Assistant professor of the practice of Theater Studies Chauntee’ Schuler Irving is directing the all-student cast in this Mainstage production. This is the first collaboration between the Department of Theater Studies and Hoof ‘n’ Horn since they produced Ragtime together in 2012.
Composer Jason (Jayce) Mulligan provides musical direction, and choreography is by Duke alumna Courtney Liu, visiting assistant professor at Elon University. Josafath Reynoso, who was awarded the Gold Medal for Scenic Design at the World Stage Design 2017 in Taiwan, created the sets for the production.
“Rent is a rock musical adaptation of Giacomo Puccini’s 1895 opera La Bohème,” writes dramaturg Jane Mattingly. “Set in New York City, the musical traces the year of 1989-1990 as experienced by a group of friends living in the East Village. The principal characters are on the fringes of society in multiple ways: as artists, impoverished, queer, and HIV-positive. Throughout the course of the play, they are portrayed on their quests to maintain community despite their exclusion, savor the time they have remaining as current or potential victims of AIDS, and leave a legacy through art, music, and love.”
Each semester the Department of Theater Studies presents a Mainstage production directed by a faculty member, designed by professional theater artists and built by Duke Theater Operations staff and students. Auditions are open to all Duke students, who can receive academic credit for participating as cast or crew in classes centered on the Mainstage experience.
Hoof 'n' Horn is a student-run musical theater company that was formed at Duke University in 1936. It strives to uphold the legacy of bringing exceptional musical theater to the Duke and Durham communities.
Rent is presented through arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
Rent
Book, Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson
Directed by Chauntee’ Schuler Irving
Reynolds Industries Theater, Bryan University Center
April 6-8, 13-15 at 8 pm; April 9 at 2 pm
Theater Studies