Original “Rent” Cast Members Reunite 29 Years After Musical’s Debut to Support Idina Menzel
The cast reunited at the premiere of 'Redwood' starring Menzel
The cast reunited at the premiere of 'Redwood' starring Menzel
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/rent-021325-4-3875b0a30ba64c5a84aab95458ba81fe.jpg "Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Fredi Walker, Anthony Rapp, Michael Greif at the Opening Night of")
Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Fredi Walker, Anthony Rapp, Michael Greif at the Opening Night of "Redwood" on Broadway at The Edison Ballroom on February 13, 2025
Idina Menzel had the support of some famous friends at the premiere of Redwood.
On Thursday, Feb. 13, members of the original 1996 Broadway production of Rent reunited to help celebrate the opening night of Menzel's new show.
Menzel, who played Maureen in the original Broadway production, received support from Anthony Rapp (Mark), Wilson Jermaine Heredia (Angel), and Fredi Walker (Joanne).
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Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Fredi Walker, Anthony Rapp, Michael Greif at the Opening Night of "Redwood" on Broadway at The Edison Ballroom on February 13, 2025 in New York, New York
While Menzel was preparing for the show, Rapp, Heredia, and Walker posed for photos outside the Nederlander Theatre with Rent's original director, Michael Greif.
Redwood's Instagram account gave them a shoutout on its Stories by posting a video of the group taking photos, captioned "The original company of Rent."
The play finds Menzel playing Jesse, a woman with "a successful career and devoted family — until a life-altering event drives her far from everyone and everything she knows."
"When she finds herself at the foot of the redwoods in Northern California, a chance encounter and a leap of faith will change her life forever," an official description explains.
The red carpet reunion of her previous cast members comes six years after they reunited at Fox’s live television production of Rent in 2019. The original cast members join the television cast for an encore of Rent‘s anthem, “Seasons of Love.”
In addition to Rapp, Heredia, Walker, and Menzel, original cast members who appeared in the special performance were Adam Pascal (Roger), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Mimi), Jesse L. Martin (Tom Collins), and Taye Diggs (Benny), as well as ensemble members Gilles Chiasson, Rodney Hicks, and Timothy Britten Parker.
redwoodmusical/Instagram Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Fredi Walker, Anthony Rapp, Michael Greif at the Opening Night of "Redwood" on Broadway at The Edison Ballroom on February 13, 2025
Rent, loosely based on the opera La Boheme, tells the story of a group of New York City artists dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis in 1989.
Creator Jonathan Larson died on Jan. 25, 1996, the night before Rent‘s off-Broadway premiere at the New York Theatre Workshop. The show opened on Broadway on April 29, 1996, and had a 12-year run consisting of 5,123 performances before closing on Sept. 07, 2008.
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In addition to receiving critical acclaim, it won many awards, including the 1996 Tony for best musical and the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
