Bloomfield High School raises the curtain on winter musical ‘Rent’

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — “525,600 minutes — how do you measure a year in the life?” This question seems particularly pertinent after nearly two years of pandemic. Enter the Bloomfield High School winter musical production of “Rent,” produced and directed by Brandon E. Doemling, with musical direction by Michelle Lampert, choreography by Tracey Turner Turano and band direction by Natalie Kerr.

With music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson, “Rent” was produced off-Broadway by New York Theatre Workshop when Larson was at the start of his career. His sudden and unexpected death on the night before the first preview, at the age of 33, created a mythology around the play. There was a rapid move uptown; “Rent” opened at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996. The musical won the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama that year, and enjoyed a 12-year run, grossing more than $280 million.

The play, a modern-day retelling of Puccini’s 1896 opera “La Boheme,” revolves around a group of young people at the more recent turn of the millennium, confronted with the devastation of the AIDS crisis, their emotional and financial survival, and the very meaning of their lives. 

The set designer for “Rent” is Ralph Turano; costume design is by Kathy Martinez and Liz McCartney; and lights have been designed by Nicholas Von Hagel. The associate producer is Abby Maichuk Miles, with properties by Bert Petrik. There are 28 BHS student actors onstage, along with a dozen crew members supporting them. Live musical accompaniment by a six-person band rounds out the company.

“Rent” will be performed at the Bloomfield High School auditorium, which is located at 160 Broad St. in Bloomfield. Parental discretion is advised. Performances will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24, 25 and 26, at 7 p.m., and on Sunday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at https://bhsthespiansociety.ticketleap.com/; at the door; or at the BHS Main Office, 160 Broad St., Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

  Bloomfield High School, Broadway