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Stranger Things star to make West End debut in Rent musical revival

Tiffany Wertheimer
News imageEPA/ Shutterstock Gaten Matarazzo has short curly hair and is wearing black-rimmed glasses, a black Velvet blazer and floral shirt underneath. He is standing on a red carpet in front of a huge 'Stranger Things' signEPA/ Shutterstock
Gaten Matarazzo became an international star after playing lovable nerd Dustin in Stranger Things

Stranger Things star, Gaten Matarazzo, will make his West End debut later this year, in a modern revival of rock musical, Rent.

Celebrating 30 years since it first premiered on Broadway, Rent is about a group of struggling artists in New York in the 1980s during the HIV/Aids crisis.

American actor, Matarazzo, 23, became a global star after his portrayal of Dustin Henderson in the Netflix sci-fi horror series, Stranger Things. But he is no stranger to the stage, having performed on Broadway since he was a child.

Now, Matarazzo is set to play Mark, Rent's narrator and a documentary filmmaker.

British director Luke Sheppard, who just last month won an Olivier Award for Paddington: The Musical, will be at the helm once again - the second time he has directed the musical.

"This is Rent in the hands of a new generation of performers who love and adore this piece, and with Gaten Matarazzo playing Mark, it promises to be a thrilling experience," he said in a statement.

Rent was written and composed by Jonathan Larson, who tragically died the day before its premiere in 1996. The show was groundbreaking - it put the stories of LGBTQ+ people during the HIV/Aids epidemic front and centre, tackled social taboos and gave a voice to those who are often marginalised.

Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda made an Oscar-nominated film in 2021 about Larson's life, Tick Tick ... Boom!

The show's producers, Chris Harper and Sonia Friedman, say the adaption stays loyal to Larson's music.

"Jonathan Larson's musical remains as powerful and resonant as ever, and Luke has found a way to honour its legacy while making it feel thrillingly fresh for today's audiences," they said in the announcement.

Matarazzo already had an impressive body of theatre work. As a child he performed in productions of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Les Misérables. In more recent years, he's starred in Dear Evan Hansen and Sweeney Todd.

The star has done some other television work, including voice acting and roles behind-the-scenes.

However it was Stranger Things, which began in 2016 when Matarazzo was 13 years old, that catapulted him into the sci-fi fandom relm.

The series, which had five seasons, was a cultural phenomenon and remains one of Netflix's most-watched shows.

Rent will open at London's Duke of York Thatre on 26 September 2026.