Рок-опера «Рент» продолжает триумфальный тур в Бакс-Каунти, отмечая 30-летие с новой интерпретацией

“Rent,” the rock musical with music, lyrics and book by the late Jonathan Larson, will show why it's captivated audiences for more than three decades as it continues at the Bucks County Playhouse through Sept. 13. Loosely based on the 1896 opera “La boheme,” it tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life for themselves in Lower Manhattan's's East Village under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. First workshopped in 1993 — and now celebrating its glorious 30th anniversary — the hit musical eventually moved to Broadway as it gained critical acclaim, winning several awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Musical. After 12 years of success on Broadway, it became one of the longest-running shows to date. Directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award nominee Jennifer Weber, rather than attempt to recreate the original version, Weber approaches this production as a living work of theater — one that remains rooted in New York City's East Village of the 1990s while speaking to today's audiences. “'Rent' is 30 years old, but we still tend to think of it as if it were written yesterday,” Weber says. “There are people in the cast who weren't even born when 'Rent' premiered. They're discovering the story with fresh eyes, and that creates an exciting conversation between the original generation of 'Rent' fans and a new generation experiencing it for the first time.” Comprising the cast of many well-known young actors who weren't even born when the show first made its mark is Owen Scales. Though he definitely wasn't born at the time of the original production, Scales formed a strong alliance with the show at the age of 12, appearing as one of those young boys in a show being performed in his home state. A native of Austin, Texas, Scales played a young Benny on weekends for nine months. “I not only got to play in the show, but I got to watch how the actors interpreted their roles — especially the actor who played Tom Collins.” Enchanted and mesmerized by the role of Collins, Scales never imagined that someday he would be offered the role. Just two years out of college from The University of Michigan, Scales says his first “big boy role” was in “Frozen.” But with Collins, he says he's advanced to playing a more “mature” role. “I never saw myself getting this role,” he claims. “In the show, Collins is older and wiser. He's a former philosophy teacher and dresses in a way I would never see myself dressing. He's lived a life I could only imagine. But when they came to me and offered me the role, I jumped at the chance.” Scales says his love of musical theater began as a young boy when he first started watching the old MGM musicals and most especially Judy Garland. And through his love of Garland, her singing and dancing and all the iconic parts she played, he vowed to follow in her footsteps. Even though it's only been a couple of years, his studying at local institutions and the university have paid off, and now he is able to display a strong singing voice in a score featuring such songs as “Seasons of Love,” “Take Me or Leave Me,” “I'll Cover You,” and more. Through these powerful songs and others he's performed, Scales learned that his stutter, which has plagued him all of his life, disappeared whenever he sang, allowing him to find comfort in his own musicality. And with that in mind, Scales offers a plea and some heartfelt advise for writers, producers, directors and others in the industry: “Just give all people with any kind of handicap a chance to show what they can do. You might be happily surprised." Stay informed and connected — subscribe to The Philadelphia Tribune NOW! Click Here At Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a new research lab is taking a different approach to understanding autism — by listening more closely to the people whose experiences have too often been overlooked. Dr. Ashlee Yates Flanagan, a clinical psychologist and researcher, founded CHOP’s Res…