The Broadway award-winning musical “Rent” began its three-week run Friday at the Theatre and Interpretation Center’s mainstage.

Pat Schlossberg felt watching the production was like being in the audience of a Broadway musical - except this time her daughter played the lead role of Mimi Marquez.

"The music is just so beautiful, and it's just so emotional,” she says. “The relationships between the characters feel so real, and they're all so talented. It's a fabulous show.”

To the cast, it is the sense of community that makes performing in "Rent" so special.

"It's wonderful actually. It's definitely the greatest sense of community that I’ve had at Northwestern,” says Michael Norman Henry who played Mr. Jefferson. “Everyone is really close, and we have that bond that everyone talks about all the time with theatre production.”

Matching the intense depth of the characters in the production has turned the performance into a learning experience for the actors. 

"This has been such an incredible experience for me not only because I felt that I had a chance to really grow as an actor, but also because of the group of people that we are working with,” says Britt Banaszynski who plays Angel Durmott Schunard. “The type of work that is being done in this theatre is like nothing I have ever done before.”

To make a difference in the lives of people actually living with HIV/AIDS, the cast of Rent has teamed up with the charity Seasons of Concerns. After just two performances, they have already raised 1200 dollars.

The production is 2.5 hours including an intermission. Tickets can be purchased at the Theatre and Interpretation Center box office. The final performance is Sunday, November 20th.