The cast list for this year’s musical, “RENT: School Edition,” was released on Friday, March 19 after school.

The “rock opera,” as the show has been described, is set in the East Village in New York City in the 1990s, following a year in the lives of a group of unlikely friends struggling with their careers and romances and finding satisfaction in their lives. The characters, coping with the compounded stress of the AIDS crisis and their own experiences with the disease, learn the true meanings of unity and living in the present, knowing that at any moment, it could all be gone.

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The cast is as follows:

Mark – senior Gabe McGuire

Roger – senior Tom Drabkin

Mimi – senior Alisara Arial

Maureen – senior Caitlin Leiker

Joanne – junior Shirley Lee

Angel – senior Kai Kaufman

Collins – junior Carson Brooksher

Benny – senior Andrew Duke

Ensemble 1 (Alexi Darling, Roger’s mom, homeless person) – freshman Brooke Leiker

Ensemble 2 (Paul, a cop) – freshman Calliope Green

Ensemble 3 (Gordon, The Man, Mr. Grey, Thug, homeless person) – junior Quinton McGuire

Ensemble 4 (Steve, Squeegieman, Waiter) – sophomore Seth Tripp

Ensemble 5 (Mrs. Jefferson, Blanket Person, Sue) – senior Ashley Vilaysing

Ensemble 6 (Mrs. Cohen, Alison, A girl, cop) – senior Alexis White

Ensemble 7 (Mr. Jefferson, Vendor, Pastor, Homeless person, thug) – sophomore Remy Stull

Ensemble 8 (Mrs. Marquez, Pam, cop) – sophomore Kiki Gonzales

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Due to COVID-19, director Alex Underwood was forced to make cuts this year to keep a safer, more controlled environment. Underwood said that so many students did an amazing job in their auditions and encouraged students who were not cast this year to find other roles in production and promotion.

Student leadership opportunities:

• Ushers
• Two Spot Light Operators
• Light Board Operator
• Sound Board Operator
• Poster Distributer
• Stage Assistants
• Props/Costumes organizer
• Lobby Display

For more options, contact Underwood at aunderwood@usd489.com, or visit him in the choir room (Room 142).

21cleiker@usd489.com