with pre-Broadway world premieres, original Broadway cast productions, award-winners and current hits fresh from Broadway. For information on all SHN shows, please visit shnsf.com.

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