Toronto
TOM ALLISON
(Ensemble)
Originally from Winnipeg, Tom was in the 1992 Stratford
Festival season, as a member of the Young Company, where he
appeared in Romeo And Juliet, The Tempest and Two
Gentlemen Of Verona. In Toronto, he was seen in the original
Canadian companies of Miss Saigon and Tommy and as a
featured performer in Sophisticated Ladies. Some other
credits include Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, Anything
Goes, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The
Forum, Peter Pan, Cinderella and Sweet Charity.
JENIFER AUBRY
(Maureen)
Jenifer Aubry is a young singer/songwriter and comedienne
from Montreal. She played a part in one of the most popular
sitcoms in Quebec for two years. She has just finished
recording a mini-album of her songs that should be released in
1998. "I am honored to interpret the role of Maureen and I
believe that this will be one of the most wonderful experiences
of my life. So, I dedicate each of my performances to those
with HIV and to the homeless, hoping to make a difference in
our understanding of their plight. Maybe we can learn to love a
little more. I invite you to come and see me on my website, at
http://www.dreamshoprecords.com."
CHARLES AZULAY
(Swing)
Charles Azulay comes to Rent directly from the Netherlands'
premiere of Miss Saigon, where he appeared as Thuy, the role
he played on the U.S. first national tour, in Los Angelas and in
the show's Toronto premiere. He also appears as Thuy on the
international symphonic and original Netherlands cast
recordings. Charles also understudied and performed the role of
Marius in Les Misérables both in Toronto and on the Canadian
national tour. Other stage credits include A Chorus Line, The
King And I, Hair, H.M.S. Pinafore, Anything Goes, Bye, Bye
Birdie and Man of La Mancha. He is also proud to have
appeared in Zero Patience, a musical feature film about AIDS
that appeared in the 1993 Toronto Festival of Festivals.
DEAN BALKWILL
(Ensemble)
Originally from Saskatchewan, Dean recently moved to
Toronto to find his life. As much as Dean loves being in a such
an incredible show with such an amazing cast, instead of
rambling on and on about his previous credits he would like to
share his most important roles: being husband to the most
incredible woman, ever, and, in June '98, becoming a dad,
"Thank You, my Heavenly Father, for providing for me in every
way. And, "Little One,'" I love you."
CHRISTINE BANDELOW
(Assistant Choreographer, Dance Captain, Swing)
Ms. Bandelow recently moved to Toronto from Calgary and is
ecstatic to be making her Toronto theatre debut with Rent.
Performances over the past year have taken Christine to places
as diverse as the North Pole, Goose Bay and Haiti as part of an
Armed Forces tour. Other recent credits include Jesus Christ
Superstar and Hair (ensemble/dance captain), Reunion,
Legends of Rock 'N' Roll (choreographer/back-up singer) and
Chicago (Got to Hell Kitty/Liz). Television credits include The
Newsroom.
DANNY BLANCO
(Collins)
Danny Blanco was born in Montral, Quebec. Coming from a
musical background (his parents were both musicians), he
began his singing career in 1988, when he joined a local funk
band that toured across Canada and the U.S. He later went on
to pursue a solo career in which he displayed an incredible
versatility in performing in radio, television and studio back-up
sessions with established artists. With his mother's
encouragement, he auditioned for Rent. Although he had no
formal theatre training, he usccessfully landed a lead role. This
experience has stretched his talents and has exposed him to a
new facet of show business. His Colombian and Haitian roots,
coupled with his mastery of multiple musical genres -- soul,
funk, rhythm & blues, Latino jazz, world beat, rock and gospel
-- and his newly found talent in theatre have made him a
well-rounded and much-sought-after performer.
LUTHER CREEK
(Roger)
Luther Creek is excited to come to Toronto directly from the
U.S. first national tour of Rent. His credits include the European
premiere of The Who's Tommy, the original New York
workshop of Randy Newman's Faust -- in which he created
the title role -- and the role of Claude in the 25th anniversary
tour of Hair. Luther is thrilled to be able to continue to share in
this experience and to help share Rent with even more
audiences. Thank you, Jonathan Larson. Love, everyone. Love.
MELANIE DURRANT
(Swing)
Melanie Durrnt was born and raised in Toronto. She attended
Earl Haig School of the Artys (Claude Watson Program). Her
training includes five years with the Royal Conservatory of
Music and study with Bill Vincent. She has performed in various
shows, invluding Legends, The exhale Show and Salome Bey's
Rainbow World. Melanie is no stranger with televesion , with
performances on MuchMusic's Electric CircusCanada AM
and CBC Newsworld. She has also done a number of radio
jingles for Footlocket. Malnaie has performed on the CD
Justuss with Warner recording artist and on the CD Fun Fun
Fun for platinum-selling, MTV-nominated Joey Boy, from
Thailand. Miss Durrant has successfully recorded her first
demo, which she co-produced, and has high hopes of becoming
as sold-out solo recording artist.
DIVINE EARTH ESSENCE
(Ensemble)
Like many great performers who came before, Divine Earth
Essence began singing professionally at an early age and also
performed in musical theatre throughout elementary school.
Once she found her own voice, she was able to develop such
other talents as playing piano, bass guitar and drums. She later
went on to collaborate on material with her first band,
Mystique. Now 23, she has numerous accomplishments to her
credit. She performed in the critically acclaimed musical Mama
I Want To Sing and was spotlighted by the legendary
performers The Temptations and George Benson. Most
recently, she participated in the 1997 Tel Aviv Jazz Festival, the
Juno Awards and this year's International Women's Festival in
Bremen, Germany. Drawing strength from a spirit of optimism,
Divine Earth Essence remains confident that hard work and
determination are the keys to realizing one's dreams. "Stop at
nothing to get what you want!" With determination like that and
her eye on the prize, she is a prize this cynical world will have to
keep an eye on.
SASKIA GAREL
(Mimi)
Saskia Garel makes her musical theatre debut in Rent and is
honoured to be a part of this fantastic production. She attained
a BFA degree at York University (jazz major) and received the
Oscar Peterson Award. She was part of the BMG Canada duo
Love & Sas, who toured Canada, the U.S. and the UL, had
two top-10 hits on Canadian charts and videos on MuchMusic
and received two Juno Awards for Best R&B Recording in
1992 for Call My Name and for Once In A Lifetime in 1993.
She is currently working on a solo album with BMG Canada.
She was on the Raptors' dance team in 1995 and recorded
their theme song, Higher, in 1996. She has appeared in
commercials, television shows (Street Legal and Newsroom)
and films (Mistrial, Teammates and Woo). "Thanks to my
family and friends for their love and support; my Rent family;
and God for all His blessings and for being so real in my life."
ROBERT GLEAN
(Swing)
From Scarborough, this Canadian proudly joins the company of
Rent, where he can pass on the enlightenment and joy with
Jonathan Larson's guide. Robert had the opportunity to perform
his first professional show on Broadway with the original cast
members of Rent and is very grateful to be working with this
unique Canadian cast. Robert's credits include Joseph And The
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, My Favorite Year; and
style and cultural dancing with the Filipino Performing Arts and
Culture. He sends his love and thanks to the Lord above, his
family, Rupert, Marcelle and Michelle and all those who guided
him to what he is today.
KAREN HOLNESS
(Swing)
Karen is very excited to be part of the very talented company
of Rent. She is also happy to be back at the Royal Alex, where
she played in the full run of Crazy For Yor. Prior to that, Karen
toured with Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat, as Mrs. Potiphar. Other theatre credits include
Sophisticated Ladies, Aladdin and The Underground
Railroad. In the past two years, Karen has had the pleasure of
working on-camera. One of the most exciting projects was
working on the star-studded cast of Blues Brothers 2000.
Other film credits include Let's Ruin Dad's Day, Sing and Car
54, Where Are You? Karen is also proud of her guest
appearance on the new Gene Roddenberry series Earth: The
Final Conflict. Many thanks to all those who believed in me
and to those who didn't. Love, light and happiness.
GAVIN HOPE
(Ensemble)
Born in Toronto and raised in Calgary, Gavin began his
extensive singing career at age 17, with several choirs, talent
awards and two years with the Calgary Opera Chorus. He also
sang with the acapella group The Earthtone, as well as back-up,
on tour, for Michael Bolton. In early 1994, Gavin joined the
Canadian pop act The Nylons, for three and a half years,
recording four CDs and touring the U.S., Canada, Holland,
China and Brazil. In one year (1996-97) as a solo artist, Gavin
has three top-20 singles on the radio, one of which earned a
1996 Juno nomination for best R&B recording. Gavin is
currently working on a solo debut album for a 1998 release.
Gavin is thrilled to be part of the Canadian premiere of Rent
and thanks Mom, family and friends for all their love and
support.
JEREMY KUSHNIER
(Ensemble)
Jeremy is very excited to be part of such a wonderful cast.
Most recently, Jeremy was in New York playing Ren in a
workshop production of Footloose. Before that, he rocked his
way across Canada with the cast of Tommy. Jeremy now lives
in Toronto, but is originally from Winnipeg. He would like to
send his love and thanks to his family and to C. This one's for
you, Baba.
KAREN LEBLANC
(Joanne)
A graduate of the Sheridan College Performing Arts Program,
Karen recently played a leading role in Open Door Productions'
feature film Short For Nothing. This was on the heels of her
world tour, performing with the Las Vegas-bases show
Legends in Concert, doing a live impersonation of Tina Turner.
She also fronted her own nine-piece R&B show band Midnite
Hour for four years, as well as being a series regular on CBC's
Material World. Other credits include principal roles in
Forever Knight, The Hardy Boys and Undue Influence, a
CBC mini-series. Karen was thrilled to sing the U.S. and
Canadian national anthems to a sold-out Blue Jays crowd at the
Toronto SkyDome. "I am very proud to be part of the
Canadian production of Rent and would like to send a huge
thank-you to my family and friends for their constant love and
support. I would also like to express my deepest respect for
Jonathan Larson and his family."
DAMIAN PERKINS
(Benny)
I would like to dedicate this performance to my mother, Trish
Perkins, and my family. Damian is honored to be part of Rent.
Thanks you Jonathan, for creating this masterpiece. Damian has
choreographed and starred in such local theatre productions as
West Side Story, Cat and A Chorus Line in his home town of
Los Angelas. He has been a choreographer for the USC
cheerleaders and a dance instructor for five years. Damian has
appeared in several feature films and guest-starred in such TV
shows as Family Matters and the upcoming pilot Grill Me. He
has also starred in more than 20 national commercials.
TAMARA PODEMSKI
(Ensemble)
Tamara Ceshia Podemski is living out her wildest dreams with
her musical theatre debut in Rent. From Ojibway/Israeli
parents, Tamara was born and raised in Toronto and graduated
from the Claude Watson School for the Arts, where she
majored in dance for 10 years. Her theatre credits include The
Baby Blues for Native Earth Performing Arts and Aboriginal
Dance Project for The Banff Centre; televison includes CBC's
The Rez, Global's Ready Or Not and the German series Blue
Hawk; film includes Bruce Macdonald's Dance Me Outside
and the Canadian Film Centre's Triggered. Tamara sends her
love and thanks to the greatest support team of family and
friends in the world. Thank you, Jonathan Larson.
CHAD RICHARDSON
(Mark)
Chad, a screech-slinging Newfoundlander, has been on the
Canadian music scene for the last five years. His latest release is
called The Legends of Brud (Aquarius/EMI). This is the first
time Chad has used his musical talents in this way and he is
thrilled to the gills to be a part of Rent. He would like to thank
and honor his terrible supportive family, friends and Sin. Chad
would also like to dedicate every performance to the Larsons,
Victoria and Jonathan. He's making sure every show rocks!
JAI RODRIGUEZ
(Angel)
Jai Rodriguez is excited to make his Canadian debut in Rent. A
native New Yorker, Jai grew up singing in black gospel choirs.
He attended a performing arts high school where he trained in
musical theatre. Although he has done several theatrical and
dance productions, none have ever been on this scale. All
thanks to God for the gifts and talents, and to family and friends
for love and support. Jai dedicates his performance to the
memories of his aunt Joanna; his cousin Rico, who died of
AIDS last year; and Jonathan Larson, "for giving me a show
that has changed my life."
DAVID ST. LOUIS
(Ensemble)
A native of Washington, D.C., David St. Louis is making his
debut performance in canada after recieving his BFA from
Howard University's theatre arts department in the spring of
1997. He has received training in classical voice at the Duke
Ellington School of Performing Arts and the Oberlin
Conservatory of Music, and theatre training at Howard
University and the British Academy of Dramatic Arts in Oxford,
England. His television and film credits include roles on NBC's
Homicide: Life On The Streets and Fox's America's Most
Wanted, photo-doubling for Wesley Snipes in Murder at 1600
and various commercials and industrial films. As far as theatre
work goes, he has appeared as Sir Thomas Grey in the
Shakespeare Theatre's production of Henry V, in Arena
Stage's production of Candide and as Lover in Studio
Theater's production of Bessie's Blues -- for which he won a
Helen Hayes Award as outstanding supporting actor. David
would also like to send a special thank you to God, those who
encouraged his progress and those who told him success wasn't
possible. No day but today!
TRICIA YOUNG
Tricia Young is a recent graduate of the Randolph School for
the Performing Arts' three-year program in which she studied
acting, singing and dance. She is thrilled to be making her
professional debut at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in the
Canadian premiere of Jonathan Larson's Rent. She would like
to say special thank you's to Barbara Onrot and associates, of
Stage Kids Productions, for giving her her first job -- and,
ofcourse, to the most important person: Thanks, Dad.
