Broadway musical 'Rent' coming to Cuba

A Spanish version of the hit musical "Rent" will open in Havana on December 24, marking the first time a Broadway show has come to Cuba in a half century.
The show, which debuted in the United States in 1996, tells the story of a group of struggling artists living through New York's AIDS epidemic and is based on the classic Puccini opera "La Boheme."
According to Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment, one of the biggest theater and musical producers in the United States, it's the first full Broadway production to come to the communist nation in more than five decades.
The company said the piece will feature 15 Cuban actors and will be directed by Andy Senor for a three-month run in Havana's Bertold Brecht theater.
It took several years for Nederlander to win approvals to stage the musical, the Cubasi news site reported.
Nederlander is producing the show in partnership with Cuba's National Council of Performing Arts.
In a statement, Nederlander said the Cuban Ministry of Culture invited it to Havana after it produced a concert in Havana called "Broadway Ambassadors" in 2011.
"This production will be a paramount step for musical theater in Cuba," said Gisela Gonzalez, president of the Cuban National Council of Performing Arts.
"We will have the possibility of combining Cuban talent with the long-time history of Broadway as a form of art."
The Cuba production of "Rent" will feature choreography by Marcus Paul James, musical direction by Emmanuel Schvartzman, sound design by Michael Catalan, and costume design by Angela Wendt.