00:00In 1996, a musical named Rent debuted on Broadway and quickly became one of the
00:16most culturally important works of art of the time. The musical captured the hearts
00:21of fans everywhere, helped to break down the stigma of AIDS and had a killer
00:25soundtrack to boot. The musical, set in New York's East Village in the 90s, follows a
00:29group of 20-something starving artists who are struggling with identity, sexuality,
00:34addiction and HIV and AIDS and inspired one of the most passionate fan bases ever.
00:39So, the cast members of Fox's upcoming live production know there are a lot of people
00:43out there they do not want to disappoint, especially in a time where the issues explored
00:47in the production are more pertinent than ever.
00:49To prepare for Sunday night's production, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Rent stars
00:53Vanessa Hudgens, Jordan Fisher, Brandon Victor Dixon, Valentina and more about the biggest
00:58challenges they're facing, their own history with the musical and their favorite songs
01:03from the Tony-winning Broadway smash.
01:05I'm kind of the dad of my friend group. I like to have everybody over and cook meals.
01:09That's how I do it. It's very different than Mark.
01:11Jordan Fisher plays Mark Cohen, an aspiring filmmaker and the narrator of the story whose
01:16girlfriend Maureen leaves him for a woman.
01:19The essence of Mark for me is, as the narrator of the story, to allow America and anybody that's
01:23watching the show to go on this journey with him through his eyes, through the lens of his camera
01:28and to see what he really deals with, the actor told THR.
01:31And, fun fact, when Fisher was 10 years old, he told an acting mentor that he wanted to play
01:35the first Mark Cohen of color on Broadway. So, dreams do come true.
01:39I've been there. I've been in Nashville as a professional songwriter for many, many years
01:43and writing that one song that's going to change my career has been a struggle.
01:48Brennan Hunt plays Roger Davis, Mark's roommate, an HIV-positive rock musician and former addict,
01:53who falls for Mimi. In order to get into the character, Hunt has been channeling some of
01:57his favorite rock stars for the role.
01:59I'm a big fan of the grunge era, so a little bit of Chris Cornell, a little bit of Eddie Vedder,
02:03a little bit of Kurt Cobain, but I've also always been a fan of the show, so I love what Adam
02:08Pascal did. I love what Will Chase did. I'm taking pieces of things that I really love what they did
02:13and then my whole little spin on it.
02:15It feels like such an honor to be a part of this show because of the amount of weight and focus
02:21that it has in the LGBT community.
02:24Former high school musical star Vanessa Hudgens plays Mark's ex, Maureen, an outspoken
02:29performance artist who falls in love with the buttoned-up Joanne.
02:32While Hudgens played Mimi in the 2010 Hollywood Bowl production of Rent, this time around as
02:37Maureen, working with Fisher has been a highlight of her experience.
02:41I feel like we both have such a love for musical theater and a love for Rent even before we came to it,
02:46and it really just translates, she says. Also, the fact that we have a relationship already and Maureen
02:51and Mark have had a relationship in the past, it all goes hand in hand. It all works perfectly.
02:57I think the spirit of Mimi is something that I can bring to the table. She's just carefree,
03:01she just wants to have fun, she wants to live her life and just, like, be.
03:05Tanajay will take on the role of Mimi, an HIV-positive stripper and heroin addict who falls in love with Roger.
03:11The singer said she is hoping to embody a powerful but still emotional Mimi. Mimi has these great
03:16performance moments where she's feeling fearless and sexy and like, I am woman, hear me roar,
03:21which is me when I do my stage shows. But it's also been fun because she does have those nuances
03:26of emotion and other sides of her, and to be able to have that juxtaposition, I think,
03:30is what makes it extra special.
03:33And I know Mimi better be wearing some blue leather pants or a lot of people are going to be real mad.
03:37I think it's also really exciting to show what it means to be a hard-working queer black woman.
03:42Kiersey Clemons will be stepping into the character of Joanne, a Harvard-educated lawyer
03:46who falls in love with free-spirit Maureen.
03:48Clemons' Joanne plays tribute to the women who played the role before her.
03:52I'm channeling the OGs, you know, Tracy Toms and Freddie Walker, just trying to infuse the two,
03:57says the actress. They both play Joanne in different ways, and the way that they love Maureen,
04:02it's nice to try to balance out the two. And then, of course, just add a little Kiersey Flair,
04:06whatever that means. I don't know. We're going to find out.
04:09The message of Rent is that love transforms disease, and the foundational message of this show
04:15is that you measure your life in love.
04:17Brandon Victor Dixon will play Tom Collins, Mark and Roger's old roommate,
04:20and NYU professor living with AIDS who falls in love with Angel.
04:24The Broadway vet, who was nominated for an Emmy for his performance as Judas in NBC's
04:28live Jesus Christ Superstar, says,
04:30I always tell people that Rent is the greatest unfinished musical, right?
04:34So the challenge with this show is that you really only get one shot to tell all these people,
04:39an audience that's familiar with the show, something new that they haven't thought about in a while,
04:43and also a whole new audience to this show that have heard so much about it,
04:47and now you have a bar to measure up to. It's very easy to start singing these songs,
04:52but that's not the point. The point is to communicate the emotions and the characters
04:56and the struggle that they're going through, these lessons of empathy, these lessons of love.
05:01Being on this show gives someone out there hope that they can achieve that and do it, too.
05:05Valentina is taking on the role of Angel, a drag queen with AIDS who falls in love with Collins.
05:10The RuPaul's Drag Race star knows this is the role of a lifetime
05:14and has been leaning on her on-screen love, Dixon, to walk her through the acting process.
05:18He's there making sure that we're always connected and making sure that I'm okay
05:22and always giving me his professional advice because he's an amazing singer
05:26on what could help me and letting me always know that I'm doing a great job, she says.
05:30How about love?
05:36Mario will be playing Benny, Mark and Roger's old roommate who married into a wealthy family
05:41and is now his old friend's landlord and demands the year's worth of back rent they owe.
05:45The R&B singer, he found it easy to relate to Benny despite having not seen the show
05:50until he was cast in it.
05:51Of course, I was moved by it, he says. Growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, you know,
05:55seeing poverty-stricken areas, witnessing a lot of my family members who suffer from
05:59substance abuse, and then at 15, 16, traveling the world, touring and seeing the different
06:04perspective, but then coming back to my city and realizing, like, there's a lot of things
06:08I would change about this whole situation. I can relate to that in Benny.
06:12Viva! My P! O. M!
06:16Rent airs Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
06:19To read more about the new cast of the iconic musical, head to THR.com.
06:23For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.
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