FOX has announced a live musical production of the groundbreaking, Tony Award-, Grammy Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Rent.” Film, television and theater producer Marc Platt (“Grease: Live,” “La La Land,” “Wicked”), along with the estate of writer/composer Jonathan Larson, will executive-produce the event. Additional details and auspices to be announced.
“We are so honored to partner with the estate of the brilliant Jonathan Larson and producer Marc Platt on one of the great musicals of our time,” said Dana Walden and Gary Newman, Chairmen and CEOs, Fox Television Group. “The title is so iconic, the music is so beloved, and the themes are as meaningful today as they were when the show first premiered on Broadway. With Marc overseeing this project, we are sure it will have a profound impact on the legions of fans who know and love this musical.”
“‘Rent’ was Jonathan’s dream of sharing the theater and the passion he had for it with a whole new generation,” said Julie and Al Larson. “None of us could have imagined the massive impact that the messages and themes in ‘Rent’ would have on the theater community or the world…except for Jonathan. We are absolutely thrilled to be continuing Jonathan’s legacy and the still-relevant themes of the show in this way.”
A re-imagining of Puccini’s “La Boheme,” and set in New York City’s East Village, “Rent” tells the 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.
“Rent” opened in 1996 at New York Theatre Workshop, and quickly gained popularity off-Broadway, receiving enthusiastic reviews. The show was extremely successful off-Broadway and eventually moved to Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre. On Broadway, the show also received critical acclaim and word-of-mouth popularity. The original ethnically diverse principal cast included Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Fredi Walker.
“Rent” closed on Broadway on in 2008, after a 12-year run. It was followed several by nationwide and international productions, performed in over 2-dozen different languages.
“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.
The upcoming FOX live musical “Rent” will be executive-produced by Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, Julie Larson, Al Larson and Revolution Studios’ Vince Totino, Scott Hemming and Marla Levine.
