'The Rent Play' Opens at Cal State LA: Eight Performances October 15–24 at the Luckman Complex
Los Angeles — The Rent Play, presented by the Department of Theatre and Dance at California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA), opened on October 15 at the Intimate Theatre inside the Luckman Fine Arts Complex on campus, where it runs through October 24. It is the first production of the department's fall semester in its 2026–2027 theatre season.
Written by Jan Rosenberg, the play is set in 2007–2008: the first iPhone is about to be released, and the Broadway musical RENT is one year away from closing. A tight-knit group of young fans who call themselves RENT-heads gather day after day outside Broadway's Nederlander Theatre to enter the lottery for $20 tickets, finding friendship, purpose and a community of their own outside the stage door. The university's season page describes the play as a love letter, an apology, a memory and a diary entry.
The production is directed by Donald Rizzo, a third-year MFA candidate, and features a nine-member student cast: Anika Felix as Tanya, Julian Moser as Derek, Morgan Rountree as Holly, Aryana West as Daphne, DeAundre Smith as Marcus, Ethan Brown as Jared, Mia Zell as Katrina, Giselle Diaz as Zoe and Azul Diaz as Nell. Scenic design is by Gretchen Ugalde, lighting design by Diana Herrera, costume design by Jessica Champagne Hansen and sound design by Jane McKeever.
There are eight performances: October 15–17 at 7:30 p.m., October 18 at 2:30 p.m., and October 21–24 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for students and $12 for general admission, sold through OvationTix. The theatre is located at 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032 (Parking Lot C); the announcement notes parking is $13 on Wednesdays and Thursdays and $20 Friday through Sunday, with street parking available off campus.
(Sources: Cal State LA Department of Theatre and Dance, 2026–2027 theatre season page; department production announcement, October 15, 2026)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加州州立大学洛杉矶分校拉克曼艺术中心（The Luckman Fine Arts Complex）入口招牌与剧场建筑，本剧即在此内的亲密剧场上演。图片来源：NBailon06，CC0，取自维基共享资源。 / Photo: Entrance sign and theatre building of the Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA, where the play is staged at the Intimate Theatre. Source: NBailon06, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
