New Rep Opens Its 28th Season With RENT, Opens 9/6

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, is thrilled to begin its 2011-2012 Season with Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical RENT. Due to the Labor Day holiday falling on a Monday, RENT will open for the press on Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 7:30pm and run through Sunday, September 25, 2011 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in the Charles Mosesian Theater.

"RENT is the ideal production to open our 2011-2012 Season, which has the theme of legacy." says Harriet Sheets, Managing Director of New Repertory Theatre.

Ms. Sheets continues, "15 years after its Broadway premiere, RENT is just as powerful. It transcends multiple generations, as its overarching message of love and friendship is timeless. I am proud New Rep is the first professional regional theatre in New England to produce RENT."

Benjamin Evett, the director of RENT, adds, "I am excited to be working with such a wonderful, talented artistic and design team."

Mr. Evett adds, "RENT is a powerful evocation of a defining cultural moment in America-the end of the last millennium. Jonathan Larson brought ‘musical theatre to the MTV generation' by addressing relevant social topics of the times, topics that are still relevant today, by the way, and by combining the various mediums of video, music, and theatre. He created extraordinary characters that young people can really relate to, then and now. It's their journey, from naïve self-absorption to an appreciation of the real value of life and family, where I want to focus our energy. I want to create a world that is rough, exciting, chaotic, and inspirational for the characters living in it, and hopefully for the audience, too."

RENT features New Rep favorites Aimee Doherty (The World Goes ‘Round, The Last Five Years, Darling Divas Deck the Holidays,
Hot Mikado, Speed-the-Plow, tick, tick,...BOOM!, The Wild Party, and Into the Woods) as Maureen, Eve Kagan (Passing Strange) as Mimi, and Maurice E. Parent (Passing Strange, Cabaret, The Wild Party, and Ragtime) as Tom Collins.
Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of a group of struggling bohemian artists living in New York City's Lower East Side. This ground-breaking and powerful rock opera, based on Puccini's La Boheme, explores the necessity of love and friendship, and the repercussions of living with AIDS in modern day society. Fall in love with this timeless musical all over again with iconic songs like "La Vie Boheme," "What You Own," and "Seasons of Love."

New Repertory Theatre presents provocative and intelligent works of both established and emerging playwrights in an intimate setting that involves and engages the audience. New Rep has earned a reputation for Dynamic Productions that honor the writers and feature talented professional actors from the New England Theatre community as well as guest artists from around the U.S. New Rep has received Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards for outstanding acting, scenic design, directions, and production. Programming for New Repertory Theatre is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

ARTISTS

John Ambrosino (Mark) Las Vegas: Jersey Boys (Bob Crewe, Billy Dixon and Others). 1st National Tour: The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley (Flat Stanley). Regional: Pageant (Miss Deep South), The Wild Party (Oscar D'Armano), I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change! (Man #1), David the Musical (Young David).

Aimee Doherty (Maureen) is excited to be in her second Jonathan Larson musical at New Rep, having previously appeared as Susan in tick, tick...BOOM! in 2007. Other New Rep credits include: The World Goes ‘Round (Woman 3), The Last Five Years (Cathy), Hot Mikado (Pitti-Sing), Speed-the-Plow (Karen), Cabaret (Sally Bowles), The Wild Party (ensemble/Queenie u/s), Ragtime (Evelyn Nesbit), Into the Woods (Cinderella) and Darling Divas Deck the Holidays. Other Boston area credits include: Animal Crackers (Mrs. Whitehead/Arabella), Grey Gardens (Young Edie), Follies (Young Phyllis), See What I Wanna See (Kesa/the wife/an actress) and Adrift in Macao (Lureena) with the Lyric Stage Company of Boston; Annie (Grace) and Honk! (Ida) with Wheelock Family Theatre; The Pain and the Itch (Kelly) with Company One; Nine (Luisa), The Women (Peggy), Bubbly Black Girl... (Scarlet) and Company (Kathy) with SpeakEasy Stage; On the 20th Century (Anita) with Overture Productions; Dinosaur Musical (Mindy) with Stoneham. Aimee has received IRNE acting nominations for her work in Cabaret, Speed-the-Plow, The Pain and the Itch and Grey Gardens. In addition to acting, Aimee is a freelance environmental consultant with Doherty Environmental Consulting.