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‘American Idol’ alum Anwar Robinson joins the cast of ‘Rent.’ (Photo courtesy Theater of the Stars)
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HOME > SOVO SCENE > THEATER
By: MIKE FLEMING
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The touring production of the groundbreaking rock musical “Rent” has become as ubiquitous in recent years as any traveling show can get, but the 2007-2008 tour’s April 25-27 stop in Atlanta brings a pair of surprises that should help drive ticket sales. “Rentheads” who have watched production qualities decline as the tour continues may be reinvigorated with the inclusion this round of two singers from the international “Idol” television franchise.
Fans of the fourth season of “American Idol” may remember Top 10 member Anwar Robinson, who joins the “Rent” cast on the heels of his debut album, “The Truth About Love.” He takes on the role of Tom Collins, a gay man whose boyfriend is the Santa Clause dress-wearing drag queen, Angel.
Atlanta’s “Rent” audiences will also be treated to the voice of the first “South African Idol” winner, Heinz Winckler. He plays Roger, the show’s wannabe rocker who engages in a tumultuous relationship with stripper and drug addict Mimi.
For the uninitiated, “Rent” is a modern-day take on the classic opera “La Boheme,” which was based on a play from the novel “Scenes de la Vie de Boheme,” which was itself based on a series of 19th Century magazine sketches. The ensemble song “La Vie Boheme” in “Rent” is a nod to those roots. “Rent” modernizes the story with a rag-tag bunch of 20-somethings in New York’s Alphabet City, and replaces the tuberculosis epidemic in the original with AIDS to heart-wrenching ends.
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