'Rent' brings original actors to PAC

APPLETON - Call it a reunion, but don't call it a comeback.

Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal are back in their original roles in 'Rent.' The two lead characters say they couldn't come back without one another.

"We immediately called each other and were like 'are you going to do it, are you going to do it?,’” said Rapp, who plays Mark Cohen. “Once we said yes, then it was clear."

"We didn't want to do it alone,” said Pascal, who plays Roger Davis. “We wanted somebody else there. We wanted the other person there to sort of have this experience with."

The show centers around struggling artists on New York's Lower East Side. Even though it's been 13 years since the premiere of the show, Rapp and Pascal say the issues of HIV and hardship still resonate with the audience.

"The themes of loss and the themes of struggle and the themes of crisis and trying to find your way in a world that's not always friendly to you,” said Rapp. “Those are themes that could happen in 1640 or 1920 or 2009."

In addition to a Tony Award, 'Rent' won a Pulitzer Prize and was made into a movie in 2005. The longevity of the show is creating a larger fanbase.

"I have kids now and my kids have seen the show,” said Pascal. “They walk around the house sometimes singing 'Seasons of Love' and that's a real trip for me to actually have my own kids now and they know what 'Rent' is."

Rapp and Pascal say they believe the show will become a classic like West Side Story or Phantom of the Opera.

The PAC says tickets are still available for the remaining shows, which continue through Nov. 8.

• Click here for ticket information.