WMU HOME > ABOUT WMU > WMU NEWS Pulitzer and Tony-winner 'Rent' at Miller Auditorium Jan. 14, 2005 KALAMAZOO--The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical "Rent," written by Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif, comes to Miller Auditorium at Western Michigan University for four performances Jan. 27-29. Inspired by Puccini's "La Boheme," "Rent" is a joyous, breathtaking and often bittersweet musical that celebrates a community of artists as they struggle with the soaring hopes and tough realities of today's world. "Rent" is widely considered the most exuberant and original American musical in a decade. It swept all the major theater awards, including the 1996 Tony Award for Best Musical as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. "Rent" is only the fifth musical ever to win both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award. The show received its world premiere off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop Feb. 13, 1996, and rapidly became a sold-out hit. The show transferred to Broadway April 29, 1996, and continues to play to standing-room-only audiences. In February 2004, "Rent" surpassed "Fiddler On The Roof" to become the 10th longest running show in Broadway history. Performances of "Rent" begin at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Jan. 27-28, and at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29. Tickets for "Rent" range from $23 to $47 and are available by calling (269) 387-2300 or (800) 228-9858, online at www.millerauditorium.com, or by visiting the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office or the Epic Center Box Office in downtown Kalamazoo. "Rent" at Miller Auditorium is sponsored by WKFR 103.3 FM and WWMT Channel 3. Related story $20 orchestra seats available for 'Rent' at Miller Media contact: Tracey Lawie, 269 387-2309, tracey.lawie@wmich.edu WMU News Office of University Relations Western Michigan University 1903 W Michigan Ave Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA 269 387-8400 www.wmich.edu/wmu/news