Broadway musical pays visit to Shanghai
The Broadway musical smash hit “Rent” is ready to pay its dues in Shanghai in late August.
The rock musical, loosely based on Gaicomo Puccini’s “La Boheme,” about young artists struggling to survive under the shadow of AIDS and HIV in New York City, will be presented at Shanghai Culture Square from August 30 to September 12.
The musical, first staged in 1996, has been honored with four Tony Awards, including best musical, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Theater World Award.
Tragically, the show’s writer, Jonathan Larson, a struggling artist himself, died the night before the Off-Broadway premiere and never lived to see its success. Larson died with aortic dissection, caused by an undiagnosed Marfan syndrome. But his work has gone on to inspire people from all over the world as “Rent” toured over 150 cities across the globe and has been performed in 25 different languages since its premiere.
“I was hooked the first time I heard the song ‘Seasons of Love.’ Though I had known the story before, the lyrics hit me directly. In life, just like the lyrics, ‘there is no other way, no day but today’,” said Deri’ Andra Tucker, who plays Mimi Márquez.
“I believe that the puzzle, the passion and the desires of the young in “Rent” may still resonate with the young struggling in big cities like Shanghai today,” said Lucy Li, general manager of Juooo.com, who introduced the production to Shanghai. “I hope the musical will help offer them power just as it did over 20 years ago in New York.”
Performance details
Date: August 31-September 12, 7:30pm
Tickets: 80-680 yuan
Tel: 6472-9000
Venue: SAIC Shanghai Culture Square
Address: 597 Fuxing Rd M.
