Casts of Rent and The Lion King to Perform on Tony Telecast

Cast members from the Tony Award-winning productions of Rent and The Lion King will make rare encore performances on the 2008 Tony Awards telecast. Original principal cast members of Rent are scheduled to appear alongside the current Broadway cast to celebrate the show's run, which comes to an end on September 7. The current cast of The Lion King will be perform to commemorate the show's 10-year anniversary on Broadway.

A news release issued on May 29 did not specify which original cast members of Rent will appear. Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp returned to the Broadway company last summer as Roger and Mark and have signed on to headline an upcoming national tour.

The Tony Awards will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on June 15 with Whoopi Goldberg as host. The Tonys are presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.