The first time I saw Rent was in the summer of 1997. I had been waiting to see Rent for my first time for about four months. I got to see the Original Broadway Cast except for Daphne Rubin-Vega and I had just missed seeing Idina Menzel's last show by a few days. I was upset about missing them, but I enjoyed both Marcy Harriell and Sherie Scott. I had emailed Anthony Rapp a couple months before I was going to see the show. To my astonishment he emailed me back. I told him that I was going to be seeing the show and he said to stop by and say "hi" after the show (like I hadn't already planned on it :-) ). So, my friend Lindsay (this was her 4th time seeing the show) and I stayed after the show (it was a saturday matinee) and got some peoples autographs, but Anthony didn't show. So, Lindsay went to one of the ushers inside and asked if he knew whether or not Anthony had come out yet. He took us backstage (This is the picture I took of the stagedoor) to go see if Anthony was there, but unfortunately Anthony had already left. We left the theatre disappointed, but we decided to go back after the evening show to see if we could catch him there. My friend and I went back to the theatre that night and waited outside. We got to listen from Take Me or Leave Me until the end of the show. We were first in line to get autographs and I saw Anthony coming down the hall to the doors and when he stepped out I introduced myself to him and he gave me a big smile and shook my hand. He told me to wait around a little while so he could finish signing autographs. I got autographs from some more people that I had missed earlier. After he was finished he came over to me and we talked for a little while. He was so nice and it was really kind of him to take his time to talk with me. I was so happy after meeting and talking to Anthony. He emailed me several times after that, but with his busy schedule he couldn't keep up with all the mail all the time. I've gotten a few more emails from him every now and then. Most recently I saw him in You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, which was great, and I got to talk to him there as well.

Me and Anthony (This isn't a very good picture of me)

When the Angel Cast of Rent came to Washington D.C. I was very excited it was going to be so close to me. I went to see Rent for the second time on August 20th, Opening Night in D.C. After that I did the line for my first time in D.C. and saw several more shows including seeing the cast perfrom at the 1997 AIDS Walk D.C. and Closing Night, November 2nd. It wasn't for several months until I got to see Rent again in NYC.

I went to NYC again to see some more shows including RENT! My trip got pushed back by two weeks, which upset me, but it turned out for the best because I got to see the cast perform on The Today Show*. After watching The Today Show I went to the Nederlander to try the lotto. I got myself a SRO ticket just in case I didn't win the lotto. My mother and I both put our names in a my mom ended up winning tickets in the first row! I sold my SRO ticket to a girl who needed a ticket. The show was awesome, but Gwen Stewart, Kristen Lee Kelly, and Luther Creek weren't there. I had wanted to see Luther as Roger because I had seen him in D.C. as Mark. I also wanted to see Kristen as Maureen because she wasn't there the first time I saw the show in NYC. I wasn't too upset in Gwen not being there because I had heard that Shelley Dickinson was really good. I did get to see Gwen and Kristen on The Today Show perform Take Me or Leave Me*, which made me feel better about missing them. Wilson Cruz was out filming a movie so Shaun Earl was on for Angel and I enjoyed him very much. I had also seen him in D.C., so I was excited to see him as Angel. The new cast on Broadway was very good! I especially enjoyed Jim Poulos and Richard H. Blake. After the show while I was getting autographs I noticed Gwen standing against the wall wearing dark sunglasses. No one was talking to her so I went up to tell her how much I enjoyed her on The Today Show. She apologized for not being able to make the matinee because she had to get up at four in the morning to rehearse for The Today Show. All in all, another great Rent experience.

Shaun Earl and Richard H. Blake and me (a better picture of me)

I took a trip to Philadelphia to rush to see the Angel Cast on August 29, 1998. This was another fun experience since I took my friend who had never seen the show before let alone know why she was waiting out on the street for hours on end just to see it, but she enjoyed herself a lot which made me feel good. We also met some nice people there while rushing. Then, Rent came to another city near me.... Baltimore. I saw the show there quite a bit. Including rushing for opening of previews on September 29, 1998 (The infamous incident where my friend Austin got robbed with a butter knife.... yes a butter knife.), for closing night November 1, 1998 and many times in between. I wish it could have stayed longer, but I guess it had to go sometime :-(
I want to give a quick shout out to all the kewl kids I met there... Austin, Terra, Grace, Kevin, Katie, Saara, and all the other regulars of Baltimore... it was great!

I saw the Benny Cast for my first time in New Orleans and I certainly loved them. Three cast members were formerly of the Angel Cast, so that contributed to my liking of the cast. I missed them in Richmond, so hopefully I'll get to see them again at Wolftrap.

I saw The Angel Tour again in San Francisco! I won the Lotto there and saw a great show! I loved Sharon Leal, but didn't much care for Dean Balkwill. Unfortunately that was my last time seeing the cast :-(