“Rent,” the seminal Broadway musical by Jonathan Larson, will return to the Philippine theater stage in 2024.
This was announced by local theater company 9Works Theatrical during the curtain call of their staging of “tick, tick… BOOM!,” also by Larson, at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in Makati City on Sunday, September 3.
During the curtain call, 9Works Theatrical Artistic Director Robbie Guevera said: “We have a surprise… We’ll leave it up to the cast.”
“It’s a sneak peek to our next musical for next year. It’s the first time we’re going to announce it and you’ll be hearing it here live,” 9Works Theatrical Managing Director Santi Santamaria added.
The cast of “tick, tick… BOOM”—which includes Jef Flores, Khalil Ramos, Kayla Rivera, Red Atadero, Tanya Manalang, and Vien King—proceeded to sing “Seasons of Love.”
“Seasons of Love” is one of the most iconic numbers from “Rent” and arguably one of the most recognizable showtunes from Broadway.
9Works Theatricals also posted the sneak peek on its Instagram account, together with a video of the “Seasons of Love”.
“You won’t have to wait 525,600 minutes to catch this musical,” the theater company wrote.
Guevara noted that while the “tick, tick… BOOM!” cast performed the song from their upcoming theater production, “they don’t know if they’re going to be a part of it yet because they have to audition.”
9Works Theatricals is yet to announce further details about the production.
“Rent,” which premiered on Broadway in April 1996, is a musical about a group of young artists struggling to survive and make art in New York City during the early 1990s. It earned critical acclaim following its premiere—including the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
In the Philippines, it was last staged by 9Works Theatricals in 2010 and 2011. — Chuck Smith