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Maleah Joi Moon has become the 101st performer to win a Tony Award for their first outing on a Broadway stage for her performance in the musical “Hell’s Kitchen.”

She won Best Actress in a Musical at the 77th Tony Awards for portraying Ali, a 17-year-old girl searching for her place in the world while living in the titular New York City neighborhood and also being restrained by her overbearing mother. She is the 10th person to win the category for her Broadway debut. She joins:

Elizabeth Seal, “Irma La Douce” (1961)

Anna Maria Alberghetti, “Carnival” (1962)

Liza Minnelli, “Flora the Red Menace” (1965)

Leslie Uggams, “Hallelujah, Baby” (1968)

Alexis Smith, “Follies” (1972)

Natalia Makarova, “On Your Toes” (1983)

Lea Salonga, “Miss Saigon” (1991)

Catherine Zeta-Jones, “A Little Night Music” (2010)

Cynthia Erivo, “The Color Purple” (2016)

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Other performers who pulled off this accomplishment in recent years include...

Pollen: "After a senior coworker assaults a bright-eyed young woman, her dream job becomes a living nightmare as she tries to keep her career together while being tormented at work, at home, and in her dreams by a mysterious tree monster."

Directed by: Dw Medoff

Starring: Ava Rose Kinard, Tyler Buckingham, Ashley Ames, Bennett Welsh, Leanna Adams, Ian Covell, Riley Madison Fuller, Kristen Taylor, Sajid Chaudhary

Now available from Gravitas Ventures, Pollen is available on Amazon, AppleTV, GooglePlay, Vudu, Xfinity, Fios and most other VOD platforms.

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A Voice In Violet: "Philly Chick Pictures Releases A Voice In Violet Audio Drama Thriller Series Podcast From Writer & Director Curt Wiser And Producer Brooke Lewis Bellas With A Star-studded Cast Of Voices"

"Violet, a damaged singer whose dreams were shattered, headlines at The Driftwood, an infamous Hollywood club. The comfort of that stage is not enough when her traumatic past comes to visit.

Jodie Comer has become the 100th performer to win a Tony Award for their Broadway debut for her performance in the play, “Prima Facie.”

She won Best Actress in a Play for portraying Tess, a lawyer who concentrates in providing legal defense for men who are accused of sexual assault but soon has the unthinkable happen to her. She is the 11th person to win the category for her first outing on a Broadway stage. She joins:

SEE2023 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 competitive categories

Martita Hunt, “The Madwoman of Chaillot” (1949)

Beryl Reid, “The Killing of Sister George” (1967)

Phyllis Frelich, “Children of a Lesser God” (1980)

Jane Lapotaire, “Piaf” (1981)

Joan Allen, “Burn This” (1988)

Pauline Collins, “Shirley Valentine” (1989)

Janet McTeer, “A Doll’s House” (1997)

Marie Mullen, “The Beauty Queen of Leeane” (1998)

Jennifer Ehle, “The Real Thing” (2000)

Deanna Dunagan, “August: Osage County” (2008)

Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other...

The Sloth Horror-sequel Of The Summer Steve Urena’S Slow Pokes 2 Is Live On Kickstarter:

"Who's Ready for A #HotSlothSummer?

The follow-up to the critically-acclaimed sloth-horror-comedy-comic is finally here.

Welcome to Slow Pokes 2: The Sloth-Horror-Sequel of The Summer!

From the screwed up mind of Steve Urena comes a new 24-page Slow Pokes story filled with more action, more laughs, and spine tingling scares from these slaughterous, sped up, sloths. Drawn and colored by Juan Romera with Letters by Sean Rinehart, Slow Pokes 2 will take you on another fun horror thrill ride.

" I can't wait to show fans of Slow Pokes what I have in store for them in the second issue,” says Urena.

“I thought Slow Pokes was the craziest thing I've ever done, but #2 tops it. The fact that I got to kill ten people who supported the Kickstarter during the first campaign is a dream come true.

Myles Frost became the latest addition to the list of people who have taken home a Tony Award for their Broadway debut. His win makes him the 98th member of this particular winners’ club.

Frost, who won Best Actor in a Musical for playing Michael Jackson in “Mj,” is the 13th person to win that category for their first time stepping into a character on a Broadway stage. He joins:

Ezio Pinza, “South Pacific” (1950)

Robert Alda, “Guys and Dolls” (1951)

Robert Lindsay, “Me and My Girl” (1987)

Brent Carver, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993)

Alan Cumming, “Cabaret” (1998)

Hugh Jackman, “The Boy From Oz” (2004)

John Lloyd Young, “Jersey Boys” (2006)

Paulo Szot, “South Pacific” (2008)

David Álvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish (joint nomination), “Billy Elliot” (2009)

Douglas Hodge, “La Cage aux Folles” (2010)

See 2022 Tony Awards: Every winner (and nominee) in all 26 categories

Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that have...

The sublime “Sunday” diner scene with the Broadway legends in Netflix’s “Tick Tick Boom” has become even more tear-inducing and meta with the recent passing of Stephen Sondheim, whose “Sunday in the Park with George” musical about French pointillist painter Georges Seurat started it all. First, through Jonathan Larson’s (Andrew Garfield) tribute song, “Sunday,” set in The Moondance Diner in SoHo, where he toils as a waiter and dreams of becoming the next Sondheim. Second, through “Tick Tick Boom” director Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ambitious, even miraculous, staging of the scene in a replica of the ’90s diner on a New York soundstage.

Miranda’s idea was to not only pay tribute to Larson’s heroes of Broadway but also to his own legacy, since he tragically died before the opening of “Rent” and was unable to witness its impact on the theater world. Thus, through strict protocols and safe distancing,...

The original cast of Broadway’s Tony-winning musical “Rent” will virtually reunite on June 28. The performance is part of Broadway Celebrates Pride, a virtual fundraiser for Democratic congressional candidates.

Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin Vega, Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin and Adam Pascal will perform “Seasons of Love” at Broadway Celebrates Pride. They will be joined by Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Fredi Walker and other ensemble members of the founding production.

Broadway Celebrates Pride is one of four political fundraisers for Hold the House, a series hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

John Legend executive produced the event, which was directed by Erich Bergen. Broadway Celebrates Pride will also include appearances by Billy Porter, Ben Platt, Cyndi Lauper and the stars of “Queer Eye.”

Hold the House kicked off on June 20 with the Ultimate Women’s Power Party, featuring Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lawrence. The third, Egot the Vote: Party With Living Legends,...

Fox’s “Rent” aired Sunday, decidedly not live. After male lead Brennin Hunt broke his foot during Saturday’s rehearsal, the network decided to air “previously recorded” footage from the day before during its planned 8-11 p.m. telecast, rather than have the cast perform the show as planned.

However, viewers in the studio audience were treated to an actually live version, with the stars performing numbers from the musical with a few changes to the set to accommodate Hunt’s wheelchair. Fox dubbed this the “cast concert version,” sharing several videos from the numbers that were performed live on Twitter later Sunday evening.

For those of you at home, the live TV musical began with “previously recorded” footage of Hunt, who plays the male lead Roger, taking the stage for a few numbers with his co-stars.

Also Read: Fox's 'Rent' Goes on With Mostly Taped Footage After...

The stars of Fox’s live — but actually mostly pre-taped — production of “Rent” were joined by the original Broadway cast for the three-hour Sunday broadcast’s “Seasons of Love” finale, which was actually performed “live,” according to the notice in the upper right corner of the screen.

Idina Menzel (Maureen), Anthony Rapp (Mark), Adam Pascal (Roger), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Mimi), Jesse L. Martin (Tom Collins), Wilson Jermaine Heredia (Angel), Fredi Walker (Joanne) and Taye Diggs (Benny), along with ensemble members Gilles Chiasson, Rodney Hicks, and Timothy Britten Parker were among the original stars who appeared in the number, singing alongside their counterparts in Sunday’s televised event.

The scene was “reworked” to include the Fox production’s star Brennin Hunt, who had to sit out the show after breaking his foot during dress rehearsal Saturday. (The network used footage from that Saturday performance for much of the broadcast since Hunt injured...

Keala Settle, the face behind the beard behind The Greatest Showman, joined the cast of Fox’s Rent on Sunday to teach us all an important lesson about our lives and how we should measure them.

The actress lent her Tony Award-nominated voice to “Seasons of Love,” one of Rent‘s most iconic songs, sung at the top of the second act during a support group meeting for people diagnosed with HIV. Hit Play on the video above to watch Seattle’s big number.

Fox’s Rent stars Jordan Fisher (Grease: Live) as documentary filmmaker Mark Cohen, Brennin Hunt (The X Factor...

As soon as Tin’s (Zaw Win) tacky shuttle spins his passengers (Cole Burden’s Darren and Chris Modrzynski’s Dean) away from the picturesque majesty of Niagara Falls’ cataracts, I knew exactly what was happening. Anyone who’s called Buffalo’s surrounding area home will too because they’ve experienced the other place sharing that name: the City of Niagara Falls. You know it by industrial smokestacks. You know it by the smell permeating your nostrils as soon as you come close via the Niagara Scenic Parkway (formerly the Robert Moses). Tourists arrive from every corner of the world to see nature’s beauty only to learn the place where it resides on the American side doesn’t necessarily live up. Darren and Dean are about to discover this truth too … during their wedding.

There are few better to see the immense humor in this confusion than Buffalo-born Scott Rubin.

Ari’el Stachel became the latest person to take home a Tony Award for their Broadway debut. This victory puts him in a freshman club that now has 96 members. Watch him discuss his victory in the Tonys press room in the video above.

Stachel, who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for playing Haled in “The Band’s Visit,” is the ninth person to claim that particular honor for his first Broadway outing. He joins:

Harry Belafonte, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” (1954)

Sydney Chaplin, “Bells are Ringing” (1957)

Frankie Michaels, “Mame” (1966)

Wilson Jermaine Heredia, “Rent” (1996)

Dan Fogler, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” (2005)

Levi Kreis, “Million Dollar Quartet” (2010)

John Larroquette, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (2011)

Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton” (2016)

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Below are the Broadway debuts in the seven other acting categories that claimed Tony Awards.

Best Actor In A Play: 16 winners

Paul Scofield,...

The 2018 Tony Awards were graced with the drama students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who sang a touching rendition of “Seasons of Love” from the Tony-winning musical “Rent.”

They were introduced by former “Glee” star Matthew Morrison, who recently performed a benefit concert in support of the victims of the tragic shooting at the Parkland, Fla. high school.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas musical theater instructor Melody Herzfeld had just been awarded the 2018 Excellence in Theatre Education Award. Herzfeld saved 65 lives by barricading students into a small classroom closet on Valentine’s Day when a shooter went on a rampage, killing 17 people.

The original 1996 Broadway production of “Rent” was nominated for 10 Tony Awards. It won four, including best musical, best book for a musical, best original score, and best performance by a featured actor in a musical for Wilson Jermaine Heredia. Heredia played Angel Dumott Schunard.

.@Matt_Morrison welcomes the Marjory...

Daphne Rubin-Vega, Fredi Walker-Brown, and Wilson Heredia lead a group of two dozen singers who appeared in various productions of the award-winning show, Rent, in a tribute to playwright Jonathan Larson as he is posthumously awarded The Marfan Foundation's Hero with a Heart Award at the Foundation's Heartworks gala on April 14. Heredia originated the role of Angel in the Tony Award-winning production of Rent Rubin-Vega portrayed Mimi in the original Broadway cast and Walker-Brown was the original Joanne.

A little over two years ago, AfterElton.com brought readers a list of the 37 Hottest Guys in Theater, and since then, the New York Stage has only become increasingly sexified. The lines between Broadway and Hollywood continue to blur, and as young men come to recognition in NYC, they're often quickly whisked away to Tinseltown to showcase not only their amazing talent, but often they're breathtaking good looks.

While it's tempting to include every Hollywood hottie who graces the stage on this list (a certain Lee Pace and Luke Macfarlane spring to mind), the point here is to honor the men who are mostly known for rockin' the live stages here in New York.

And so, without further ado, we present, in alphabetical order, the list (39!) of this year's hottest guys in theater!

Nick Adams

A perennial AfterElton favorite, the muscular, openly gay Nick first made waves a few years...

Judd Hirsch, Kathy Najimy, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Debra Monk, Michael Stuhlbarg, Michael Longoria, Dan Butler, David Pittu, Jason Butler Harner, Jonathan Cake, Kristin Nielsen and Nancy Giles have joined the cast of Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, a collection of short plays written for marriage equality to benefit Human Rights Campaign, Marriage Equality New York and New York Theatre Workshop.

What more can be said about a multiple award-winning show that ran for over 12 years on Broadway? The answer is probably not much. No matter how many times I see this show, every viewing of Rent never fails to remind me that there really is "no day but today." "Rent: The Broadway Tour" opened its limited engagement run October 28th at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I could not pass up the opportunity to see it one last time, especially with the chance to see three original Broadway cast members, Anthony Rapp (Mark), Adam Pascal (Roger) and Gwen Stewart (Mrs. Jefferson and others).

Rapp and Pascal have been playing these roles for years, but you wouldn't know it from their high energy performances. While waiting for the show to being, I overheard plenty of buzz from audience members. Many were excited to see Rapp and Pascal perform the...

From the moment iMURDERS (just out on DVD from Anchor Bay) begins, the viewer is struck with a feeling of, to use on-line slang, Wtf? Halfway through the credits is a video interlude depicting a cheating husband getting busted by his wife, and a subsequent gunshot. We don’t see the faces of anyone involved, or even who takes the bullet. Once the remaining credits come to an end, this event isn’t brought up again for more than half the movie; we literally forget all about it until the shooting resurfaces. What unspools instead is a thinly veiled morality tale for the Internet generation, hiding behind a murder mystery.

As the story proper begins, we meet Sandra Wilson (Terri Colombino) as she’s about to move into a new apartment. Having learned about the listing from one of her on-line friends, Sandra is eager to show her less tech-savvy...

Writer/director Robbie Bryan gave us the word that a new trailer for his psychothriller Imurders has gone up on the movie’s MySpace page; you can see it at the bottom of this item. He also revealed that a follow-up is already in the works.

“The film has played several festivals, including the Eerie Horror Film Fest, Shriekfest, the Big Apple Film Fest [pictured: actor Dan Grimaldi, Bryan and actor William Forsythe at that event] and the Downbeach Film Fest, where it won the Audience Award, and it’s in talks to appear at Texas Frightmare Weekend in May,” Bryan tells us. “It will also be a presence at Berlin and the European Film Market. The continued buzz on the film has investors willing to move forward with Imurders 2, which we plan to shoot on location in New Orleans in the fall.” Bryan adds that he intends to bring actor Tony Todd back for the sequel.

Imurders, which also stars Terri Colombino,...

Writer/director Robbie Bryan gave us the word that a new trailer for his psychothriller Imurders has gone up on the movie’s MySpace page; you can see it at the bottom of this item. He also revealed that a follow-up is already in the works.

“The film has played several festivals, including the Eerie Horror Film Fest, Shriekfest, the Big Apple Film Fest [pictured: actor Dan Grimaldi, Bryan and actor William Forsythe at that event] and the Downbeach Film Fest, where it won the Audience Award, and it’s in talks to appear at Texas Frightmare Weekend in May,” Bryan tells us. “It will also be a presence at Berlin and the European Film Market. The continued buzz on the film has investors willing to move forward with Imurders 2, which we plan to shoot on location in New Orleans in the fall.” Bryan adds that he intends to bring actor Tony Todd back for the sequel.

Imurders, which also stars Terri Colombino,...

"Rent" is one of the best film musicals in years -- exuberant, sexy and life affirming in equal measure. Jonathan Larson's 1996 Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, based upon Puccini's opera "La Boheme", makes an electrifying move to the screen as director Chris Columbus and choreographer Keith Young push the singing and dancing out into New York streets and subways.

Stylized action in real locations doesn't always work in movies, but it does here perhaps because six of the eight actor-performers from the original Broadway show return for the movie version. These actors know their roles down to the grit in their fingernails, so the film feels loose and real, unfettered by a proscenium and opened up in an almost spiritual way.

"Chicago" proved that American audiences can still, on occasion, embrace a genre that has largely gone out of style. But what will mainstream audiences make of a musical about AIDS, drug addiction, homelessness and drag queens? "Rent" will be strong in major markets but needs crackerjack marketing to draw a broad young audience to the film.

"Rent", which Larson, its author and composer, did not live to see became a worldwide success, focuses on a group of impoverished young artists and musicians, struggling to survive in New York's East Village neighborhood in the 1980s under the shadow of AIDS. "Rent" shares with "La Boheme" an affirmation of the bohemian lifestyle, of creativity and art over anything as mundane as earning a living or paying the rent.

The reason, of course, is these lives might be short. Drugs and HIV inflict several characters. Each feels a pressing need to create a legacy, one in which whom you love is at least important as what you create. You live your art -- and life -- with a metaphorical gun to your head.

Roger (Adam Pascal) is a handsome yet melancholy songwriter coming off a long bout with heroin. Downstairs neighbor Mimi (Rosario Dawson), a spectacularly beautiful exotic dancer, has a definite eye for Roger, but he is emotionally shut down and understandably wary of her drug habit. What eventually brings them together, for a moment at least, is the realization that both are HIV-positive.

Roger's roommate Mark (Anthony Rapp), a struggling filmmaker, starts to document life around him, starting with his circle of friends. He also carries the torch for mercurial performance artist Maureen (Idina Menzel), who left him for -- the indignity of it all -- a woman, Harvard-trained attorney Joanne (Tracie Thoms).

Returning to the circle of friends is Tom Jesse L. Martin), a former professor and computer whiz who is jobless. Moments after getting mugged outside his former digs, Tom meets the love of his life, Angel Wilson Jermaine Heredia), a drag queen street musician. These two also are HIV-positive.

The outsider of the group is Benjamin Coffin III (Taye Diggs). Benny married the landlord's daughter and, despite a vow to keep his former roommates in the loft rent-free, has become the "enemy," a capitalist who wants to transform the 'hood by evicting everyone and building a headquarters for a cyberspace enterprise.

The threat of eviction ostensibly gives the story its dramatic impetus: Maureen means to stage a one-woman show in protest, Benny pressures Roger and Mark to stop her and so on. But the real dramatic propulsion comes from love. Tom and Angel fall hard for one another and revel in that love as their time together will be short. Mimi and Roger share an equally profound passion, but Roger refuses to acknowledge it. Mark still pines for Maureen, whose open behavior with men and women sparks doubt and jealousy in Joanne.

The film spills out of the cold-water lofts into nearby streets, bars, restaurants, performance spaces and churches in a celebration of the bohemian life. Stephen Goldblatt's camera is constantly in motion, and Young's dances have a athletic dynamism that energizes the screen. Some dialogue has been added in Steve Chbosky's adaptation, but like the stage show the story is told in musical numbers that flow smoothly one into another. Meanwhile, Larson's music honors a host of traditions, ranging from rock and blues to gospel, soul and even tango.

Columbus managed the complicated logistics of the first two "Harry Potter" movies but never put his own stamp on those huge productions. Something in "Rent", though, hooked him emotionally for the movie represents his best work -- confident of the material inherited from Larson, true to that legacy yet willing to make changes and expand the possibilities for the screen.

Nearly every big movie has its set pieces around which the film develops, but "Rent" is all set pieces. Each requires ingenuity and sweat to get the best out of a super-talented cast. That each succeeds on its own terms yet flows together so easily is a tribute to Columbus' passion for the material.

Howard Cummings' interior sets, the location work, Aggie Guerard Rodgers' vibrant costumes, the terrific dances and adventurous cinematography all add up to pure pleasure.

RENT

Columbia Pictures

Revolution Studios presents in association with 1492 Pictures a Tribeca production

Credits:

Director: Chris Columbus

Screenwriter: Steve Chbosky

Based on the play by: Jonathan Larson

Producers: Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan

Executive producers: Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Allan S. Gordon, Lata Ryan

Director of photography: Stephen Goldblatt

Production designer: Howard Cummings

Music and lyrics: Jonathan Larson

Choreographer: Keith Young

Costumes: Aggie Guerard Rodgers

Editor: Richard Pearson

Cast:

Mimi: Rosario Dawson

Benny: Taye Diggs

Angel: Wilson Jermaine Heredia

Tom: Jesse L. Martin

Maureen: Idina Menzel

Roger: Adam Pascal

Mark: Anthony Rapp

Joanne: Tracie Thoms

MPAA rating PG-13

Running time -- 135 minutes...

"Rent" is one of the best film musicals in years -- exuberant, sexy and life affirming in equal measure. Jonathan Larson's 1996 Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, based upon Puccini's opera "La Boheme", makes an electrifying move to the screen as director Chris Columbus and choreographer Keith Young push the singing and dancing out into New York streets and subways.

Stylized action in real locations doesn't always work in movies, but it does here perhaps because six of the eight actor-performers from the original Broadway show return for the movie version. These actors know their roles down to the grit in their fingernails, so the film feels loose and real, unfettered by a proscenium and opened up in an almost spiritual way.

"Chicago" proved that American audiences can still, on occasion, embrace a genre that has largely gone out of style. But what will mainstream audiences make of a musical about AIDS, drug addiction, homelessness and drag queens? "Rent" will be strong in major markets but needs crackerjack marketing to draw a broad young audience to the film.

"Rent", which Larson, its author and composer, did not live to see became a worldwide success, focuses on a group of impoverished young artists and musicians, struggling to survive in New York's East Village neighborhood in the 1980s under the shadow of AIDS. "Rent" shares with "La Boheme" an affirmation of the bohemian lifestyle, of creativity and art over anything as mundane as earning a living or paying the rent.

The reason, of course, is these lives might be short. Drugs and HIV inflict several characters. Each feels a pressing need to create a legacy, one in which whom you love is at least important as what you create. You live your art -- and life -- with a metaphorical gun to your head.

Roger (Adam Pascal) is a handsome yet melancholy songwriter coming off a long bout with heroin. Downstairs neighbor Mimi (Rosario Dawson), a spectacularly beautiful exotic dancer, has a definite eye for Roger, but he is emotionally shut down and understandably wary of her drug habit. What eventually brings them together, for a moment at least, is the realization that both are HIV-positive.

Roger's roommate Mark (Anthony Rapp), a struggling filmmaker, starts to document life around him, starting with his circle of friends. He also carries the torch for mercurial performance artist Maureen (Idina Menzel), who left him for -- the indignity of it all -- a woman, Harvard-trained attorney Joanne (Tracie Thoms).

Returning to the circle of friends is Tom Jesse L. Martin), a former professor and computer whiz who is jobless. Moments after getting mugged outside his former digs, Tom meets the love of his life, Angel Wilson Jermaine Heredia), a drag queen street musician. These two also are HIV-positive.

The outsider of the group is Benjamin Coffin III (Taye Diggs). Benny married the landlord's daughter and, despite a vow to keep his former roommates in the loft rent-free, has become the "enemy," a capitalist who wants to transform the 'hood by evicting everyone and building a headquarters for a cyberspace enterprise.

The threat of eviction ostensibly gives the story its dramatic impetus: Maureen means to stage a one-woman show in protest, Benny pressures Roger and Mark to stop her and so on. But the real dramatic propulsion comes from love. Tom and Angel fall hard for one another and revel in that love as their time together will be short. Mimi and Roger share an equally profound passion, but Roger refuses to acknowledge it. Mark still pines for Maureen, whose open behavior with men and women sparks doubt and jealousy in Joanne.

The film spills out of the cold-water lofts into nearby streets, bars, restaurants, performance spaces and churches in a celebration of the bohemian life. Stephen Goldblatt's camera is constantly in motion, and Young's dances have a athletic dynamism that energizes the screen. Some dialogue has been added in Steve Chbosky's adaptation, but like the stage show the story is told in musical numbers that flow smoothly one into another. Meanwhile, Larson's music honors a host of traditions, ranging from rock and blues to gospel, soul and even tango.

Columbus managed the complicated logistics of the first two "Harry Potter" movies but never put his own stamp on those huge productions. Something in "Rent", though, hooked him emotionally for the movie represents his best work -- confident of the material inherited from Larson, true to that legacy yet willing to make changes and expand the possibilities for the screen.

Nearly every big movie has its set pieces around which the film develops, but "Rent" is all set pieces. Each requires ingenuity and sweat to get the best out of a super-talented cast. That each succeeds on its own terms yet flows together so easily is a tribute to Columbus' passion for the material.

Howard Cummings' interior sets, the location work, Aggie Guerard Rodgers' vibrant costumes, the terrific dances and adventurous cinematography all add up to pure pleasure.

RENT

Columbia Pictures

Revolution Studios presents in association with 1492 Pictures a Tribeca production

Credits:

Director: Chris Columbus

Screenwriter: Steve Chbosky

Based on the play by: Jonathan Larson

Producers: Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan

Executive producers: Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Allan S. Gordon, Lata Ryan

Director of photography: Stephen Goldblatt

Production designer: Howard Cummings

Music and lyrics: Jonathan Larson

Choreographer: Keith Young

Costumes: Aggie Guerard Rodgers

Editor: Richard Pearson

Cast:

Mimi: Rosario Dawson

Benny: Taye Diggs

Angel: Wilson Jermaine Heredia

Tom: Jesse L. Martin

Maureen: Idina Menzel

Roger: Adam Pascal

Mark: Anthony Rapp

Joanne: Tracie Thoms

MPAA rating PG-13

Running time -- 135 minutes...

Hairspray continues to spread its sheen over the Broadway theater awards season. The campy musical based on the John Waters film has added 13 Tony Award nominations to its award-bedecked coiffure. That's the most for any show this year. The show has already won best musical from the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama League and received 14 nominations from the Drama Desk. Among the Hairspray Tony noms are best musical, actor in a musical (Harvey Fierstein), actress in a musical Marissa Jaret Winokur), featured actor in a musical (Dick Latessa, Corey Reynolds) and score, book, and choreography. Incidentally, Fierstein, who plays Edna Turnblad, is the first Tony nominee so honored for portraying a member of the opposite sex. Previous drag nominees George Hearn (La Cage Aux Folles), B.D. Wong (M. Butterfly), Wilson Jermaine Heredia (Rent) and Fierstein in his own play Torch Song Trilogy played cross-dressers. The awards will be presented June 8 at Radio City Music Hall in a three-hour ceremony to be broadcast in its entirety by CBS. Movin' Out, the Billy Joel-Twyla Tharp dance musical, came in second in the nomination derby with 10 mentions. The revival of Nine, starring Antonio Banderas, is third with eight noms. Among plays, the all-star production of Long Day's Journey Into Night won the race with seven nominations, including noms for its each of its principal players (Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Dennehy, Robert Sean Leonard and Philip Seymour Hoffman).