LOS ANGELES -- The producers of Rent, the Tony Award-winning musical which just returned to the Shubert Theatre for a six-week run, have announced that an open call audition for national tours and New York replacements will be held Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 10 AM-5 PM at Century Club, 10131 Constellation Blvd. in Century City.

The call is for Equity and non-Equity men and women of all ethnicities in their early to mid-20s. The casting directors are looking for "real rock 'n roll, R&B and gospel singers."

Those auditioning should bring a photo and resume, two rock/pop songs, 16 bars each -- absolutely no musical theatre songs! Bring a Walkman to learn the music on the spot. Dress is casual and "please, no plastic pants!" said the producers.

Prior auditions in cities throughout North America have attracted thousands of hopefuls from which a number of performers have been cast. Current Rent cast members Laura Dias (Mimi, London company), Monique Daniels (Joanne, second national company), Kamilah Martin (Joanne, first national company) and Shaun Earl (Angel, first national company) were all picked from previous casting calls in Los Angeles.

Rent's producers also announced that $20 seats in the front row of the orchestra will be made available for every performance of the show, which runs through Feb. 28, 1999. Twenty-six $20 tickets will go on sale at the Shubert Theatre box office only on the day of the performance, two hours prior to curtain, and will be available to anyone, cash only, with a limit of two tickets per person.

"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," explained 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."