Starring Buffalo is set to produce Broadway’s RENT on May 9, 2026, at 2:00 PM. For the first time, the organization is performing at Shea’s Mainstage Theatre, with a cast that is sure to send hardcore fans and newcomers “over the moon!”
Starring Buffalo presents concert-style Broadway shows, inspired by NYC’s City Center Encores! Series. Artistic Director Drew Fornarola brings together busy Broadway professionals, local professional actors, community members, and students for an unforgettable celebration of musical theater.
Leading the cast are Drama Desk Award-nominee Kennedy Kanagawa (Into the Woods) as Mark, Broadway’s Ben Jackson Walker (who originated the role of Romeo in & Juliet) as Roger, and American Idol Top 9 finalist Alyssa Wray as Mimi. Joining them are Buffalo’s George L. Brown (Once On This Island National Tour), Kayla McSorley (NCL’sSix), Joe Russi, Jennifer Mysliwy, and many more, including the community chorus.
Starring Buffalo concerts always feature a chorus, either of featured high school choirs from the area or local singers who have a passion for performing. The community chorus (introduced in 2021) has become one of the organization’s most beloved elements. 130 Western New Yorkers (who auditioned from a pool of nearly 300) were selected to sing as the RENT Community Chorus… some of them doing so for the first time, some for the third consecutive season, and some alongside their own children!
Ali Searer, a West Seneca West alum, photographer, choral singer, and stage crew director at Lancaster Middle School, wasn’t looking for a reason to audition. She found one anyway.
“My husband and I were at the Shea’s 100th anniversary celebration this January,” she says, “and as we stood on the stage looking at our season-ticket seats, I said to him, ‘This is SUCH an incredible view. I wish I could perform on this stage and really get to feel what it’s like.’ He comically told me to start singing right then and there, which I declined. Very shortly after that moment, the audition call for the RENT community chorus popped up on my Instagram feed. I was thinking: are you KIDDING ME?! OBVIOUSLY I have to audition.”
For Searer, RENT isn’t simply a favorite show… it is interwoven with some of the most formative and most devastating chapters of her life, including the recent loss of her father. “I found that what steeled me for what was to come was what had always bonded my dad and I… musical theatre and all it has brought into my life. I had lyrics floating through my head constantly, mostly from RENT, guiding me through the gamut of emotions one inevitably feels when facing an immense impending loss.” She adds, “My eulogy for my dad included the theme that what I gleaned most from hearing from his friends was to always lead with love. ‘Measure your life in love’ has been a recurring theme and guidepost for me, knowing that if I keep that idea as my North Star, I will be satisfied with my life, however many minutes I should be lucky enough to be given.”
Jordan Ducato, currently in nursing school and working at Roswell Park, describes stepping back into rehearsal as a kind of homecoming. “I have not done much with music or performing since I have entered the adult world, and it excited me to have the opportunity to get in touch with myself again through performing. It truly felt like a piece of me was missing until I stepped foot back into a rehearsal.”
As a healthcare worker, Ducato connects to the show’s emotional core in a way that is immediate and real.
One of the most deeply moving moments of the show for me is the line, ‘To people living with, living with, living with – not dying from disease.’ These words beautifully embody the show’s themes of community, acceptance, and the courage to reclaim power in the face of adversity. They resonated with me on an especially personal level, as they reflect the strength and resilience I see every day in my patients at Roswell.”
Shelley Stoffel came to Starring Buffalo because her granddaughter Elise auditioned three years ago. This time, Shelley and her daughter Jennifer auditioned too. All three will take the stage together on May 9.
“I am grateful for this opportunity of a lifetime to sing with her and my granddaughter at Shea’s,” Stoffel says. “To think that Shea’s opened 100 years ago is so amazing to me! At that time, my great-grandparents were living and working in Buffalo, and my grandmother was 18. How thrilling to be a part of the continuing history of this magnificent theater!” For Stoffel, the show’s message lands with the clarity that comes with time:
As I grow older, I realize more and more that tomorrow is not guaranteed. ‘No day but today’ is the choice each of us has to make. Every morning we wake up is another chance to choose love, appreciate our loved ones, and do what we can to help others.”
Shannon Donovan, a nurse practitioner, has “No day but today” tattooed on her torso. It was her senior quote. She and her wife also got married at Shea’s in 2022. Performing there now, in the show that changed her life, is something she doesn’t take lightly.
“Rent was one of the first musicals I saw on Broadway as a young theatre lover,” she says. “The show empowered me to embrace my true self, a queer person who sees herself in these characters.” On the chorus itself, she’s equally moved: “Our community chorus is diverse in age, gender identities, and race. Hearing our voices come together to sing these iconic songs is something I cannot describe in words. I am so honored to be a part of this show.”
Donovan also speaks to the show’s urgency in this particular moment: “No Day but Today will always be my daily affirmation. As a healthcare professional having worked in the ICUs at a designated COVID-19 hospital, I witnessed the community come together during the height of the pandemic. RENT is about community, activism, and love. The City of Good Neighbors is the spitting image of these themes.”
For Shauna Zorich, a physician and public health professor at SUNY Buffalo, this is her third year with the Starring Buffalo Community Chorus… and she brought her daughter along for each one. This year will be her daughter’s last before heading off to college.
“To be on the main stage at Shea’s, singing music from my favorite musical with my daughter during her last year of high school, feels like a dream come true,” Zorich says.
She also reflects on why RENT hits differently right now:
Since it was written, we’ve seen important progress in gay rights and in the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS. But right now, things feel precarious. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are under assault, and with cuts to public health programs, I worry about how we will fare going forward, particularly for LGBTQ+ communities. The characters in RENT feel like reflections of the very people I am preparing my students to support.”
A story of community, acceptance, and resilience, RENT continues to affect and inspire audiences since its premiere over 30 years ago. Starring Buffalo’s RENT In Concert plays Saturday, May 9, 2026, at 2 p.m. at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre. Tickets are available here.
