Anthony Rapp Seemingly Pays Tribute to Rent’s Jonathan Larson in Naming Baby Boy – E! Online

There is no future, there is no past, but there is a brand new baby in Anthony Rapp and Ken Ithiphol‘s family.

Congratulations are in order for the Rent alum and his longtime partner as they welcomed their first child. 

“Ken & I are thrilled to share that our family has grown,” Anthony shared on Twitter on Dec. 5. “Our son, Rai Larson Ithiphol, was brought into the world on Friday, December 2, 2022, by an incredibly generous surrogate, to whom we’re eternally grateful. (Rai is pronounced like ‘rye’ or ‘chai.’) We love him very much.”

Anthony met Ken, a yoga instructor, in 2016 after Ken slid into the actor’s DMs after seeing him perform in Los Angeles. Anthony proposed in 2019 and Ken returned the gesture in 2020 while hiking in Sedona, Ariz.

Now, as new parents, the couple appear to keeping the Rent legacy alive. Their baby’s middle name appears to be a clear nod to the musical’s creator and writer, Jonathan Larson, who tragically died on the day of Rent‘s first off-Broadway preview in 1996, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Anthony was part of the original cast of the rock musical, debuting the role of Mark Cohen.