THEATRE + COMEDY

Country Playhouse, Houston's Premier Showcase for Regional Talent, is pleased to be the "First Houston-area Theatre" licensed to present the mega-hit, RENT, in its contemporary version of Puccini's La Boheme with only 12 performances opening Friday, January 8 and running to January 30 on its Cerwinske Stage.

RENT celebrates the lifestyles of a group of artists living in and around an industrial loft in New York City -- musicians, performance and video artists, strippers and others whose lives illustrate "The Bohemian Life" today. Coming up with the rent is one of their perennial concerns. With a driving rock score that the New York Times called "glittering" and "inventive" RENT's creator, Jonathan Larson, takes the audience down roads of both tragedy and triumph.

Unique in many ways, RENT is one of very few musicals whose music, lyrics and story were created by just one person: Jonathan Larson. Larson wanted to write a Hair for the 90's, something that would connect people emotionally to the crippling issues of his generation. Like Hair, whose young characters faced the possibility that their lives might end quite suddenly (with the imminent draft call for the Viet Nam war), RENT’s characters face the AIDS crisis and problems with addictions.

The Country Playhouse production is directed by O'Dell Hutchison with music direction by Luke Kirkwood and choreography by Hutchison and Jenny Wilson-Franco. Cast Members include Brad Goertz, Christopher Patton, Julia Hester, Michael Alexander, Erich Polley, Jessica Janes, Rikki Connor, Kyle Ezer, Jeff Stallings, Warren Post, Monica Passley, Scott Lupton, Annie Gerson, Joi Mardis, Johanna Bonno, Amy Finkelstein and Brian Chambers.

RENT plays Friday and Saturday nights at 8pm, January 8 to 30, Thursdays at 7:30pm, January 14, 21 and 28 with one matinee on Sunday, January 17 at 2pm. Tickets are $25 and $22 for Seniors (65+) and Students (over the age of 16). Groups of 20 or more receive a $5.00 discount off the full ticket price. Visit our website to purchase tickets at www.countryplayhouse.org, or call the box office at 713-467-4497.

PLEASE NOTE: This production contains adult language/situations and suggested drug use. It may not be suitable for some audience members or those under the age of 16.