The Writers' Block
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KQED's weekly reading series featuring writers and performers of all stripes reading the latest short fiction, non-fiction, theater and poetry.
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Anthony Rapp reads an excerpt from "Saviors and Angels," a chapter of his memoir Without You.
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About Without You
Anthony had a special feeling about Jonathan Larson's rock musical, Rent, from his first audition, so he was thrilled when he landed a starring role as the filmmaker Mark Cohen. With his mom's cancer in remission and a reason to quit his newly acquired job at Starbucks, his life was looking up.
When Rent opened to thunderous acclaim off Broadway, Rapp and his fellow cast members knew that something truly extraordinary had taken shape. But even as friends and family were celebrating the show's success, they were also mourning Jonathan Larson's sudden death from an aortic aneurysm. By the time Rent made its triumphant jump to Broadway, Larson had posthumously won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize. When Anthony's mom began to lose her battle with cancer, he struggled to balance the demands of life in the theater with his responsibility to his family. Here, Anthony recounts the show's magnificent success and his overwhelming loss. He also shares his first experiences discovering his sexuality, the tension it created with his mother, and his struggle into adulthood to gain her acceptance.
Variously marked by fledgling love and devastating loss, piercing frustration and powerful enlightenment, Without You charts the course of Rapp's exhilarating journey with the cast and crew of Rent as well as the intimacies of his personal life behind the curtain.
Purchase Without You online (at amazon.com).
About the Author
Anthony Rapp has been acting and singing professionally since he was nine years old. He's best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer prize-winning landmark rock opera, Rent. He shared an OBIE Award with the rest of the cast for his performance. Anthony received a 1998 Gay and Lesbian American Music Award (GLAMA) for his performance on the original Broadway cast recording. He has appeared in numerous films, including Adventures In Babysitting, Dazed and Confused, and A Beautiful Mind. In 2000, Anthony released his debut album, Look Around. Anthony studies and teaches in New York City with Sande Shurin.
Visit Anthony Rapp's web site (at anthonyrapp.com).
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