Recent Behrend graduate--and self-declared “adrenaline junkie” and “hopeless romantic”--Erie native Josh Lapping is making his return to the Studio Theatre to lead the cast of Rent come Thursday.  

Lapping graduated Behrend in 2015 with a degree in communication.  However, this spring, he is returning to his old stomping grounds to star in Jonathan Larson’s iconic rock opera, “Rent.”

 

“Rent,” having first opened in 1996, is an operatic production that follows the lives of eight New Yorkers as they live day-by-day struggling with poverty, trials of the heart, existentialism and the heavy presence of HIV.  Lapping will be playing the role of Mark Cohen, a scrappy yet quirky filmmaker whose role in the group is defined by his loneliness and the bittersweet reality that, though he does not have the fatal virus, those that he loves are terminally ill.

 

Lapping’s love affair with the stage began long before he was cast as Mark, however. Having first become interested in performing in fifth grade, he began pursuing this passion by first joining stage crew, due to stage fright.  It wasn’t until eighth grade when Lapping was forced by a friend to actually audition, that he made his stage debut.

 

“All year, I was like ‘I’m not going to be able to do this! I’m going to throw up everywhere!’” Lapping reminisced. “Then, I remember being onstage before the curtain opened and being like, ‘you know what? This is okay.’ and I’ve done a whole lot of theatre since then.”

 

Since then, theatre has acted as both a hobby and an escape for Lapping. Throughout his lengthy theatre career, Lapping has been fortunate enough to play some of his favorite roles, including Burt in “Mary Poppins,” Gabe in “Next to Normal” and--his favorite role at Behrend--Chicklet from the lesser-known show “Psycho Beach Party.”

 

However, that’s not to say that the man stopped dreaming. Lapping still has his sights set on a number of “dream roles” that he’s eager to take on in the future, including (but, of course, not limited to) Jamie in “The Last Five Years” and Tateh in the classic musical “Ragtime.”

 

Though he’s no stranger to the Studio Theatre, Lapping’s journey back to the Behrend stage is nonetheless woven with dramatics and serendipity:  in other words, his decision to return contains just the right amount of seemingly magic elements one would expect in the life of a man as theatrical as Lapping.

 

Lapping was first approached early on in the year by director Emily Cassano to audition for the role of Mark Cohen (the quirky and neurotic staple in the groundbreaking rock opera). However, he not only did not think he was ready for such an iconic role, he also believes he was not going to be on American soil at the time of the production.

 

Over the last year, Lapping was teaching eighth grade English in Puerto Rico.  The administration of the school had recently asked him to return to the territory to help install a Communication wing.

 

For two months, he taught three courses--newspaper and photography, media arts and theatre--before having to return to the United States because of the damage of Hurricane Maria.

 

After facing much trial and tribulation trying to make his return, Cassano, Lecturer in Theatre, Music, Theatre, and Visual Art at Behrend approached Lapping in January.

 

And the rest simply fell into place.

 

“I honestly knew nothing of ‘Rent. I watched the movie for the first time in December, and I didn’t think I could do it. I didn’t think I was ready,” said Lapping of his role in the show. “But it really became something that I’m grateful for. I really identify with the character, more than I thought I would, and it really makes it neat.”

 

While connecting with Mark’s quirkier side, Lapping also connects to Mark’s relationship with himself.  He noted one specific scene at the climax of the musical, where Mark’s roommate Roger confronts Mark for using his passion for filmmaking as a crutch to hide behind.

 

“I think that’s so real, and I think that’s something that humans struggle with and what I struggle with,” stated Lapping. “Mark’s an outsider in a group of outsiders, which I find really, really fascinating,” stated Lapping.

 

“I have really engulfed myself in those projects to serve as distractions of sorts,” he went on to state. “And that’s the whole purpose of Mark’s project,  his film throughout the year, is that he is not satisfied with his situation, so he’s focusing on other people”

 

Returning to the Studio Theatre to play this iconic role has nonetheless reminded Lapping of what he loves about Behrend.

 

“From my time here, Behrend gets a bad rap. Everyone always dreams of University Park, and I get that,” stated Lapping. “Looking back at my time now, I’m really grateful for it. I mean all of the cliche things that you hear--like smaller class size and opportunities with the professors--really benefited me and I know numerous others as well.”

 

“There’s a unique sense of community here, that I want to say you don’t get other places.”