A preview of FIU Theatre’s ‘Rent,’ Part I

The show’s musical director Emmanuel Schvartzman ’09 gives us a preview of the upcoming staging of the Pulitzer- and Tony-winning rock opera at MMC. The show will run for three weeks beginning Nov. 4 in the Main Stage of the Wertheim Performing Arts Center.

Regular news.FIU.edu readers may have noticed in the 100 exciting days leading to FIU football’s season opener that we cannot resist a countdown, so for the next month, we will take a behind-the-scenes look at an FIU Theatre production of the show Rent, beginning with an introduction to its musical director.

Emmanuel “Manny” Schvartzman ’09 has a bachelor’s in piano performance from the School of Music. The 25-year-old is currently pursuing a master’s in the same discipline. As musical director, he says he is “the guy that you see waving his hands trying to keep everything together.”

He is working on the award-winning show with guest director and FIU alumnus Andy Señor Jr. ’97, who is guest-directing Rent for three weeks beginning Homecoming week on Nov. 4. Schvartzman is thrilled to have him on board.

“Andy brings more than a lot to the table,” he says. “He really knows the show and I think we make a good team. Working with him has been very inspiring and very cool.”

In a series of posts leading up to next month’s opening night, we will share exclusive behind-the-scenes looks at what it takes to stage a production like Rent at FIU. We’ll introduce you to the folks who make the magic happen on stage, from the lighting tech to the costume designer to the cast, all of whom are students or alumni of FIU.

Schvartzman is no stranger to FIU Theatre productions. In 2004, he was assistant musical director on Cabaret and the next year, on Hair. He currently works in the department as vocal coach, pianist and musical director and says the community is in for a treat with this upcoming production.

“We know what we have, what our limitations are…the space we have, the lighting we have,” he says, “so based on experience I can say that Rent is going to be like no other production that we’ve done here.”

His confidence is backed by his having seen the show “countless times. I know all the music. I’ve had many friends perform in it.”

Rent, he says, is a show that always has been around in his life.

“I’m really excited about it.”