A storm of applause sweeps across the Nederlander Theatre in New York every night, midway through the first act of Rent. The cheers begin the second Krysten Cummings finishes her show-stopping, song-and-dance solo, "Out Tonight."

Stripping down to metallic-blue vinyl pants and a form-fitting top, her feet laced up in platform boots, the Camden Catholic High School graduate explodes against the balcony above the stage like a flash of lightning. Jolts of excitement surge through the packed theater as Cummings belts out the song while strutting, jumping and gyrating along a metal railing 20 feet above the stage floor.

"After 18 months in Rent in Toronto and London, I knew my role and had no fears," says Cummings as she recalls her Broadway debut last month during a pre-performance interview. "But two seconds before the curtain went up, I thought, 'Oh, my God, it's Broadway! I finally made it!' "

Cummings, 24, has been preparing for this moment from the time she began moving to music in her playpen. While growing up in Pennsauken, Krysten first tasted audience acclaim when she sang "Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus" at the Calvary Baptist Church in Merchantville.

At an early age, she began to throw all her energy into the pursuit of a show business career. She seized every opportunity to perform - even when shopping with her family at the Cherry Hill Mall.

Discovering a stage set up for a charity show, Krysten pestered the organizer to let her sing "Tomorrow." Applause from the growing crowd persuaded Krysten to sing more songs.

By the time she was 15, Krysten was lighting up the stage in West Side Story at the Ritz Theatre in Haddon Township. More roles at the Ritz led to engagements with the Pineland Players in Medford and the Riverfront Dinner Theatre in Philadelphia.

After graduating from Camden Catholic in 1992, Cummings set off for New York to conquer Broadway. Arriving with $400 in her pocket, she gave half to a friend who let her sleep on the floor in an apartment he shared with five other guys.

Soaking up theater night and day, she sneaked into Broadway shows at intermission to catch the second half of Cats or Miss Saigon. She buttonholed stars backstage after studying their performances and hustled singing spots at cabarets.

Seven years later, her Broadway dream now realized, Krysten takes a breathless look back at her life and career as she sits on a white plastic chair in the narrow alley that leads from the lobby to the dressing rooms at the Nederlander.

"I've been brought here to inject some excitement into this production," says Cummings, who introduced Jonathan Larson's musical to audiences in Toronto and London before joining the Broadway cast in June. Her portrayal of Mimi Marquez, the heroin-addicted exotic dancer dying of AIDS, has earned accolades from critics dazzled by the ferocious energy she brings to the role.

"I've gotta work hard. I've gotta make it real, give 100 percent," Cummings blurts out. "I bring the realism of what this show is about - youth. I'm the youngest Mimi. When I go on stage, I give everything that's part of me."

Dark eyes gleaming intently, Cummings speaks in a breathless gush of words. Her slender arms slice the air to underline a point. A dynamism radiates from her lithe body even while she's puffing on a Marlboro or taking a sip from a bottle of V8 Splash.

Inspired by Giacomo Puccini's popular opera La Boheme, Rent portrays life in New York's gritty East Village, peopled by struggling artists, drug addicts, transvestites and lesbians. It celebrates the communal spirit of a group of idealistic young people whose lives are ripped apart by drugs and AIDS.

"The idealism of the show, the message of the show is very important to me," Cummings explains. "I know what it's about. I've lived in Hell's Kitchen, and I've lost a lot of my friends from HIV and drug overdoses."

Krysten is the second of three children adopted by Jim and Lynn Cummings of Pennsauken. She has an older sister, Kathleen, and a younger brother, Keith. Her parents, who are self-employed consultants for nonprofit groups, cannot remember a time when Krysten was not singing and dancing.

"We're the only family who had a rule of no singing at the dinner table," says Lynn with a laugh. "We had to have quiet some time."

The Cummings quickly became aware of Krysten's enormous talent. When Lynn took her 5-year-old daughter to audition for dance class, jaws dropped as Krysten leaped, tumbled and cartwheeled at a breakneck pace around the studio.

"We're not an athletic family. We're interested in the theater," Lynn explains. "If we had been sports fans, I'm sure Krysten would have become an outstanding athlete."

At an early age, Krysten showed a stubborn, independent streak. She rebelled at learning the piano, but taught herself to play by listening to her older sister's lessons, then practicing by herself.

Krysten loved to accompany her parents to musicals in Philadelphia and New York. Mesmerized by A Chorus Line when she was 9, she turned to her mother during intermission and announced, "I am going to do that."

As the publicity director for the old Latin Casino, a former nightclub in Cherry Hill, Jim Cummings knew the dangers and disappointments of a show business career. He cautioned Krysten not to set her hopes too high and refused to allow her to accept an offer to join the national tour of Annie.

That didn't stop Krysten from singing. During her high school days, she used to jam with her pals, Amy Di Donato and Jason Neri. While Jason pounded out the piano part, Krysten and Amy worked their way through the pop song repertory and one Broadway show after another.

"Krysten had such a crazy personality - outspoken, talented, dynamic," recalls Jason. "We were always talking about going to New York. No one every doubted Krysten would make it big."

Jason says other students "liked and respected" Krysten. "We weren't in the athlete-jock clique, but everyone knew her."

Largely because of Krysten's vocal talent, Camden Catholic decided to perform Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. Jason played the baker, and Krysten performed the witch.

"She was awesome," Jason says. "Krysten took that role in, chewed it up and spit it out. She gave 110 percent."

Even before graduating from Camden Catholic, Krysten had her eyes set on the Big Apple. An impish grin crosses her face as she recalls her first audition in New York at the age of 15. She got a note from her mother to leave school at 1 p.m. and added a zero to the 1. At 10 a.m., a friend picked her up and took her to the train for New York. In the afternoon, she was auditioning for the national tour of West Side Story.

"They wanted me in the show but got suspicious when I couldn't remember my Social Security number," she says.

Krysten was sent back to Pennsauken after being told to get some experience closer to home. Undaunted, she sneaked off to an audition for West Side Story at the Ritz and won a part.

"She was young, and we loved her," recalls Bruce Curless, the Ritz's producing artistic director. "She was bubbling, bouncy and crazy, with an immense talent. She was also undisciplined."

Curless says she came late to rehearsals and was often unprepared. Krysten credits Curless with the "tough love" she needed to discipline her talent. When Krysten failed to get a part she thought she deserved, Curless told her to work the light board.

"Bruce was sometimes hard on me," she recalls, "but he taught me how to be part of a company, and he taught me you have to know every aspect of this profession. I cleaned toilets. I sold candy. I worked backstage and learned how to operate the lights."

Krysten also met a group of teens who loved theater as much as she did. She remembers hanging out at Olga's Diner or the Medport Diner after rehearsals with her young pals, John Daddis, Jeff Biehl, Richard Ruccolo and Butch Berger. After high school, they all set off for New York, and they've all made careers in theater, music and television.

Krysten threw herself into her quest with a blend of fearless daring and boundless confidence. She showed up at New York cabarets with her pianist and begged to sing while the singers were resting between shows.

"All I was paid was a plate of macaroni from the deli around the corner, but I got the chance to sing and get some experience. I never trained anywhere. I learned by doing it."

During the run of The Goodbye Girl, she went backstage and met Carol Woods. The actress passed on some theatrical tips and then asked Krysten if she wanted to sing on the stage of the Minskoff Theatre. Up came the stage lights, and Krysten broke into "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows."

Within a year of arriving in New York, Krysten won an audition for a European tour in Golden Musicals of Broadway. London became Krysten's base after she was cast in Mama I Want to Sing. A string of musicals followed, some good, most bad.

"I've been in loads of flops," she says in a burst of laughter. "I've been in every flop on the West End, but I've still been able to walk away with my self-respect."

After spotting Krysten in the London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, producer Cameron Mackintosh bought out her contract and had a starring role rewritten for her in The Fix, another one of her flops.

Krysten also had her personal disappointments. A three-year marriage to an English rock musician ended recently in divorce. "He thought I was going to settle down and have babies. I realized I have some things to do."

High on the agenda was the starring role in Rent that brought Krysten the success she craved. She created Mimi Marquez in Toronto and London and was nominated for theatrical awards in both cities. She recently came within one vote of winning the prestigious Olivier Award in London.

More than 100 of Krysten's local fans will pack two buses bound for Broadway Saturday. They will attend a performance of Rent and then have dinner with the star.

After she leaves the New York production at the end of the year, Krysten heads back to London where she still has a flat. She plans to take auditions and complete a CD she is recording with her 11-piece band.

"I'm not in a rush to do everything," she explains. "I'm interested in quality rather than quantity. 'Sell out' is not in my vocabulary. I want to say something important."

Stopping to take a drag on her last cigarette - "I'm down to eight a day" - Krysten looks into the distance, then continues, "In the theater, there's a lot of, 'me, me, me.' 'How far can I get? How can I stab people in the back?'

"That doesn't interest me. Life is a growing process, learning more and getting better. I still have dreams, and I still have some things to accomplish.

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