In 1996, two phenomena were born on Broadway: RENT, of course, but also the New-York-on-a-budget favorite that is the $28 ticket lottery. After a sold-out run at a small downtown theatre, RENT’s original producers began the lottery tradition when the show moved to Broadway, and now Zions Bank Broadway at the Eccles has announced that they’ll be giving that tradition new life during the show’s Salt Lake City run.
That’s right – seats in the first rows of the Eccles Theater’s orchestra section will be available for just $28 for every performance of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning RENT! Chosen by drawing, if you’re in front of the Regent Street Black Box at the Eccles two hours before curtain, you’ll have the chance to purchase two orchestra seats for one hell of a bargain (Eccles orchestra tickets are currently selling for around $100 apiece).
But whether you’re a bargain hunter or an avid RENThead, you absolutely won’t want to miss this 20th anniversary celebration of a show that inspired an entire generation of musical theater, from creatively guiding shows like Next to Normal, to kickstarting Lin-Manuel Miranda’s show-stopping writing. Although the show’s tragedy in the AIDS crisis is real-time dwindling into a heartbreaking memory, this timeless show still showcases the themes, tunes and turmoils surrounding accepting your own individuality that every struggling artist can take to heart.
Put on by original creative team members, this run is primed to show that RENT retains its relevance, even after two decades, in teaching us to connect with our own humanity (and, of course, the humanity in every person and identity), and to measure our lives in what is most important: love.
If You Go:
RENT at the Eccles
June 25-30
7:30 Weeknights
8:00 Friday-Saturday
6:30 Sunday
Afternoon Matinees (see ArtTix.com for more information.)
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