Croswell presents 3 shows of 'Rent'
8/27/2009The Croswell Opera House ends summer with a three-performance run of Jonathan Larson's Rent.
Inspired by Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme, the late Jonathan Larson's masterpiece is about young playwrights, actors, and artists struggling to survive and find love in New York City during the AIDS crisis of the 1990s.
Since opening in New York in 1996, Rent has won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for best musical. It ran on Broadway for 12 years and has had several national and international tours.
Directed and choreographed by Sue Smith of Temperance, the Croswell cast is led by Toledoans Matthew Bowland as aspiring filmmaker and narrator Marc Cohen, Tito Duran as songwriter Roger Davis, and Wesley Grudzien as landlord Benny Coffin; Adrian residents Michael Yuen as philosophy professor Tom Collins, Jeffrey Hardman as percussionist Angel Schunard, and Erin Yuen as lawyer Joanne Jefferson; Kyrie Bristle of Clinton, Mich., as performance artist Maureen Johnson, and Cassidy Gorr of Temperance as exotic dancer Mimi Marquez.
The ensemble includes Jarrod Alexander and Elizabeth Markham of Toledo; Steven Kiss of Lambertville; Jesse Montie, Elizabeth Palmer, Deveny Rosebrock, Kyle Smith, and Stephen Smith of Adrian, and Cathy Skutch of the Plymouth/Canton area of Michigan.
"Rent" is scheduled at 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday in the Croswell Opera House, 129 East Maumee St., Adrian. Tickets are $28 for adults and $24 for seniors and students, with discounts for seats in the upper balcony. Information: 517-264-7469.
Staged Right Productions presents the musical revue G.I. Jukebox this weekend in Whitehouse. The fund-raiser for the newly formed theatrical troupe combines comedy, dance, and music in a show reminiscent of the Stage Door Canteens where U.S. troops were entertained during World War II.
Founding members Matt Zwyer, Kate Hoover, Matt Richardson, and Sara Ledzianowski will present such songs as "In The Mood," "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "God Bless America."
Staged Right hopes to put on three productions a year, according to Hoover. Next up: Plaid Tidings, a holiday sequel to Forever Plaid, scheduled Dec. 11-13.
Shows are at 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in Hope United Methodist Church, 10610 Waterville St., Whitehouse. Tickets are $10. Information: 419-270-1204
Contact Nanciann Cherry at ncherry@theblade.com
or 419-724-6130.