00:12In 1996, a musical named Rent debuted on Broadway and quickly became one of the
00:17most culturally important works of art of the time. The musical captured the
00:21hearts of fans everywhere, helped to break down the stigma of AIDS and had a
00:25killer soundtrack to boot. The musical, set in New York's East Village in the 90s,
00:29follows a group of 20-something starving artists who are struggling with identity,
00:33sexuality, addiction 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 out
00:44there they do not want to disappoint, especially in a time where the issues explored
00:47in the production are more pertinent than ever. To prepare for Sunday night's production,
00:51The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Rent stars Vanessa Hudgens, Jordan Fisher, Brandon
00:55Victor Dixon, Valentina and more about the biggest challenges they're facing, their own
01:00history with the musical, and their favorite songs from 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.
01:12Jordan Fisher plays Mark Cohen, an aspiring filmmaker and the narrator of the story,
01:16whose girlfriend Maureen leaves him for a woman.
01:18The 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
01:27camera and to see what he really deals with, the actor told THR. And, fun fact, when Fisher was 10
01:33years old, he told an acting mentor that he wanted to play the first Mark Cohen of color on Broadway.
01:38So, 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.
01:48Brendan 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 his
01:57favorite 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
02:03Vedder,
02:04a little bit of Kurt Verbane, but I've also always been a fan of the show, so I love what
02:08Adam
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
02:21focus
02:22that 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 Maureen,
02:38working 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
02:45before we came to it, and it really just translates, she says.
02:49Also, the fact that we have a relationship already and Maureen and Mark have had a relationship
02:53in 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.
03:05Tanajé will take on the role of Mimi, an HIV-positive stripper and heroin addict who falls in love
03:10with Roger. The singer said she is hoping to embody a powerful but still emotional Mimi.
03:15Mimi has these great performance moments where she's feeling fearless and sexy and, like,
03:20I am woman, hear me roar, which is me when I do my stage shows. But it's also been fun
03:25because she does have those nuances of emotion and other sides of her, and to be able to have
03:29that juxtaposition, I think, is 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
03:37real 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,
04:20an 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
04:42in a while, and 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.
04:50It's very easy to start singing these songs, but that's not the point.
04:53The point is to communicate the emotions and the characters and the struggle that they're going through,
04:58these 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.
05:06Valentina 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,
05:13and 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?
05:35Mario will be playing Benny, Mark and Roger's old roommate who married into a wealthy family
05:40and 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 until he
05:49was cast in it.
05:50Of 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 substance abuse,
06:00and then at 15, 16 traveling the world, touring and seeing the different perspective,
06:04but then coming back to my city and realizing like there's a lot of things I would change
06:08about this whole situation. I can relate to that in Benny.
06:15Rant airs Sunday at 8pm Eastern on Fox.
06:18To read more about the new cast of the iconic musical, head to THR.com.
06:22For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.
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