The Benny Cast
jasmine baird
(swing/understudy) jasmine comes from
mississauga, canada. she is a graduate of
cawthra park performing arts school,
studied opera, university of eastern
ontario. she was "ella" in larry hart's
sisterella (european tour) and released a
single on bmg's "beat club" cd. lead vocals
- rupert gayle's "the time is right".
background vocals michelle gayle. canadian
honour arts awards scholarship to berkley
college of music.
pierre bayuga
(ensemble - replaced andy) pierre comes
directly from the german production of miss
saigon and was also an original member of
miss saigon in toronto and throughout
canada. He feels blessed to be performing
and is honored to join the RENT family.
kevyn "kye" brackett
(christmas caroler, others) kye is a 1994
naacp image award winner for his role in
"five guys named moe" (l.a. company).
national companies: "the tap dance kid,"
"dreamgirls," "sophisticated ladies," "my
one and only." guest starred on television's
'full house' and sang back up for barry
manilow and marilyn mccoo.
hallie bulleit
(ensemble) hallie is thrilled to be making
her professional debut in RENT. She
studied theatre at kenyon college and the
british american drama academy. prior to
RENT she appeared in various bars, clubs
and restaurants in Lower Manhattan in the
roles of bartender and waitress. hallie
sends special thanks to heidi marshall,
bernie telsey, her friends, her brother and
her mom.
chipper cooke
(swing/understudy) chipper is a native of
richmond, va. credits: national tour of
"dreamgirls" (c.c. white); chicago credits:
"kiss of the spider woman" (apple tree
theatre), "bingo long... all-stars" (world
premiere, dreamstreet theatre), "treasure
island" (drury lane theatre, evergreen
park); ray kenedy productions (cruise ship
singer/dancer to alaska and the
caribbean). "thank you Jesus for dreams...
they really do come true!"
update: chipper has replaced paul stovall in
the benny tour.
monique daniels
(joanne) monique was raised and educated
in the los angeles area. she has appeared in
tv shows and numerous commercials. her
singing experience includes solo work and
she is presently a member of a performing
band. she has done photographic and
runway modeling including work in europe.
monique replaced kenna on 2/24/98.
d'monroe
(benny) this hampton university graduate
was recently nominated for a helen hayes
award in washington, d.c. for best lead
actor in a resident musical. he was a
member of the first national company of
RENT, also the voice for several shows for
the discovery and learning channels. though
he has performed for film, television, and
stage, his music remains his first love. "keep
your knees bent, head to the sky and always
be true to yourself."
speak: "(i) really want to feel like that
when i leave this world - that... i have
touched the lives around me in a positive
way, that it may be just a little better
place. the struggle,the love, it's timeless..."
leigh hetherington
(maureen) a native of edmond, ok, leigh
spent three years at the university of
southern california before joining the
sensational cast of RENT. some of her
professional credits include "bye bye
birdie," "a chorus line," "the sound of
music" and the title roles of "annie" and
"oliver." leigh would like to thank her loving
parents steve and nancy, richard darby,
christy carson, rich krevolin, warren skeels,
lora zane and is also thankful for the life
and talent of jonathan larson.
update: leigh returned from medical leave
january 7, 1998.
sala iwamatsu
(ensemble) broadway: original cast miss
saigon. other credit: second national tour
miss saigon, randy newman's faust
(goodman theatre) ballad of yachiyo
(berkeley rep., south coast rep., sayonara
(tuts, alex theatre). sala sends her love and
appreciation to her family (mako, shizako,
hoshi and mimosa) and her husband craig.
scott hunt
(ensemble) scott has performed on
broadway in RENT, and in the 10th
anniversary company of "les miserables",
where he performed the roles of joly and
marius. off broadway: "violet" (what *is*
it with this show?) (workshop -
playwrights's horizons). education:
university at cincinatti's college
conservatory of music. scott would like to
thank God, family and friends for their love
and support.
scott replaced curt skinner on 2/3/98.
mark jackson
(collins) mark makes his theatrical debut in
RENT, appearing in the broadway 1st
national tour and west coast productions.
Prior to RENT, mark worked as a studio
singer in new york city. he would like to
thank his family and friends for all their
love and support and dedicates this
performance to his mentor duane davis.
also many thanks to bernie, michael, allan,
kevin and jeffery. i'm proud to be a part of
this wonderful experience.
speak: "i would die if i couldn't make art".
owen johnston
(swing/understudy) owen is proud to be a
part of this very special show. broadway:
"shogun the musical". national tours: "the
king and i", "miss saigon", "42nd street".
owen would like to thank his family and
friends for their love and support, and his
wife bridget who is truly a gift from God.
anika larsen
(swing/understudy) anika has played
off-off broadway characters ranging from
a singing homecoming queen thrown down a
well to hortense in a gender-reversed
"taming of the shrew". she majored in
theatre at yale, where she sang in an r & b
acapella group. anika would like to
dedicate this performance to her amazing
mom and pops.
kirk mcdonald
(mark) kirk is thrilled to join RENT, having
just completed the workshop of the new hal
prince/livent musical parade. other credits:
off broadway - the award winning violet:
footloose - (workshop - director walter
bobbie), west side story, the secret garden,
oliver, peter pan. kirk, from orlando, is a
1995 graduate of nyu's tisch school of the
arts."
small world: kirk also worked with michael
mcelroy (ny collins) in "violet"
adrian morgan
(roger) trained: welsh college of music &
drama.
theatre: judas (understudied & performed)
and annas in jesus christ superstar (lyceum
theatre); silvius in as you like it (BAC);
tobias ragg in sweeney todd (royal national
theatre - award winning production);
schwarz in reunion (derby playhouse).
other: Sweeney todd, BBC radio two; jesus
christ superstar - original cast album.
update: adrian has temporarily replaced
cary shields in the benny tour.
wichasta reese
("seasons of love" soloist, bag lady, others)
wichasta is a recent graduate of CSUF,
having fulfilled her degree in theatre arts
with an emphasis in musical theatre and
acting. past credits include connie in "sea
of white hopes", lottie in "heuotrope
boquet", eunice in "a street car named
desire", hortense in "the boyfriend" and
ciera in "hair".
julia santana
(mimi) julia's career as an actress/singer
began with the musical theatre company
first act. she appeared as "the girl with the
incredible feeling" by elizabeth swados,
continuing her career with off center
theatre as a street performer. she signed
with atlantic records headlining such major
clubs as the palladium and roseland. she's
working on new music with her band, the
cribb. she's grateful to her manager susan
rybin, and her family and friends.
speak: "...it's about living, it's about love,
it's about no day but today".
andy senor
(angel) a native of miami, andy is thrilled to
be making his professional debut in RENT.
he recently completed his undergraduate
training in theatre at florida international
university. he would like to thank God, his
family, friends (moo), and mentors for their
continued love and support.
update: as of november 18, 1997, andy has
taken over the role of angel in the benny
tour, replacing wilson cruz.
brent vance
(paul and others) motorcity kid happy to be
"renting" california style. national tours:
"smokey joe's cafe," "grand hotel." shows:
"dreamgirls," "a chorus line," "jubilee" and
others. soloist for '88 papal visit. for desi,
chuck, marc, brian, the haywoods, susan,
lex, noney. love to mom, dad, and God.
smooches!
ron patric
(swing/understudy) l.a. audiences have
seen him in "fiddler on the roof," "pirates
of penzance" and recently in a new musical
bound for broadway, john stothers'
"pilgrim" in the lead role, tinker. ron
dedicates his performance to his two
biggest fans, momma and poppa.
update: ron is currently out on medical
leave.
christian mena
(roger) christian is thrilled to make his
musical theatre debut in RENT. born in
chile and raised in canada, christian
currently fronts latin pop band maracujah.
He is well known nationally for his soulful
vocals and dynamic range, while singing
fluently in english, spanish and portuguese.
christian is also the principal songwriter of
his band's current critically acclaimed cd,
maracujah. he recently played the lead role
in the sub-culture short film "aftershock".
update: chris is currently out on medical
leave. (swing/understudy) broadway - paul simon's
"the capeman", RENT, original company
dance-captain. european premiere of "the
who's tommy". off-broadway- "bring in the
morning" and "blocks" by jonathan larson.
numerous industrials. "God is good."
update: yassmin has temporarily replaced
laura dias in the benny tour.
update: yassmin left the tour may 25th, 1998.
adam wolfsdorf
(swing/understudy) adam feels blessed and
proud to be making his professional debut in
RENT. a graduate of harvard, adam would
like to thank those who have helped to make
this aspiration a reality - david miller and
rachelle, jean, bryan, jasse, davis, gamma,
kitty, cropdustah, blaney, ronkalah, davus, and
especially, gaily and joe.
update: adam left the tour may 1998.
cary shields
(roger) cary is a 24 year-old toronto native
who was last seen in a turkish pantene shampoo
commercial. a singer and songwriter, cary
fronts the rock band 'theives crossing', and
makes his theatrical debut in RENT. many
thanks to his family and friends for continued
love and support.
update: cary's last day with the benny tour
was may 18th. he has (we hope temporarily)
moved to the toronto cast.
paul stovall
(christmas caroler and others) credits: "blade
to the heat" (apple tree), "journey to the west"
(goodman, huntington, berkeley rep), "black
star line" (goodman), "a perfect ganesh"
(northlight), "notebooks of leonardo da vinci"
(goodman, lincoln center), "good person of
setzuan" (goodman). paul recently completed
his debut album with grammy winning producer
steve rodby. for roger gobble.
update: 5/10/98 paul's last day in the benny
tour. moving on to new opportunities :-)
laura dias
(ensemble) laura is a singer/songwriter
overjoyed about being part of the RENT
family. theatre credits: "jesus christ
superstar" (simon zeolots), "west side story"
(anita), "grease" (rizzo), "a chorus line" (diana
morales), "the legend" (sara). laura thanks
God, her family, t, f, michael, tim, bernie
jeffrey, kevin and allan for the opportunity
and jimmy tavares for just knowing.
update: 5/1/98 - laura has taken the role of
mimi in the angel tour production. we'll miss
you laura, but congratulations!
kenna ramsey
(joanne) kenna is thrilled to be part of the
benny company of RENT. her credits include
the roles of the acid queen in the first national
tour of "the who's tommy," directed by des
mcanuff, and of leila in the world premiere of
"i was Looking at the ceiling and saw the sky,"
directed by peter sellers. kenna gives special
thanks to her parents charles and joyce
ramsey, marcia kelly, david giella and all at gml
agency for their tremendous help and support.
speak: "i love artistic personalities. i love
creative people and just being around that
energy is what keeps me going everyday."
update: 2/23/98 kenna has left the house. this
girl will *always* be my joanne. perfection.
sharon brown
("seasons of love" soloist, bag lady, others)
the native new york rocker was hand-picked by
michael bennet to play effie while in his last
full production of "dreamgirls" on broadway
and on tour. film: "sister act II", "i'll do
anything", "for keeps", "missing pieces", "a
chorus line". tv: "fresh prince", "a different
world", "the crew", "cop rock". broadway:
"dreamgirls", "joseph ...dreamcoat". tours: the
music of andrew lloyd webber, one city, the
wiz. she is currently producing her self-titled
rock cd.
update: 2/18/98 was sharon's last nite in the
benny tour. we'll miss you sharon, good luck!
wichasta replaces sharon.
curt skinner
(gordon and others) traveled the world
performing his own act on cruise ships.
credits: television, regional theatre,
voiceovers, children's cd's (bright ideas
label), national anthem soloist. In l.a., phantom
in barbara epstein's "beetlejuice's graveyard
revue." training: cincinnati conservatory of
music. curt has a really nice mom and dad in
south carolina.
update: curt left the show on 2/1/98, in
tempe. he'll be missed, he was a wonderful
asset to the show. he's headed back to l.a. -
watch for him on tv!
neil patrick harris
(mark) neil is grateful and thrilled to (have
been) involved in RENT. he earned a golden
globe nomination at age 14 for his first film,
'clara's heart,' and a second nomination and
people's choice award for his starring role in
"doogie howser, md." theatre credits include:
"the end of the day" (coast playhouse), "a fair
country" (seattle rep.), "luck, pluck & virtue"
(la jolla playhouse, atlantic theatre). films:
"starship troopers" (nov. '97) and "tempting
fate" (feb. '98).
speak: "it's nice to be able to see all these
issues and deal with them in a very matter of
fact way".
update: january 18, 1998 was neil's last
performance in RENT. kirk mcdonald replaces
him as mark for the remainder of the tour.
carla bianco
(maureen, mrs. cohen, others) carla is an ascap
award-winning artist who wrote the #1
billboard song, "the lover that you are." she
recently moved from new york where she
attended nyu while writing for jellybean
benitez. carla just completed a self-produced
demo which she performed, wrote and
arranged. she sends love and thanks to her
family and friends.
update: since october '97 (or so - can't
remember the date) carla has assumed the role
of maureen, replacing leigh hetherington. You
both rock!
update: january 4, 1998. carla has left the
show. leigh hetherington returned as maureen
january 7th.
wilson cruz
(previously l.a. angel) wilson is best known for
his portrayal of the troubled, introspective,
teenager ricky in the critically acclaimed abc
series 'my so called life.' wilson starred
alongside david arquette and lukas haas in
first look's "johns" which was screened at the
1996 sundance film festival. wilson's latest
film 'all over me' made its debut at this year's
sundance festival. It was released
domestically by fine line features in april. he
dedicates this performance to sheila
robinson-his own special angel.
speak: "i think angel embodies the theme of
the show - that you take what you have, right
now, in this day, and you enjoy that and you
don't think about what might happen tomorrow
or what has happened in the past. angel has
taught me more than any character has ever
taught me. i've played characters that i felt i
could breathe life into, and in this case life
has been breathed into me."
update: november 16, 1997 was wilson's last
performance as angel in the benny tour. he
assumed the role of angel on broadway on
december 2nd. we wish him all the luck and
love in the world! andy senor has assumed the
role of angel in the benny tour.