In 1995, Menzel auditioned for "Rent", which became her first professional theatre job and her Broadway debut. "Rent" opened Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop on January 26, 1996, but it moved to Broadway's Nederlander Theatre due to its popularity. For her performance as Maureen Johnson in the original cast of the musical, Menzel received a Tony nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Musical losing to Ann Duquesnay for "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk". Her final performance in the musical was on July 1, 1997.