Anthony Rapp

Infobox actor
name = Anthony Rapp


imagesize = 150px
caption = At the 2006 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Annual Grand Auctionn and Flea Market
birthdate = birth date and age |1971|10|26
birthplace = Chicago, Illinois, US
deathdate =
birthname = Anthony Dean Rapp
website = http://anthonyrapp.com

Anthony Dean Rapp (born October 26 1971) is an American stage and film actor best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of "Rent" in 1996 and later for reprising the role in the film version. He also performed the role of Charlie Brown in the 1999 Broadway revival of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown".

Biography

Early life

He attended high school at Joliet West High School in Joliet and theatre camp at the prestigious Michigan Interlochen Arts Academy. Rapp's brother is playwright, novelist, and filmmaker Adam Rapp. Rapp also has a sister, Anne, as well as a "little sister," Rachel, although she is actually a cousin of his who was taken in by his mother.

Career

Rapp first performed on Broadway in 1981 in the flop"The Little Prince and the Aviator", a musical based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel "The Little Prince". The show closed during previews. He also appeared in the 1987 movie "Adventures in Babysitting", which was directed by Chris Columbus. Columbus would later direct Rapp in the film version of "Rent".

Rapp has gone on to appear in several movies and Broadway shows, most notably as intellectuals. His notable work includes films "Dazed and Confused", "A Beautiful Mind", "School Ties", "Road Trip", the stage and film versions of "Six Degrees of Separation", "An American Family", and "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown".

Rapp is probably best known for playing Mark Cohen in the off-Broadway and original Broadway casts of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent. He reprised that role in the film adaptation, which was released on November 23, 2005. Rapp has embraced his role as an unofficial spokesperson for the musical and has given numerous television and print interviews regarding the show and its development. Some of Rapp's photographs from rehearsals of "Rent" have been published.

In 2000, Rapp released a solo CD, entitled "Look Around". He is represented as a keynote speaker by Greater Talent Network speakers bureau. Rapp returned to "Rent" on July 30 2007, for a six week run, along with original cast member Adam Pascal. [cite news | author=Brian Scott Lipton | title=Pascal and Rapp Extend Rent Engagement Until October 7 | url=http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/10675 | work=TheaterMania | date=21 August 2007 | accessdate=2008-06-11] Rapp and Adam Pascal continued in their return to Broadway's Rent through Oct. 7 at the Nederlander Theatre. [cite news | author=Kenneth Jones; Robert Simonson | title=Pascal and Rapp, Bohemian Heroes for a New Generation of "Rent"-Heads, Extend to Oct. 7| url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/110462.html | work=Playbill | date=21 August 2007 | accessdate=2008-06-11]

Rapp and Pascal will reprise their roles of Mark and Roger in a national tour of "RENT" commencing on January 6, 2009. [cite news | author=Kenneth Jones | title=Playbill News: Pascal and Rapp Will Tour in Rent in 2009 | url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/115471.html | work=Playbill | date=28 Feb 2008 | accessdate=2008-06-11] [ [http://www.siteforrent.com/tourschedule Rent tour schedule] ]

Rapp is recently worked on a production of Without You, a one man show based on his memoirs concerning RENT, the death of Jonathan Larson and the death of his mother. It premiered at City Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA.

Personal life

Rapp, a self-identified "queer," is an advocate in show business for LGBT rights, having first come out as bisexual at the age of 18 to his mother over the phone.citation |title=Life in the Rapp family - 'Rent' star Anthony Rapp interviews his dad |periodical=The Advocate |date=October 28, 1997 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_n745/ai_20789565?tag=content;col1 |first=Anthony |last=Rapp |accessdate=2008-09-18 ] He has three cats named Emma, Sebastian, and Spike.cite book|last=Rapp|first=Anthony|title=Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent|location=New York|publisher=Simon & Schuster|page=309|year=2006|isbn=0743269764]

In 2006, Rapp released a memoir about his days in "RENT", as well as his mother's struggle with cancer and his experiences growing up, entitled "Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent", and re-released in paperback on October 31, 2006.

He still remains close friends with many of his "RENT" castmates, such as Daphne Rubin-Vega, Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Taye Diggs, and Jesse L. Martin.

Work

Theater

* "The Little Prince and the Aviator" (1981)
* "Precious Sons"
* "Six Degrees of Separation" (1990)
* "Sophistry (play)" (1993)
* "RENT New York Theater Workshop" (1994)
* "RENT" (1996, 2007,2009)
* "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" (1999)
* "Henry V" (2002)
* "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (2003)
* "Little Shop of Horrors" (2004)
* "Feeling Electric" (2005)
* "Anthony Rapp's 'Without You'" (2008) Pittsburgh City Theatre

Television

* "Sky High" (1990)
* "" (1994)
* "The Lazarus Man" (1996)
* "The X-Files" (1997)
* "The Beach Boys - An American Family" (2000)
* "" (2004)
* "Kidnapped" (2006)

Filmography

* "Adventures in Babysitting" (1987)
* "Grave Secrets" (1989)
* "Far From Home" (1989)
* "School Ties" (1992)
* "Dazed and Confused" (1993)
* "Six Degrees of Separation" (1993)
* "The Mantis Murder" (1996)
* "Twister" (1996)
* "David Searching" (1997)
* "Man of the Century" (1999)
* "Road Trip" (2000)
* "Cruise Control" (2001)
* "A Beautiful Mind" (2001)
* "Paradisco" (2002)
* "Open House" (2004)
* "Rent" (2005)
* "Winter Passing" (2005)
* "" (2006)
* "Scaring the Fish" (2006)
* "Let Them Chirp Awhile" (2007)
* (2008)

Discography

* "Look Around" (2000)

Bibliography

*

References

External links

* [http://www.anthonyrapp.com Anthony Rapp official website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/anthonyrapp Anthony Rapp MySpace page]
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* [http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001571806 Review of "Without You"] from * [http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/index.jsp Kirkus Reviews]
* [http://www.freewebs.com/arappaddicted Anthony Fansite]
* [http://www.hope-unknown.net/damnspot Out Out Damn Spot Fanlisting]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEg_h9D7yFc| Anthony Rapp sings at The Booksmith in San Francisco ]