TORONTO ACTRESS BROADWAY BOUND

Toronto actress Tamara Podemsky, who had been playing the part of Mrs. Cohen in the Toronto production of Rent for the last 32 weeks, has signed a contract to play that part in the original production of Rent which has been playing at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway for 2 1/2 years.

Podemsky, the 20-year-old child of a Jewish father and native Indian mother, left last week for New York, where her contract commits her to stay at least one year. Among her other roles, she appeared in The Rez, a 13-part television series produced by the CBC. Although the CBC did not renew the series, an Israeli network recently picked it up for airing in Israel.

In conversation with The CJN, Sol Podemsky said his daughter was thrilled to be heading for Broadway. "It's quite a rush for her because it's really her dream come true." He said. "This is her big break."