TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Broadway Comes To South Shore

Tribune photo by ROBERT BURKE

Cast members of the Riverview Little Theatre's production of “Rent: School Edition” act out a scene during a recent rehersal. Shows by the all-student cast will be Thursday through Saturday at the Riverview High School auditorium. The Broadway play won a Pulitzer Prize and four Tony awards.

ADVERTISEMENT

By LOIS KINDLE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 22, 2008

Updated:

RIVERVIEW - Drama students from 10 area schools will present the Florida premiere of "Rent: School Edition," when they take the stage Thursday at Riverview High School.

"It's about a bunch of starving artists in the 1990s," said Daron Hawkins, one of three directors. "It's so beautifully written. The music and original story are handled so eloquently."

A modern-day version of Giacomo Puccini's opera "La Bohème," the musical is a toned-down version of the musical "Rent," which has appeared on Broadway since April 29, 1996.

Set in New York's Lower East Side during the winter, the story centers on a year in the lives of seven young Bohemians struggling to survive and celebrate life. Addressing adult themes, it includes controversial issues, such as AIDS, street people, drug use and homosexuality.

The school edition is an officially licensed version of the rock musical, with book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. The adaptation was made to retain the dramatic intent of the musical, making minimal changes to language and removing one song, "Contact." The cast must be students 19 or younger.

The 25-member cast and crew come from Riverview, Newsome, Durant, Spoto and Bloomingdale high schools, Progress Village Middle School of the Arts and Randall Middle.

"It means a lot to me, because people in this community don't get this type of entertainment," said Riverview High senior Gabe Hernandez, 18.

Dressed as Angel Schunard, one of the main characters, he said, "I've never been in drag before, so this is a very new role for me. I think it's so good for us to show this type of work."

"I've always loved this show," said Allison Curran, 16, a junior at Bloomingdale who's playing random ensemble roles. "It seems so unreal that we're actually getting to do it. This is my first performance at Riverview High School. Everything is so professional."

Keeping true to the original work, Hawkins acknowledged that in addition to language and the one-song omission, the high school edition was edited for length.

"It's 98 percent sung," he said. "All the original songs but one are included and the story's still intact. It's not preachy, but it shows the lives of people and how their lives can be destroyed."

Besides the set, Hawkins said he made sure the costumes are representative of the late 1980s and 1990s.

"Rent" began as a play, and it has been on Broadway so long, it's now a period piece," he said. "It won a 1996 Pulitzer Prize for drama and four Tony awards."

The theater project is supported by the Riverview High School Booster Club. Its focus is to provide quality productions to the South Shore community. Students from any Hillsborough County school are eligible to participate.

Past summer productions include "Grease," "Footloose," "Annie," "The Wiz" and "Guys and Dolls."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: "Rent: School Edition"

WHERE: Riverview High School auditorium, 11311 Boyette Road, Riverview

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday

DIRECTORS: Daron Hawkins, Bev Sutherland and John Davis II

STAGE MANAGERS: Tori Barfield, Riverview High School; Ashley Darling, King High School; Shaina Leguizamon, Giunta Middle School

TECHNICIAN: Ryan Owens, Riverview High School

TICKETS: $8, available at the door or at www.ticketleap.com. Twenty-five $5 tickets will be sold by lottery 30 minutes before each performance for seating in the first two rows.

INFORMATION: (813) 671-5011, ext. 259

CAST MEMBERS

MARK COHEN: Steven Frey, King High School

ROGER DAVIS: Armando Valdes, Newsome High School

MRS. COHEN: Noe Pickrell, Newsome High School

TOM COLLINS: Ryan Roselli, Riverview High School

BENJAMIN COFFIN III: Rodney Bueno, Riverview High School

JOANNE JEFFERSON: Karli Gunderson, Riverview High School

SQUEEGEE MAN: Dylan Watson, Riverview High School

ANGEL SCHUNARD: Gabe Hernandez, Riverview High School

MIMI MARQUEZ: Alex Catalani, Riverview High School

MR. JEFFERSON, MR. GREY: Robert Then, Riverview High School

MRS. JEFFERSON, LIZ: Meaghan Pickett, Newsome High School

PAUL: Cesar Razza, Newsome High School

TAYLOR: Carly Johnson, Progress Village Middle School for the Arts

ALI, COP: Taylor Kelly, Randall Middle School

PAM: Allison Curran, Bloomingdale High School

SUE, ALEXI DARLING: Sterling Phillips, Spoto High School

BLANKET WOMAN: Annie Connelly, Progress Village Middle School for the Arts

COP, WAITER, PASTOR: Tyler Cook, Durant High School

MAUREEN JOHNSON: Megan Stevenson, Durant High School

MIMI'S MOTHER: Dayla Rodriguez, Riverview High School

ROGER'S MOTHER: Sarah Wilson, Riverview High School

Reporter Lois Kindle can be reached at (813) 865-1553 or lkindle@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT