Photo by Anna Gasser
April 7, 2022
By Anna Gasser,
Pickerington Online Intern
& Sophomore at Pickerington Central
Pickerington High School North is putting on Rent (School Edition) this Thursday, April 7th through Sunday, April 10th at the school’s Performing Arts Center (7800 Refugee Road).
Based loosely on the opera La Boheme, the Broadway show won both the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Rent follows a group of struggling artists as they navigate the joys and tragedies of New York City during the height of the AIDS epidemic.
“It’s all about relationships,” said director Allen DeCarlo “That is the most important thing that we can take away from this show. When you build relationships, you have to make them strong.”
Rent has always had DeCarlo’s heart.
“It was the first show that I had memorized front to back,” he said. The show demands a high degree of talent, but “we have the kids for it.”
The young actors have been working hard behind the scenes to make the show as tight as possible.
“It’s definitely a lot of work,” ensemble cast member, sophomore Brandon Hudepohl said. “Musicals are harder than plays in a lot of ways. Musicals mean longer hours.”
Although returning audience members will recognize much of the cast from previous North productions, for at least one of the actors their role in Rent is quite a departure.
“It’s hard to play a character so different from yourself, but it’s cool too,” said senior Nicholas Foster. “My character is really loud, he’s really sad, and he’s really angry.”
Foster plays Roger Davis, a singer-songwriter who distances himself from loved ones out of fear.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday the performance will begin at 7 pm and there will be a 2 pm matinee on Sunday.
Tickets for Rent are available online at the Pickerington North Box Office or you may purchase them at the door. Prices are $12.00 each.
The high school production of Rent is a reminder that our relationships make us stronger. It teaches us to forgive and to heal – we owe each other that.
Pickerington North’s next theatrical production will be An Evening of Musical Theatre on April 28 and 29. This cabaret-style show will an evening of singing and dancing showtunes.
