(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company and the NEXTStage Repertory are currently in rehearsals for the first mainstage production for the 2022 Summerfest, Rent by Jonathan Larson. This show will run July 7-17 in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the Centenary University campus at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ. La Vie Boheme! Jonathan Larson's iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that shaped a generation of audiences and taught us all to measure our life in love.

Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice, and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a pop cultural phenomenon. With songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages. 

This production of Rent will be directed by Centenary Stage Company’s own Lea Antolini-Lid. Antolini-Lid serves as CSC’s Director of Young Audience Series and Producer of the NEXTStage Repertory Summer Series, as well as Associate Professor of Theatre Arts for Centenary University. Antolini- Lid received her BMA in classical voice from the University of the Arts and her MFA in acting from Brandeis University where she also had the opportunity to teach movement for the actor under the tutelage of Susan Dibble. She has performed professionally in NYC and in cities on the east coast. Lea traveled to China with Nai - Ni Chen Dance to teach at Kunming University. She is also a founding member and managing director of the XY DANCE PROJECT. Antolini is a member in training with Blessed Unrest Theater Company in NYC, and a member of AEA. 

The cast features Centenary University students, alumni, and CSC veterans Cody Jackson, James Gerard Russo, Louie Alexander Steele, Stephanie Rosario, Nicole Boscarino, Jonathan Drayton, Na’Jee Tariq, Alneesha Harris, Luis Rodriguez, Danny Sims, Mackenzie Castle, Audrey Jantzen, Mark Squindo, Benedict Dawa-Cross, Lisa Kosak, Emily Kurnides, Jibril Shabazz-Scott, Kylah Wilson, Isaiah Rosario Chagas, Kai Vialva, Kayla Yepez, Kylie Smith, Serena Buchan, Connor McCrea, Olivia Tomlin, and Jordan Sievert.

Performances of Rent will be Thursdays, July 7 and 14 at 7:30pm; Fridays, July 8 and 15 at 8:00pm; Saturdays, July 9 and 16 at 8:00pm; and Sundays, July 10 and 17 at 2:00pm. Performances will take place in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the Centenary University campus at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ 07840. Tickets are $25.50 to $29.50 for adults with discounts available for select performances for seniors, students, and children 12 and younger. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased on-line at centenarystageco.org or by phone by calling the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900.  

Centenary Stage Company remains committed to the health and safety of our community and adheres to all requirements set forth by the State of New Jersey.  For more information regarding CSC COVID-19 policies and policy updates, visit centenarystageco.org/faq. 

The 2021-22 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, and CSC corporate sponsors, including Platinum Season Sponsor The House of the Good Shepherd, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Medical Center Atlantic Health System, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), and Fulton Bank, Visions Federal Credit Union, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters. 

Photo courtesy of Centenary Stage Company