Rent Film Star Tracie Thoms to Join Broadway Cast as Joanne

Tracie Thoms, who stars in the CBS-TV series Cold Case and played Joanne Jefferson in the 2005 feature film version of Rent, will join the Broadway cast of the long-running musical in the same role on July 26, replacing Merle Dandridge. Thoms will remain with Rent until the production closes on September 7 at the Nederlander Theatre.

Thoms made her Broadway debut in Drowning Crow and appeared off-Broadway in The Exonerated and Up Against the Wind; she was featured for three seasons in The 24-Hour Plays. On television, she plays Kat Miller on the hit CBS series Cold Case. Other television credits include Wonderfalls, As If, Law & Order and The Shield. Her film credits include the screen adaptation of Rent opposite original star Idina Menzel as Maureen, Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse, The Devil Wears Prada, Descent and the upcoming Peter and Vandy.

The cast of Rent currently includes, Will Chase as Roger, Adam Kantor as mark, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Mimi, Eden Espinosa as Maureen, Justin Johnston as Angel, Rodney Hicks as Benny and Michael McElroy as Collins.

Rent, written by Jonathan Larson and directed by Michael Greif, opened at the Nederlander Theatre, on April 29, 1996, after a landmark off-Broadway run. It now ranks as the seventh longest running show in Broadway history.