Aaron Alcaraz (Mark Cohen) and Austin Turner (Roger Davis) with the cast of “Rent.” Photos © Paul Lyden

Presented by North Shore Music Theatre
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson
Direction and Choreography by Marcos Santana
Music direction by Robert L Rucinski
Musical Arrangements by Steve Skinner
Original Concept/Additional Lyrics by Billy Aronson

September 16 – September 28, 2025
North Shore Music Theatre
54 Dunham Rd.
Beverly, MA 01915

Critique by Craig Idlebrook

BEVERLY, Mass. — When I first heard that North Shore Music Theatre was staging a production of Rent, I was a bit surprised. After all, the theatre is more well-known for crowd-pleasing musicals that will appeal to an older audience than for edgy, newer shows like those I first saw in college. Then it hit me. Rent has long ago passed the realm of edgy or new, and I had just gotten my AARP card in the mail.

Rent first burst onto Broadway in 1996 and stunned many theatergoers with its frank and humane depictions of the LGBTQ+ community, the AIDs epidemic, and those struggling with addiction. Set in a decaying New York City in 1989, the rock musical refused to allow its characters to be afterschool special-shallow, either as heroes or as cautionary tales. They were complicated, flawed, and lovely. The play’s beating heart was its depiction of the power of found family among non-conformists. Continue reading →