Original Rent Stars Pascal, Rapp & Rubin-Vega to Judge Broadway.com Video Contest

Original Rent stars Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp and Daphne Rubin-Vega have signed on to judge the 10 finalists in the Broadway.com/JetBlue Ultimate Rent Fan contest. Their winning selection will be announced on Broadway.com on Monday, August 25 with a special video feature. The winner of the contest will win a trip to New York City for two to see the final performance of the landmark musical with airfare provided by JetBlue and accommodations by Hilton NY.

Pascal, who was nominated for a Tony Award for originating the role of HIV-positive rocker Roger in Rent on Broadway, also recreated the role in London’s West End and in the 2005 film version. He was also seen on Broadway in Aida and Cabaret and in acclaimed concert versions of Chess and Hair. He returned to the Broadway production of Rent in the summer of 2007 and is also set to hit the road in a national tour of the show starting in January 2009. Having previously released two solo CDs, Pascal is now part of the duo Me and Larry alongside songwriter Larry Edoff. Their debut recording, Blinding Light, is available now.

Rubin-Vega was also an original off-Broadway and Broadway cast member of Rent, having originated the part of the show’s heroine, Mimi. For her performance in the show, she was nominated for a 1996 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. She returned to the Tonys again in 2004 as a drama nominee for Nilo Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics. Her other Broadway credits include playing Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show and Fantine in the 2006 revival of Les Miserables. Acclaimed off-Broadway credits include Two Sisters and a Piano, Fucking A, Bernarda Alba, Everythings Turning Into Beautiful and Jack Goes Boating. Rubin-Vega has also appeared in many films including the summer blockbuster Sex and the City.

Joining Pascal on next year’s Rent tour is Anthony Rapp, who created the part of filmmaker Mark in the show. He has played the part at off-Broadway’s New York Theatre Workshop, on Broadway and on the big screen. In 2006, Rapp released the bestselling book Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Musical “Rent”, which documented his long history with the show. Rapp is currently in rehearsals for a stage adaptation of the memoir, also called Without You, which will run at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre from August 28 through September 21. Rapp’s other notable New York stage credits include Six Degrees of Separation, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Destiny of Me and the recent Some Americans Abroad.

Watch all ten finalists’ videos right here!