The Rent reunion panel, which will take place Jan. 22, 2016, from 7:30 PM-9PM, will include Tony Award nominees Pascal and Rubin-Vega, alongside Rapp (one of BroadwayCon's co-founders), Fredi Walker and Rodney Hicks, alongside choreographer Marlies Yearby, original conductor Tim Weil, as well as the show's original casting director, Bernard Telsey, who discovered the musical's diverse cast.
Rent, which was seen as a paradigm shift for the contemporary, Broadway rock musical, premiered Off-Broadway Jan. 26, 1996, at New York Theatre Workshop. The production made a swift uptown transfer, arriving on Broadway April 16, 1996, at the Nederlander Theatre, where it ran for over 5,000 performances. Larson, who died the morning of Rent's first Off-Broadway preview, based the musical on La Boheme. It is reset in New York's East Village in the mid-1990s as a group of bohemian artists, many of whom live with AIDS, struggle to maintain their friendships and their non-conformist ideals.
Stay tuned for additional announcements and details on what's in store for the Rent panel!
Playbill has partnered with BroadwayCon to present the event created by theatre lovers for theatre lovers. Melissa Anelli, Stephanie Dornhelm and original Rent star Rapp conceived the event.
Running Jan. 22-24, 2016, at the New York Hilton Midtown, BroadwayCon will give theatre fans an all-access experience featuring performers, musicians, dancers, choreographers, writers, designers, producers and a vast array of influencers who make Broadway happen.
The three-day event is packed with star-studded events and special musical moments. Fans can expect a number of high-profile cameos from Broadway favorites during the Jan. 22 MainStage opening musical that will feature an original song from the writers of First Date and the upcoming 17 Again musical. "We're going to kick off the MainStage Programming at full throttle, in a way only a Broadway convention can do—with a fully staged mini-musical!" MainsStage director David Alpert said. "We have an amazingly talented cast, a live band, and surprise cameos, all to welcome everyone to the convention. We've enlisted Broadway writers Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner to compose a new song for the event, and are also working with YouTube sensation Tessa Netting, who happens to write amazing parodies."
The weekend will also feature Hamilton star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, along with co-stars Leslie Odom, Jr., Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff and Christopher Jackson. Fans can expect to catch them as part of the Jan. 22 opening events.
Special events include a Fun Home panel, featuring book writer and lyricist Lisa Kron, along with director Sam Gold and cast members Michael Cerveris, Judy Kuhn, Beth Malone and Emily Skeggs; as well as "OBSESSED! Live Disaster! Edition," in which the show's creator and star, Seth Rudetsky, will be joined by fellow cast members Roger Bart, Faith Prince, Kerry Butler and Jennifer Simard for a special live edition of the popular Playbill video series.
Also participating in the weekend are Broadway siblings Andrew and Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jeremy Jordan, Krysta Rodriguez, Lesli Margherita, Alice Ripley, Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Sawyer Nunes, Sam Poon, Taylor Richardson, Ripley Sobo, Natalie Weiss, James Monroe Iglehart, Rebecca Luker, Courtney Reed, Billy Porter, Joshua Safran, Ann Harada, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, John Johnson, Hal Luftig, Arielle Tepper Madover, Daryl Roth, Barbara Whitman, Bernard Telsey, Skylar Astin, Susan Blackwell, Jenn Colella, Gavin Creel, Matt Doyle, Tamika Lawrence, Telly Leung, Michael McElroy, Andy Mientus, Seth Rudetsky, Jason Tam, Steve Rosen, Sarah Saltzberg, Dan Lipton, David Rossmer, Laurence O'Keefe, Ted Chapin, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Peter Filichia, Stacy Wolf and Paloma Young.
The first two batches of tickets released for BroadwayCon sold-out within hours. All VIP tickets for the anticipated three-day event have sold out, with only seven percent of full-weekend general passes still available. Fans can still take advantage of a limited amount of individual day passes for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Here's a breakdown of the remaining ticket options:
A $250 full-weekend general pass will provide access to all BroadwayCon programming (panels, performances, keynotes, discussions and more), as well as guaranteed spots at Grand Ballroom events, special guest autographs and more. This pass also includes the official program book (printed by Playbill!), a registration swag bag and access to the BroadwayCon Marketplace.
The $95 Day Pass provides day-only access to BroadwayCon programming (panels, performances, keynotes, discussions). This pass also includes the official program book (printed by Playbill!), a registration swag bag and access to the BroadwayCon Marketplace.
A $50 Explorer Pass will grant admission to the BroadwayCon Marketplace, allowing curious theatre lovers to browse through a host of vendors, shop for merchandise from Broadway shows and more.
For tickets, full details on participation options and special hotel rates for the convention, visit BroadwayCon.com.
