From Broadway to Southern Indiana: 'RENT' Inspires Local Talent

I remember hearing about RENT when it hit Broadway back in 1996. It was a massive hit that went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical that year AND the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It would be several years before I got to experience RENT for myself. My wife and I saw an off-Broadway production in Evansville, and we instantly fell in love with it. You now have the chance to feel what we felt as the F.J. Reitz High School Theatre Department puts on a production of RENT.

What is RENT About?

Even though it won awards back in '96, that was still nearly 30 years ago and you may not know what the musical is about. Here's a pretty good summation from dmtc.org...

Set in the East Village of New York City, RENT is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Based loosely on Puccini's La Boheme, Jonathan Larson's Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.

The Reitz "School" Edition of RENT

If you are familiar with RENT, then you know that it deals with some heavy subject matter. You might be wondering how Reitz was allowed to perform it. The music includes some adult language that may not be appropriate for high school students, and that's why a "school" edition of RENT is also available. As you can imagine, the school edition is made specifically for younger performers, therefore, some of the adult content and language have been changed or removed. But don't worry, these changes will not at all take away from the message and emotion of RENT.

Reitz Production of RENT Show Times and Tickets

You have four opportunities to see the Reitz Theatre production of RENT...

Thursday, March 14 at 7pm
Friday, March 15 at 7pm
Saturday, March 16 at 7pm
Sunday, March 17 at 2pm

Tickets are still available for all shows and can be purchased online here or at the Reitz auditorium the day of the show. Tickets are $7 for students and $10 for adults.

30 Bizarre (and Real) Indiana High School Mascots

According to High School.com, there are 682 high schools in Indiana. 555 of those are public schools, while the remaining 127 are private. A majority of those schools have chosen typical mascots to represent them, like eagles, tigers, lions, jets, patriots, and so on and so forth. But, these 30 schools decided to go, well, a different direction.

List Source: "List of High Schools in Indiana" Wikipedia

Gallery Credit: Ryan O'Bryan

10 Fun Facts About School to Make You Think

Our kids are heading back to school. That means loading onto the big yellow bus. But do you know why it's yellow? Keep reading to find the answer to that and other fun facts about school.

Gallery Credit: Liberty

Source: Southern Indiana High School Theatre Department Stages School Edition of Beloved Musical ‘RENT’