Shubert Theatre, 22 W. Monroe St
Chicago, Illinois

Shubert Theater

There is something for everyone here, loud music, fun set(s), girls  in blue latex pants, and cross dressers with rhythm  OPJ Company of RENT.  Photo by Joan Marcus. “RENT” Dates: APRIL 27 – MAY 2, 2004 review by Ed Vincent Any comparison to or inspiration from Puccini’s La Boheme should really be forgotten, but for a few moments here and there.  It seems like doing an analysis of the Cat in the Hat  with Doctor Zhivago.  This is a non-union show which does not make points with us here, but it does an okay job nonetheless.  The lighting is phenomenal and the sound system is more than adequate.  Drag Queens fated for demise and other partners of love of the same sex may scare the Bush administration from the theater, but you are safe and the show is dynamic and colorful.  I was only pleased with a couple of the better known songs--because I do like melody. Brian Gligor (Mark), Marcus Paul James (Collins) and Damien DeShaun Smith (Angel) Photo by Joan Marcus. There were lots of folks in the audience who had seen "RENT" several times and were pleased to see it again.  There is something for everyone here, loud music, fun set(s), girls in blue latex pants, and cross dressers with rhythm.  This is a short run though and if you're a fan of RENT you will like this production fine. RETURNS TO THE SHUBERT THEATRE APRIL 27 – MAY 2, 2004    CHICAGO (April 12, 2004) – The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning landmark American musical Rent, written by Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif, is returning to The Shubert Theatre, 22 West Monroe Street, from Tuesday, April 27 through Sunday, May 2, 2004.  Inspired by Puccini’s La Boheme, Rent is a joyous, breathtaking and often bittersweet musical that celebrates a community of artists as they struggle with the soaring hopes and tough realities of today’s world.  Rent, considered by many the most exuberant and original American musical to come along in a decade, has single-handedly reinvigorated Broadway and is taking the country by storm.  Sweeping all major theater awards, including the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent captures the heart and spirit of a generation.  The show received its world premiere off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop on February 13, 1996 to ecstatic reviews.  It rapidly became a sold-out hit.  The show transferred to Broadway on April 29, 1996 and continues to play to standing room only audiences.  On February 10, 2004, Rent surpassed Fiddler On The Roof to become the 10th longest running show in Broadway history.  The most honored musical since A Chorus Line in 1976, Rent is only the fifth musical to ever win both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award.  The success of Rent is always tempered by the death of its creator, Jonathan Larson.  Larson died unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm on the morning of January 25, 1996, just hours after Rent’s final dress rehearsal off-Broadway, and ten days before his 36th birthday. Rent features musical direction by Tim Weil, choreography by Marlies Yearby, set design by Paul Clay, costume design by Angela Wendt and lighting design by Blake Burba.  Rent will play The Shubert Theatre from April 27 through May 2, 2004.  The performance schedule is as follows:  Tuesday at 8 p.m.; Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 & 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2 & 7:30 p.m. Tickets for Rent, which range in price from $21.00 to $68.00 are on sale at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (22 W. Monroe St., 24 W. Randolph St. and 151 W. Randolph St.), by calling the Broadway In Chicago Ticketline at (312) 902-1400, at all Ticketmaster ticket centers (including all Carson Pirie Scott stores, Tower Records, Hot Tix, select Coconuts and fye stores) or at ticketmaster.com.  Groups of 20 or more may receive a discount by calling (312) 977-1710.