“Rent” the Broadway musical portraying the bohemian life in NYC’s East Village in the early 1990’s is closing this September. This passing in the cultural life of the city and an article in today’s New York Times examining the changes that have occurred in New York City since the times the show was set in have me reflecting on my own tenure in the Big Apple.

I should start by saying I never saw “Rent“. I’m not much for musicals and in fact have never seen a single one since I moved to New York in 1994 for college. But what I’ve shared with Jonathan Larson’s bohemian epic is a neighborhood: the East Village. A neighborhood that has constantly changed since my arrival in New York City at a speed I never dreamed possible for a piece of land. The East Village intimately introduced me to gentrification, a force that has been a constant throughout my adult life, and a fitting associate, seeing how I fast realized after moving into the area that I was a gentrifier.

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Looptopia, Chicago’s all night artistic and cultural extravaganza begins at 5PM local time in, where else, The Loop! Artists, musicians, theater performances, films, interactive new media and dance performances will be going from sunset to sunrise and beyond in Chicago’s famous downtown district. 14 hours of culture beginning at 5PM and lasting till the sunrise celebration in Millenium Park at 7AM. So if you’re in the Windy City go get your Loop on and revel your way through all the culture Chicago has to offer.

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MTV Choose Or Lose is choosing to come to Laughing Liberally Tonight! Choose or Lose, the voter initiative will be covering tonight’s Laughing Liberally, a non-partisan political comedy show dedicated to saving democracy one laugh at a time. Tonight’s show will feature Lee Camp (Comedy Central), Katie Halper* (TAKE PART!), Charles Star (The Onion), Benari Poulten (Shoot the Messenger), Hilary Schwartz (Urban Hee Haw), Diana Saez (Washington Post) introducing Amanda Milstein (Living Liberally), hosted by Elon James White (The Black Comedy Project)

So and come out to the show @ The Tank @ 279 Church (between White & Franklin). Because if you choose to snooze, you lose. And on an issue of your choice (see below)

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Today, April 23rd we celebrate William Shakespeare’s birthday, also the same day he died. (Geesh does it get more epic than that?)

If you’re like me, Shakespeare seems ultra intimidating. It wasn’t until I finally took a Shakespeare class while studying in London that I began to sorta shed my Shakespeare scare. His plays are actually easily understood plots told through gorgeous language and brilliant word play. If you’re afraid of Shakespeare and check out http://www.shakespeare.org. Not only does this organization produce performances but they also offer one of the most extensive Shakespeare arts-in-education programs in the northeast, reaching more than 40,000 students and teachers each year with innovative, socially responsive, and educationally challenging performances, workshops and residencies.

Also check out Shakespeare for Dummies. I am a huge fan of the Dummies book series, they offer clear cut explanations of all those things you think you should know but admittedly don’t.

I may not love American Idol - but one thing is for sure, I love love love Phantom of the Opera. So I definitely had some mixed feelings when I found out that those American Idol kids would be performing songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber on the show. And while they’re no Michael Crawford, I have to admit that the idea of getting to hear some of my favorite songs again made me pretty happy.

I used to play the Phantom songs on the piano and listen to the CD non-stop as a kid. I also dressed as the Phantom for the costume contest at my 7th grade dance - I won 3rd place (woo hoo) but soon learned that winning costume contests was not cool in junior high (boo!)

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Dolly Parton is mentoring the kids on American Idol and will be on the show Wednesday. But Dolly has been working 9 to 5 on another exciting project: 9 to 5 the Broadway musical for which Dolly has written a score. The play, which will be directed by Joe Mantello of Wicked, is based on the hit 1980 film 9 to 5, starring Dolly, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, which featured Dolly’s hit 9 to 5 song. The classic comedy is hilarious! But, at the same time, the film is serious in its portrayal of sexism, double standards, and pay inequity. In fact, there is even an organization called 9to5, which is dedicated to the rights, raises and respect of working women and works to build a movement of low-wage women to achieve economic justice. Luckily the real life Dolly knows how to deal with sexist jokes: “I’m not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I’m not dumb. I also know I’m not blonde.” And with her own Dolly Parton Enterprises, a $100 million media empire, Dolly doesn’t have to worry about putting money in the pocket of any man. The message is in the music, and the movie, so check them out below.

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Singer Ricky Martin recently visited a Cambodian shelter in Siem Reap where a teenage rape victim performed a song she wrote about her ordeal as a trafficking victim. Martin was representing his Ricky Martin Foundation when he visited the Cambodian shelter that houses 65 victims.

The Ricky Martin Foundation works as advocates of children’s rights focusing their our work in benefiting this most vulnerable population around the world by supporting structured, equal opportunity initiatives that will secure children the right to be children, and provide them a more promising life. Check out this AOL video where Martin discusses his activist work.

According to the United Nations, about 2.5 million people are involved in forced labor as a result of trafficking, with most victims between the ages of 18 and 24. The US State Department has called Cambodia a country that is a source, destination and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for sexual exploitation and labor. and get involved with The Ricky Martin Foundation by visiting www.rickymartinfoundation.org

British actor Paul Scofield, who was known for giving amazing performances and steering clear of interviews and the limelight, died on Wednesday of leukemia.

He has quite an impressive resume, including Sir Thomas More in Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons, for which he won an Oscar an international acclaim. Beyond film work, Scofield was known for his performances in the theatre. Overall, Scofield spent his life entertaining us and giving us stories to inspire us and to help us learn about the world. One of my favorite Scofield performances is his role as Judge Thomas Danforth in The Crucible

Watch below for more on Scofield, and to read his New York Times obit and again to see his film profile.

Who Will Carry the Word? is based upon the true story of Charlotte Delbo’s of life in concentration camps. The play depicts the lives of 23 women while they shared a barracks in Auschwitz. Their goal: to keep the strongest of them alive so that someone could share what they had experienced with the world.

The Red Fern Theatre Company’s production of Who Will Carry the Word?, opened February 21, 2008 at Center Stage (48 West 21st Street, between 5th & 6th Ave.) and ran through March 2. Proceeds from the production benefited Remember the Women Institute, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that conducts and encourages research and cultural activities that contribute to including women in history.

Although the productions run has ended you can still get involved with Remember the Women Institute by visiting rememberwomen.org

The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out our most popular articles of the week on a variety of subjects, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan Surfaces 120 Years Later

Hallelujah For American Idol, Jeff Buckley and Leonard Cohen

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Nicole:

Google Gives Free Voicemail to San Francisco Homeless

Gabriel Garcia Marquez Turnes 80

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Giulia:

Patrick Swayze’s Cancer Battle

Koby Bryant’s PSA for ASR

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Gina:

Reese’s Empowering Bracelet

“Chop Shop” - Dreams In a Place of Despair

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Kerry:

Bamboo Laptop: Will Apple Be Green with Envy?

The Explosive Truth About Twinkies