Fox Announces Casting for Upcoming Rent Live Musical

Fox has announced the cast for its upcoming Rent live musical.

The full cast is as follows:

• Kiersey Clemons as JOANNE JEFFERSON, Maureen’s girlfriend and an Ivy League-educated lawyer.

• Brandon Victor Dixon as TOM COLLINS, the computer scientist who returns to New York after being expelled from MIT.

• Jordan Fisher as MARK COHEN, an aspiring filmmaker, who serves as the show’s narrator, while filming the lives of his friends. 

• Vanessa Hudgens as MAUREEN JOHNSON, the outgoing performance artist who’s not afraid to take on the establishment.

• Brennin Hunt as ROGER DAVIS, a struggling musician and Mark’s roommate and best friend. 

• Mario as BENJAMIN COFFIN III, Mark and Roger’s former roommate-turned-landlord, who is after their rent. 

• Tinashe as MIMI MARQUEZ, the dancer who struggles with addiction.

• Valentina as ANGEL DUMONT SCHUNARD, a young drag queen and street percussionist who embraces life and lives it to its fullest.

Some quick personal thoughts: 

• Jordan Fisher, Vanessa Hudges and Brandon Victor Dixon are all excellent casting choices, especially considering they’ve all done these live musicals before and excelled at their roles in those productions.
• Kind of surprised they didn’t get Ben Platt as Mark Cohen, especially considering his father is executive producing the whole thing.
• I’m curious to see the Mimi-Roger relationship play out. I know nothing about relative-newcomer Brennin Hunt, but I loved Tinashe on her recent DWTS run. I hope their chemistry blows me out of the water, because that will make or break this production for me.
• I’m definitely more excited about this casting than upset with it.

If you’re not familiar with the show, Rent tells the unforgettable story of seven artists struggling to follow their dreams during a time of great social and political turmoil. The show won four Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize. 

Acclaimed film, television and theater producer Marc Platt (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, Grease: Live, La La Land, Wicked), along with the estate of writer/composer Jonathan Larson, will executive-produce the event. Tony Award-nominated director Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, Rent) is the director overseeing the stage direction; and Alex Rudzinski (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, Grease: Live, Dancing with the Stars) will serve as the live television director. 

What are your immediate thoughts on the cast? Do you like this casting or absolutely hate it? Let us know in the comment section below. 

Rent, Fox’s live musical event, will air Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019 from 7:00-10:00 PM ET. Follow the Rent on Fox Twitter account for continuing updates.