Rent: Eden Espinosa assumes the role of Maureen

Eden Espinosa assumes the role of 'Maureen' this evening (30 May 2008) in the Broadway musical Rent, winner of the 1996 Tony for Best Musical. The musical opened at the Nederlander Theatre on 29 Sep 1996, where it will play its final performance on 4 Sep 2008.

Eden Espinosa assumes the role of 'Maureen' from Nicolette Hart, who left the show to play 'Brooke Wyndham' in the Broadway musical Legally Blonde.

Espinosa made her Broadway debut understudying the roles of 'Elphaba' and 'Nessarose' in Wicked, and later went on to star as 'Elphaba' on Broadway. Espinosa played the starring role of 'Brooklyn' in the Broadway musical 'Brooklyn' (2005).

Directed by Michael Greif and choreographed by Marlies Yearby, Rent also features Adam Kantor (Mark Cohen), Will Chase (Roger Davis), Troy Horne (Collins), Justin Johnston (Angel), Tonya Dixon (Joanne), Rodney Hicks (Benny), Michael McElroy (Tom), Kenna J. Ramsey (Joanne) and ***Tamyra Gray (Mimi).
***Note: Ren�e Elise Goldsberry assumes the role of Mimi from 16 Jun.

Rent, written by Jonathan Larson, opened at Broadway�s Nederlander Theatre following a sold out, extended limited engagement at's B off-Broadway�s New York Theatre Workshop.

The musical went on to win every major best musical award, including the Tony Award, New York Drama Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award. Additionally, Rent is one of only seven musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

In all Rent won four Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, two Theatre World Awards, and Obie Awards for its creator, director, and entire cast.

Rent tells the story of a group of young artists struggling in New York�s East Village in the early 1990�s and the obstacles they face, including AIDS, homelessness, poverty, lack of healthcare, and homophobia.

Rent�s sadly ironic tragedy of course, is that its young creator, 35 year old Jonathan Larson, never got to see his show�s success, having died of an aortic aneurysm (possibly as a result of Marfan Syndrome) early morning 25 Jan 1996, after the show�s final dress rehearsal the previous evening.

In 2005 the screen adaptation of Rent was released by Columbia Pictures and starred a number of the show�s original cast members. The following year to celebrate the musical�s tenth anniversary, Rent�s original cast members reunited for a special one night-only, benefit concert version of the show at the Nederlander Theatre.

Stars from the world of pop music joined the Rent cast at various times during its run, including Joey Fatone of �N Sync, Drew Lachey of 98 Degrees, Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls, and Frenchie Davis and Tamyra Gray of �American Idol.�

Tours of Rent have crisscrossed the country almost continuously since late 1996 and the U.S. nationals tours have grossed over $330 million. The musical has been translated into every major language and been performed on six continents, including in the following countries Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The show has set design by Paul Clay, costumes by Angela Wendt and lighting by Blake Burba.