EDGE Interview: Anthony Rapp Looks Back in 'Without You'

Anthony Rapp in "Without You" Source: Russ Rowland

After originating the role of Mark in Jonathan Larson's epoch-defining musical "Rent" in its 1993 New York Theatre workshop (and its 1994 official off-Broadway run at that theater), as well as its 1996 Broadway production, Anthony Rapp went on to play the character in the 1998 London production of "Rent" and the 2005 Chris Columbus film adaptation.

Rapp went on to recount his personal experiences with "Rent" in a 2006 memoir title "Without You" – a reference that "Rent"-heads will instantly recognize as the title of one of the show's songs. The memoir twines the joy of Rapp's career-transforming run as Mark, the tragedy of Jonathan Larson's sudden death the night before the show's official off-Broadway opening, and the loss of Rapp's mother to breast cancer.

Things came full circle last year with the off-Broadway premiere of Rapp's solo show "Without You," based on the memoir and opening – as The New York Times noted at the time – "exactly 27 years after both ["Rent"'s] first public performance at New York Theater Workshop, and the death of its creator, Jonathan Larson." A powerful distillation of the memoir, the show features songs from "Rent" as well as original songs by Rapp.

The actor/author/playwright/songwriter is also famed for having broken ground in the final frontier of "Star Trek." When the franchise returned in 2017 with "Star Trek: Discovery" under the guidance of openly queer co-creator Bryan Fuller, the beloved sci-fi phenom finally went where no "Trek" project had gone before and included an openly gay character, Paul Stamets, which Rapp was cast to play. Even better, Stamets was partnered – with none other than fellow "Rent" veteran and out actor Wilson Cruz, who plays Dr. Hugh Culber on the show.

"Discovery" commenced its fifth and final season on April 4, but you can catch Rapp's show in Boston, where it opened April 2 for a two-week engagement at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts following its tour in Japan.

EDGE caught up with Anthony Rapp via a Skype call as Rapp navigated the streets of Bangkok by foot and chatted cheerfully about his fearlessly open career, adapting his memoir in to a solo show, and his far-out adventures with "Discovery" co-star Wilson Cruz.

Watch Anthony Rapp in a scene from "Without You"

EDGE: Tell me about writing the solo show version of "Without You."

Anthony Rapp: Because the show is based on my book, I had a very strong sense of which pieces of the story were important for understanding all of the story. Some of it is condensed in the show. In a book you can really open up other little nooks and crannies of the story [and] go on tangents here and there. In a theater piece, you have to stay more streamlined. And then there was a matter of using music to tell the story.

EDGE: You use music from "Rent," but also your own original songs. People might not realize you're also a songwriter.

Anthony Rapp: Yeah, I mean, I'm not a super-prolific songwriter. I have written a number of songs over the years, mostly co-written songs with various different writers. I really do enjoy collaborating with different folks, because I think that two songwriters, when they come together, their sensibilities can coalesce in really interesting ways.

EDGE: "Rent" made a huge impact on a whole generation, and it continues to have a huge impact now. What is it that people are responding to?

Anthony Rapp: When it debuted, there wasn't any musical theater of its time that was talking about the present human experience in the honest and authentic way that "Rent" was, and it struck that kind of chord very powerfully with people. It's based on and inspired by "La Bohéme," which is a timeless story of lost youth and what it takes to survive crises, to come together as a community in the face of that. I think those are timeless themes that resonated for people, especially in the '90s, when the face of AIDS and HIV was transforming because of the advent of protease inhibitors. But it was a time when people, I think, were mindful of people dying much too young. How do you live the best life you can in the face of that circumstance? I think Jonathan was able to find ways to ask those questions that were very resonant. It also has characters people identify with, and a spirit of hard-earned hope and coming together to make yourself and the world a better place. I think these are things that people can connect with. When it's set to music that's incredibly catchy and iconic, I think that helps.

EDGE: There's a moment in the show when you talk about having something to say to Jonathan Larson, and you think you'll have a chance to catch up with him later, but he dies that night. Was the memoir, and this show, a way of having some resolution around that?

Anthony Rapp: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I had wanted to take him aside and say, "Jonathan, thank you for this opportunity you've given me." I mean, I wanted to have it be this meaningful moment between us, right? And I didn't get to do that.

I think he knew how I felt about him, and I think he knew how happy and excited and grateful I was, but I hadn't articulated it in the way that I would have wanted. Now, in many ways, I have given myself the opportunity to articulate it, and to have it be said and received is a meaningful thing I've gotten to do.

EDGE: Have you found that being out has affected your career for better or for worse?

Anthony Rapp: I really don't know if it's affected it in any kind of negative way. There may be roles that I didn't get because I was out. I may never know. But if it has, so be it. I wouldn't have it any other way.

One of the best things that ever happened to me was being cast as Paul Stamets on "Star Trek: Discovery." And one of the reasons that I was on the shortlist for being cast as Paul Stamets is that I have been out for all these years, and they wanted to cast the first openly gay character [on "Star Trek"] with someone who was openly gay themselves. Beyond that, I can't imagine living life any other way. It's been entirely a positive thing in my life.

EDGE: How do you feel about being the first openly gay character in a franchise that has spanned more than half a century? Not only that, but being presented as partnered?

Anthony Rapp: I'm very, very proud of that. Now that I'm a part of the "Star Trek" legacy, I've gotten to meet so many of the others who have come before me, and some of them have shared with me that in their iteration [of the franchise] there were efforts made to try to bring to bring the forefront queer stories or characters, and there was always some reason why it didn't happen. It was too long in coming in many ways, and at the same time, I couldn't be prouder to be the one who was given the chance to carry the mantle alongside Wilson Cruz, who is somebody who I really admire and who I've known for a long time as a friend and a colleague. We did "Rent" together; he was the first replacement of the original Angel on Broadway. So, to get to walk that journey with him has been an amazing honor, and it's brought us even closer as friends.

Watch Anthony Rapp in a scene from "Without You"