Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/27/21
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#3
Posted: 5/19/26 at 10:58am
KevinKlawitter said: "Luke Sheppard directing; will begin performances in September. Further casting tba"
Calling it rn: transferring to Broadway 2027/28 season
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#4
Posted: 5/19/26 at 11:02am
malcs98 said: "KevinKlawitter said: "Luke Sheppard directing; will begin performances in September. Further casting tba"
Calling it rn: transferring to Broadway 2027/28 season"
I'll call it too: Nederlander Theatre.
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#5
Posted: 5/19/26 at 11:11am
EDSOSLO858 said: "malcs98 said: "KevinKlawitter said: "Luke Sheppard directing; will begin performances in September. Further casting tba"
Calling it rn: transferring to Broadway 2027/28 season"
I'll call it too: Nederlander Theatre."
The West End is one thing, but is Broadway necessarily in need of a revival of RENT? I’m already imagining endless discourse around the economic and sexual politics of the show through the eyes of those who weren’t even alive when the original run was playing
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#6
Posted: 5/19/26 at 12:02pm
quizking101 said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "malcs98 said: "KevinKlawitter said: "Luke Sheppard directing; will begin performances in September. Further casting tba"
Calling it rn: transferring to Broadway 2027/28 season"
I'll call it too: Nederlander Theatre."
The West End is one thing, but is Broadway necessarily in need of a revival of RENT? I’m already imagining endless discourse around the economic and sexual politics of the show through the eyes of those who weren’t even alive when the original run was playing"
But if you really stop to think about it, we wouldn't have all of the Broadway shows we've had since were it not for Rent to begin with. so I think it's time to reintroduce a whole new generation to this show, and since this is a remounting of the Hope Mill production that Luke Sheppard directed (which ive seen the livestream of), this appears to be just as gritty and raw as the original production.
also EDSOSLO858, I know you said the Nederlander, but apparently this is going into the Duke of York's Theatre which is an ATG house because technically speaking this is an ATG/Sonia Friedman production
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#7
Posted: 5/19/26 at 12:14pm
Argh we don’t need another rent to Broadway unless it’s an overhaul like the off broadway one. It’s so tiresome
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#8
Posted: 5/19/26 at 12:28pm
Rent has been done in every regional and community theater throughout the USA. It also toured for nearly 35 years in one form or another and we had the Off-Broadway revival about ten years ago. I don't see this selling even with Gaten attached.
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#9
Posted: 5/19/26 at 12:37pm
I was wondering how many posts it would take before the word “transfer” was used. Three. Less than I would have thought.
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#10
Posted: 5/19/26 at 12:47pm
ACL2006 said: "Rent has been done in every regional and community theater throughout the USA. It also toured for nearly 35 years in one form or another and we had the Off-Broadway revival about ten years ago. I don't see this selling even with Gaten attached."
Not unless they're able to pull in some other big names to the cast, I mean this is a Sonia Friedman/Chris Harper production so I wouldn't be surprised if they do
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#11
Posted: 5/19/26 at 2:01pm
Luke Shepperd's website show production pics. Has a real Spring Awarkening vibe based on it. Wonder how it'll play in the West End or Broadway.
I happened to like the Off-Broadway revival, but I think it was just too soon after the original closed. Plus some of the leads' casting was questionable.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#12
Posted: 5/19/26 at 4:10pm
everythingtaboo said: "Luke Shepperd's websiteshow production pics. Has a real Spring Awarkening vibe based on it. Wonder how it'll play in the West End or Broadway.
they actually also live-streamed it during the pandemic which was thankfully saved on the internet archives which you can watch here: https://archive.org/details/rent-2020
fun fact: it features an up-and-coming actor you've probably never heard about named Tom Francis as Roger and two of the original west end SIX queens: Millie O'Connell and Maiya Quansah-Breed
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#13
Posted: 5/19/26 at 5:36pm
quizking101 said: "I’m already imagining endless discourse around the economic and sexual politics of the show through the eyes of those who weren’t even alive when the original run was playing"
Taking this strictly at face value, I'd ask: what's wrong with that? I think it's a good thing if older shows challenge the beliefs of a new generation; it can only help them to either relax those beliefs if they're too rigid, or to have a better understanding of why some of the old attitudes needed to be replaced.
That being said, I fully understand the subtext of your point: a lot of this discussion will be performative and cause our eyes to roll. 
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/26/03
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#14
Posted: 5/20/26 at 1:05am
I kind of feel like it’s the perfect time for a RENT revival, as long as someone has a strong take on the show.
there was a moment there where most people seemed to shift to thinking RENT was a bad show and “Benny was the good guy!” And I think in the past 4-5 years we’re seeing that RENT feels so relevant: it’s becoming harder and harder for artists to make a living (especially in NY), we’re in increasingly isolating times where we all feel ourselves crushed under capitalism, and while AIDS doesn’t hold the same significance in the US, the feelings of existential dread and forces that make use feel too afraid to love are only growing.
I think it could be the perfect musical for right now.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/27/21
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#15
Posted: 5/20/26 at 2:30am
I like that they are keeping the intimacy of the 2020 stagging for this remount, the Duke of York is only 640 seats, I am excited for it.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/13
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT on the West End#16
Posted: 5/20/26 at 4:32am
Those photos just look like Rent without much set - so pretty much what any budget community production has looked like. Hardly ground breaking. The costumes make the characters look like that have more money than they would.
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT in the West End#17
Posted: 5/20/26 at 1:00pm
It's "in," not "on" the West End.
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT in the West End#18
Posted: 5/20/26 at 1:13pm
Don't really love the design in those production photos- it has a sort of austere, cold quality. Not a lot of that bohemian or grunge feel at all. While we shouldn't be pining for a duplicate of the original production, I do think the vibrant eclecticism is needed. Everything here looks ready for a Vanity Fair photoshoot.
Gaten Matarazzo to lead RENT in the West End#19
Posted: 5/20/26 at 1:25pm
Meh. I don't think a revival of this is in any way necessary. Re: Broadway prospects...if Jeffrey Seller thought it would be worthwhile to celebrate the 30th with a Broadway revival, he would've done it himself. Instead, it's shipped off to London.
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