Anthony Rapp, who appeared in the Broadway and touring productions of the Pulitzer Prize winning musical RENT,
as well as in the movie of the same name, will hold a lecture/book
signing for his new best-selling book, "Without You: A Memoir of Love,
Loss and the Hit Musical RENT."
He will also sing a couple of songs from the musical when he appears at
The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center's Multipurpose Room (104 17th Ave.) in Seattle, WA on Wednesday, May 17th at 7pm.
He will also appear at The Actors Cabaret Theater (996 Willamette Street) in Eugene, OR on Tuesday, May 16th at 7pm, and at The World Trade Center Theatre, Skybridge Level (121 SW Salmon Street) in Portland, OR on Friday, May 19th at 5:30pm.
"Anthony Rapp
captures the passion and grit unique to the theatre world as he
recounts his life-changing experience in the original cast of the
Pulitzer Prize-winning musical RENT," state press notes. Anthony Rapp
had a special feeling about Jonathan Larson's rock musical from his
first audition, so he was thrilled when he landed a starring role as
the filmmaker Mark Cohen. With his mom's cancer in remission and a
reason to quit his newly acquired job at Starbucks, his life was
looking up.When RENT opened to thunderous acclaim off Broadway,
Rapp and his fellow cast members knew that something truly
extraordinary had taken shape. But even as friends and family were
celebrating the show's success, they were also mourning Jonathan
Larson's sudden death from an aortic aneurysm. By the time Rent made
its triumphant jump to Broadway, Larson had posthumously won the 1996
Pulitzer Prize.
When Anthony's mom began to lose her battle with
cancer, he struggled to balance the demands of life in the theatre with
his responsibility to his family. In his book, Anthony recounts the
show's magnificent success and his overwhelming loss. He also shares
his first experiences discovering his sexuality, the tension it created
with his mother, and his struggle into adulthood to gain her acceptance.Variously
marked by fledgling love and devastating loss, piercing frustration and
powerful enlightenment, Without You charts the course of Rapp's
exhilarating journey with the cast and crew of Rent as well as the intimacies of his personal life behind the curtain."Rapp has also appeared on Broadway in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Six Degrees of Separation and Precious Sons (for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination). His film credits include A Beautiful Mind, Twister, Dazed and Confused, Six Degrees of Separation and Adventures in Babysitting.
This event is free. For more information on the Seattle appearance, please call 206-684-8020 or visit the following link. For more on the Eugene appearance, call 541-683-4368 or visit www.actorscabaret.org. For more information on the Portland signing, call 503-280-5483 or visit www.liveonstage.us.