The show will premiere in a few weeks, and everything is slowly falling into place, says project initiator Wouter van der Horst, who’s also one of the leads. “Two weeks ago during a rehearsal weekend we did the entire musical from start to finish for the first time. That was great. Up until that point you mostly rehearse scenes, but finally rehearsing the whole thing on stage in costumes is very different. And there will always be things that could be better.”

According to TU/e alumnus Van der Horst, Rent is a challenging musical anyway. It’s not just the heavy theme (the musical tells the story of eight friends who try to survive in a bad New York neighborhood, struggling with relationships, loss, and aids), but it’s demanding musically, too. “There are quite a number of tough parts like songs with many tonal and rhythmic shifts, and lots of singers. It requires a great deal of musicality to find a balance in that.”

The location offers up some more challenges, as the musical will be performed in the 'Hogestromenhal' on campus. “We picked the area because of the atmosphere exclusively: it’s kind of ‘rusty’ and industrial, which fits the musical. But it’s a still an empty factory, so it’s not exactly suited for theater. The acoustics and sightlines aren’t perfect, so we have to be inventive.”

Rent is a collaboration between student theater association Doppio, Het Nieuwe Theater and Studium Generale. The cast is 21 strong, and a little more than half of the actors is a student at TU/e. The music will be performed by a six-man band brought together by keyboard player and students of Computer Science Jeroen Noten. A lot more TU/e people can be found behind the scenes, says Van der Horst.

The musical (in English) runs from November 27 through December 22. Twenty performances are planned. Some of the nights are booked for businesses. Tickets are €17.50 and can be ordered online.

In light of the musical, TINT will be organizing a Rent theme night on November 12. Part of the cast will perform songs from the musical, inviting listeners to think about the night’s central question: What do you do with your life? The night’s been dubbed OMG! (official language: English) and starts at 8PM at TINT at Kanaalstraat 6. To attend, send TINT an e-mail. Student and doctorals candidates pay three euros, others pay six.