From the Director: Chip Miller
Photo by Kate Szrom
FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND
SIX HUNDRED MINUTES
HOW DO YOU MEASURE — MEASURE A YEAR?
The second act of Jonathan Larson’s masterpiece Rent begins with this profound question: How do you measure a year?
For myself, measurements of time have become fairly surreal since the forced shutdown in March of 2020. Days often feel like weeks and months fly by like hours.
When we began discussing the possibility of a musical ending our 2021-2022 season, my first thought was, “We have to do Rent!” This was sometime in the early winter of 2020 and it felt so important to tell a story of love and community in a time of illness and precarity. As I spent time alone in my studio apartment, I craved the catharsis of being in a room with hundreds of others listening to live music — knowing that sharing that space with others could and would be healing.
As I write this note from the rehearsal hall 17 months later, I am overjoyed by this story and the ability of these songs to create the space for that catharsis. I knew that Rent could create that space because it has done so for me many times in my life. This story and these songs showed a little kid from Missouri that a whole world of possibility existed — queer love stories, artists as anarchists, chosen family. That it was also the beginning of my understanding of the HIV/AIDS epidemic seems a fitting lesson — all of those magical possibilities live in the specter of death, disease, and a system not made to support those in need.
To return to the question at the beginning of Act Two: How do you measure a year? Jonathan answered it beautifully and clearly — you measure in love. That timeless message is one that continues to inspire me as I listen to our incredible cast sing this song.
MEASURE IN LOVE
MEASURE, MEASURE YOUR LIFE IN LOVE
SEASONS OF LOVE
More about Rent:
Alphabet City
Alphabet City is a neighborhood in the East Village of Manhattan. Learn more about the history of this area and the many arts and activist movements that took place there.
AIDS, Arts, & Activism
Learn about the history of the AIDS epidemic, including the cultural responses that exist to this day.
La Bohéme to Rent: Legacies
Rent is loosely based on the opera La Bohème, composed by Giacomo Puccini. Learn more about the story of La Bohéme and its connection to Rent.
Thank You, Jonathan Larson: 25 Years of Rent
More than 25 years after Jonathan Larson's death and the original cast's first preview performance of Rent, both of which occurred on January 25, 1996, the world still has Jonathan to thank for his contributions to the living canon of musical theater.
Reviews of Rent
"With a story based on Puccini's 19th-century opera La Bohème, Rent tells the story of angsty young adults struggling to pay their rent and worrying about a cyber arts studio coming to their impoverished neighborhood." -Deseret News
Current & Upcoming
Improvisation Classes for Beginners
Whether you're looking to get more confident in social situations, think quicker on your feet, or get in touch with your imaginative side, these "one-off" improv classes will set you on the path to success!
Adult Class : TWELFTH NIGHT, Before & After
Join veteran actor Joe Costa for a unique opportunity to take a “deep dive” into both Shakespeare’s text of Twelfth Night, and the PCS Production. Participants will read the play out loud as a group, with “intermissions” provided for lively discussion of themes and content. Interested participants will have a chance to act in selected scenes, guided by the instructor.
Improv Comedy: Love, Shakespeare
Witness the Magic of unscripted Elizabethan comedy! Step into the offbeat world of Love, Shakespeare, where seasoned Portland comedians attempt something audacious: performing a fully improvised Elizabethan play based on your suggestions!
Albina Music Trust presents A Brown Branch Christmas
Celebrate this holiday season with A Brown Branch Christmas at Portland Center Stage. Now in its fourth season, this two-night big band celebration features directors Domo Branch and Charlie Brown III guiding a heavy 15-piece lineup of regional and national musicians.
BIPOC Affinity Night DJ Party with ALoSo
Join us for a double feature BIPOC Affinity Night, featuring a live DJ set by ALoSo, plus holiday craft market vendor tables, art exhibits by Albina Music Trust Wall to Wall Sound and Jason Hill's Favorite Things, with complimentary select drinks provided by Multnomah Whiskey Library and Deschutes Brewery while supplies last.
Winter Teen Academy: Scene Work
Calling all teens! Are you looking to expand your acting skills and be the best scene partner you can be for your fellow actors? In this class, we will dig deep into scene study, character motivation, and active listening, while learning the necessary questions to ask in every rehearsal situation. You'll develop fuller characters and deeper relationships on stage by partnering in scene work — and have lots of fun too!
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).
Season Superstars
Season Supporting Sponsors
