Crystal Kay is back on her Broadway shit y’all—having been cast in Rent in Japan.
Unlike Pippin and (what woulda been) Hairspray, Rent’s run in Japan will not be solely Japanese production, but a joint one with the US—featuring a cast of Japanese and American talent. Rent’s run in Japan seems to be part of a continued effort to make Broadway in Japan a far bigger thing—something Crystal could play such a huge part in, if her damn team set her shit up better. But I won’t get into that now.

Rent has been going for almost 30 years, has had numerous productions around the world, been shot for television and been adapted into a film.

Jonathan Larson—the writer of rent—even wrote a semi autobiographical musical called Tick, Tick… Boom!, which was adapted into a film starring Andrew Garfield, and released on Netflix in 2020 to mass praise. The film made a bunch people realise (me included) ‘Oh, that’s the guy who wrote Rent!?’ and then ‘Oh shit, he didn’t even live to get to see its success.’ So even if you have never watched any if the iterations of Rent, chances are you know SOMETHING of it. And even if you don’t, you probably know an actor who has been a part of it.

The original Broadway production of Rent marked breakout roles for a number of actors, many of whom are still acting in things we know. Anthony Rapp playing that rude gay science man in Star Trek: Discovery. Taye Diggs known for his roles in Brown Sugar and All American. Jesse L. Martin known for his roles in Law & Order and The CW’s The Flash. And there is also a very well known other actor who got their big in Rent, but we’ll get to that.

Crystal will be playing the role of Maureen Johnson, a character who is bisexual and has a girlfriend. Rent’s story is about a whole bunch of queer characters living in New York during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. So I think it’s awesome that Crystal has no qualms about being affiliated with such a story. But it’s no surprise. Crystal Gay has shown herself to be down with the cigarettes. And she has to know that a good chunk of her fanbase is full of of the LGBCTODAKAY+.

The role of Maureen was originally played on Broadway by that Elsa woman, formerly known as that Wicked woman—Idina Menzel, who would also go on to marry her OG Rent co-star Taye Diggs. Maureen only has a couple of non ensemble songs in Rent. One being “Over the Moon”, which isn’t a straight-singing-song, but more of a monologue which shifts between speaking and singing. And “Take Me or Leave Me”, which is a duet—a song which is easy to hear Crystal on. It’s right up her alley. But we know Crystal can sing any–damn–thing.

In in ideal world, Crystal would have something cued to parlay into her Broadway run, especially on the 25th anniversary of her career, but she won’t. Because her team is in the business of fumbling bags, not providing them.

If Crystal’s team were on their shit, they would have Crystal release another cover album, I Sing Broadway—featuring a whole bunch of covers of Broadway songs in Japanese, including songs from Pippin, Hairspray and of course, “Take Me or Leave Me” from Rent. I’d even throw in a song from Wicked to cash in on the November 2024 release of that film and to also put her name out there as a potential choice to voice Elphaba in the Japanese dub of the film. And she could even perform at a Pride event—both solo and with her Rent castmates—to further promote her own music and the upcoming Broadway show.

There is SO much cool stuff Crystal could do with her stint in Rent to further her career and expand her reach, beyond just starring in Rent itself.

I often think about what would have happened in an alternate universe where the Japanese run of Hairspray didn’t get cancelled. Probably nothing.

But congrats to Crystal for this. Hopefully it will be made to be the big deal it deserves to be and have more big things come her way. So I truly hope this marks a start of her starting to seize what should be hers. Because a Japanese music star with 25 years in the game, theatre credits and a filmography should not be on YouTube walking around Shibuya asking strangers questions what music they’re listening to and having to introduce herself. Baby, this is CRYSTAL KAY.

Girl. Fire the whole management and marketing team.