What type of equipment will I need for a theater/stage production shoot?

My friend owns a business, where professional singers/actors will come to different venues (like for weddings, birthdays, etc… ) and sing different songs from famous Broadway shows.

She has asked me to take some photos of the performers during the event, but I'm not quite sure what equipment I will need.

I normally do portrait photography and all I have is a Nikon D40 (ISO 200-1600) with a 55-200mm lens.

Will I need to rent a lens with a fast shutter speed and a camera with a high ISO? I'm not sure of the lighting, but don't imagine I can use a flash… But if I could, what should I look in to?

I've never shot stage productions before, and I'm not sure what to look for. I'm just doing this as a favor for a friend.

I shoot theatrical plays, so I can only tell you what I do.

1) For dress rehearsals, flash is allowed. For live performances, flash is verboten. BUT… For birthdays/receptions/etcetera, that would be up to the organizers.

2) Lenses don't have a shutter speed. They have an aperture, which is affects the amount of light that enters the camera and determines the DOF (Depth Of Field). A "fast" lens has an aperture of f/2.8 or lower. For example, f/2.8 lets in 4 times as much light as f/5.6… And f/1.4 lets in 4 times as much as f/2.8 (and 16 times as much as f/5.6)

3) The higher the ISO, the more "noise" the images will have. Remember… Exposure= ISO + Aperture + Shutter Speed.

4) When it comes to lenses and flashes, I prefer to only use OEM (Nikon in your case). I have used "third party" brands before, but the quality/performance is not as good as the manufacturers. For a Nikon flash, I would look into the SB-600/ SB-700 AND a good diffuser (I prefer the Gary Fong LightSphere II). Remember… You get what you pay for!

5) I use a Manfrotto 685B monopod. This allows me to stabilize the camera, use a lower ISO/slower shutter speed, and move around.