The groundbreaking rock musical "RENT," based on Puccini's "La Boheme," returns to the Providence Performing Arts Center for the third time on Nov. 17-22.

It has been 13 years since "RENT" first debuted off Broadway and then went on to sell out Broadway performances that earned the musical a number of Tony Awards and Pulitzer Prizes.

The Broadway tour comes back to Providence, this time with its original Broadway stars, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, reprising their roles. Jacques C. Smith was also in the Broadway production, along with other cast members who had joined during its long run.

We caught up with Jacques at his hotel, just south of Green Bay, Wis., where he was trying to adjust to the cold after a run in Costa Mesa, just south of LA, where the temperature was in the 70s.

"A number of cast members have colds," he said. "I've got to be careful. I've got a runny nose. I'm getting paranoid. We've been on the road for over 10 months with many weather changes."

(I was supposed to interview Michael McElroy, who was also in the original cast, but was on his way to the hospital with the possibility of H1N1.)

"We hope Michael will be back next week when we're in Des Moines, but he should be better by the time we reach Providence. That's why we have understudies," Jacques said.

Smith was on Broadway with "RENT" for two and a half years, back in 1997-2000. After that, he spent two seasons on HBO's "Oz" and did other popular TV shows and some regional theatre. With a B.A. from Princeton ("It's a little different from your Ivy League school up there") and an MFA from UCSD, Smith has a well-rounded background for what has become a busy and successful career.

"The only problem with being on the road so long is missing my wife and 22-month-old son. [He'll be 23 months tomorrow.] We met when we were both in "RENT" on Broadway. She's now in Vegas doing "Jersey Boys."

When I told Jacques that I had seen "RENT" twice, he urged me to see this version.

"We have a really close-knit cast," he said. "It's like a homecoming for a lot of us. We've had a great reception everywhere we have played. And the producers wanted to go back to cities where it had played before. They wanted to show what it was like in New York City. There are a few things that have changed, but it's still the same show with the same big heart."

For tickets to "RENT," which range from $38-$68, call 421-ARTS.