New Jonathan Larson show to premiere in New York

A musical revue featuring the unheard songs of Rent creator Jonathan Larson will play in New York next February.

Originating as a cabaret show at 54 Below, The Jonathan Larson Project is conceived by Jennifer Ashley Tepper, directed by John Simpkins, and choreographed by Byron Easley. Cynthia Meng is music director, with Charlie Rosen as orchestrator and music supervisor. The arrangements are by Rosen and Natalie Tenenbaum.

The show will feature cut songs from Larson’s well-known works like Rent and tick, tick… Boom!, material created for theatrical revues, and music written for the radio, some of which had never before been publicly performed or recorded.

Tepper said: “Jonathan Larson dreamed of revolutionising musical theatre. Tragically, he wasn’t around to see his wildest dreams come true, since he passed away unexpectedly at the age of 35, right before Rent hit. Over a decade ago, I began immersing myself in the hundreds of boxes that Jonathan Larson left behind when he died. The hours of cassette tapes of undiscovered songs, piles of scripts that had never been produced, and many personal letters, photos, journals, and more were endlessly inspiring.

“Jonathan’s lost songs are political, personal, surprising, galvanising, relevant, and tell a fascinating new story about a young man following his heart in New York City, trying to change the world. I felt strongly that there was a show to be made from Jonathan’s work that had never been heard. I am so thrilled that after many years, The Jonathan Larson Project is finally making its full-scale debut as a stage musical.”

It will play a 16-week engagement off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre beginning on 14 February.

The concerts and subsequent Ghostlight Records cast album originally featured Nick Blaemire, Lauren Marcus, Andy Mientus, Krysta Rodriguez, and George Salazar. Full casting for the off-Broadway engagement will be announced at a later date.