The cast of RENT, presented by Compass Rose Theater, includes back row, left to right: Christian Gonzalez and Cameren Evans; middle row: Willie Hadnot, Jr., Azaria Oglesby, Ryan Alexander and DeMario Adams-Holiday; front row: Tyler M. White, J.C. Bost, Olivia Cholewczyski, Sam Slottow and Alexandra Baca. (Not shown: Sydney Forrester Wilson and Otega Okurume.)
Compass Rose Theater brings RENT to Anne Arundel Community College
Compass Rose Theater, one of Annapolis’s leading performing groups, has a single guiding star: a commitment to taking acting seriously. “We’re a teaching theater,” explains Executive Director Barbara Webber. “We offer students an opportunity to work alongside professionals and learn the business.” That alchemy, she says, keeps the company thriving. “Our shows are selling out, so we must be doing something right!”
The theater offers aspiring actors of all ages, from five years to adult, the chance to dive into stagecraft. Students who enroll in classes, camps, or after-school programs develop not only their acting chops, but tech and production know-how. Often, they put these skills directly into use in the company’s range of productions.
This year, through a new on-campus collaboration with Anne Arundel Community College, Compass Rose instructors are introducing AACC students to the theatrical arts. The relationship has the added benefit of providing the company with performance space on the campus, says Webber. “Our producer, Madeleine Austin, teaches at the college, and Alicia Morse, the dean of the School of Liberal Arts, is excited about the partnership because students are getting training from the pros.”
This month, for its third show of the season, Compass Rose will present RENT, a Broadway tour de force that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1996. Set in New York City during the dark days of the AIDS epidemic, RENT became a cultural phenomenon, launching the career of star Idina Menzel. The exuberant story line celebrated life, love, joy, and loss in a community of struggling young artists.
In Compass Rose Director Stephen Emery’s production, one of the ongoing motifs of RENT is young people coming into adulthood in a troubled time—a theme that resonates with today’s audiences. The cast performs with a live band, which amps up the energy in the onstage action. “Paige Rammelkamp is our music director, Elda Trombley is our choreographer, and Sean Urbantke is our set designer. He brings in students and other volunteers who want to learn from him, while other apprentices help with costuming and behind-the-scenes needs,” Webber notes.
RENT is based on another masterwork, Puccini’s La Bohème, so it’s no surprise that the show requires exceptional singing talent. Fortunately, the Compass Rose cast is up to the challenge. One of the leading roles will be played by DeMario Adams-Holiday of Bowie, who has appeared on The Voice.
“For RENT, we auditioned more than 350 applicants for about 12 parts,” Webber says of the lengthy process that included a series of online tryouts, several rounds of cuts, and final callbacks before casting decisions were made. “That’s kind of remarkable for a theater our size, but because Compass Rose Theater has been recognized by the Helen Hayes Awards (the Washington-area equivalent of the Tonys), we do attract a lot of interest.”
In the fall of 2025, Compass Rose presented Annie and Pride and Prejudice. In April, it will stage a cabaret performance celebrating the company’s 15-year anniversary. “It’s a special kind of artistic science to put a season together, and this one will close with a tribute to our founder, Lucinda Merry-Browne, who began the company with the goal of mounting productions of the highest caliber,” Webber says.
“I always encourage people who are buying tickets to bring someone who’s never been to the theater before,” she continues. “That shared experience gives us a chance to be together in community.”
RENT will be performed at AACC’s Humanities Little Theatre from February 6 through March 8, with shows Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are available through the Compass Rose website, compassrosetheater.org.
