New York, April 24, 2006 – Unlike their starving artist characters in Rent, the original cast members of the Broadway musical seem to be thriving, and they all got together on Monday for a benefit concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of the hit that launched their careers. Mayor Bloomberg, Jon Bon Jovi, director Mike Nichols and Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick were among the high profile guests at the Nederlander Theatre, where Rent opened on April 29, 1996, and promptly won a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award.

The original cast included Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, who all reprised their performances in the recent, less successful film version.