'' is a
Tony and
Pulitzer Prize -winning
Rock Musical . It opened in
New York City on
April 29 ,
1996 , at the
Nederlander Theatre and continues to play on Broadway (the seventh-longest running Broadway musical as of March 1, 2006). Based upon
Puccini 's
Opera ''
La Bohème '', the musical centers on a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive in New York's
Alphabet City neighborhood under the shadow of
AIDS (in ''La bohème'' the disease was
Tuberculosis ).
The cast album from the show was the most successful recording of an American musical in almost 30 years, featuring both a 2-Disc, "complete recording" collection with a remixed version of the song "Seasons of Love" featuring
Stevie Wonder , and a 1-disc "best of" highlights.
''Rent'' was one of the first
Broadway musicals to feature clearly
Gay ,
Bisexual ,
Lesbian and
Transgender characters on stage. Almost every previous production that dealt with such issues had generally been relegated to
Off-Broadway venues (an exception is ''
La Cage Aux Folles '').
Playwright , a 29-year-old
Composer , got together with Aronson to swap ideas. Larson came up with the title and suggested moving the setting from the Upper West Side to downtown, where Larson himself lived. In 1991, he asked Billy if he could use the original concept on which they had collaborated and make ''Rent'' his own. They made an agreement that if the show went to Broadway, Aronson would share in the proceeds.
(it is believed that the defect resulted from
Marfan Syndrome ) in the early morning of
January 25 ,
1996 , just a few hours after the musical had its final dress rehearsal at the
New York Theatre Workshop . The show was to open that day.
The show did premiere, at the request of Larson's parents, at the New York Theatre Workshop on the day that Jonathan Larson died. According to the accounts of cast and audience members, the opening night began as a simple sit-down performance, but around the number "La Vie Boheme A," the cast began to do the full performance. Audience members were so moved at the end of this first run-through that they sat spellbound in their chairs for 30 seconds after the show finished, until one sole voice said "Thank you, Jonathan Larson," which broke the spell. The show ran off-Broadway for while, but was so popular that a move to Broadway was inevitable. It premiered at the previously derelict
Nederlander Theatre on
April 29 ,
1996 .
,
New York City ]]
The musical follows the lives of a handful of New Yorkers over the course of a year as they struggle with relationships, loss, the purpose of living, housing, and
AIDS .
Characters include Roger, an
HIV -positive musician who is recovering from
Heroin addiction; Mark, a struggling filmmaker; Maureen, Mark's
Bisexual performance artist ex-girlfriend; Tom Collins, an HIV-positive
Teacher at
New York University and a friend and former roommate of Roger and Mark; Angel, Collins'
Drag Queen lover and street percussionist/musician, also HIV-positive; Benny, an old friend and another former roommate of Mark and Roger who later became their
Landlord ; Mimi, an HIV-positive dancer and heroin
Junkie ; and Joanne, a Harvard-educated
Lawyer and Maureen's girlfriend.
On
Christmas Eve , Mark decides to begin shooting a
Film without a script (Tune Up #1) by filming his roommate, Roger. Mark's mother calls, telling him that they'll miss him at
Christmas and saying that Mark shouldn't care that his girlfriend dumped him for another woman (Voice Mail #1). Outside, Tom Collins, a former professor of
Philosophy who used to live with Roger and Mark, is trying to get in after returning to New York from a teaching job at
MIT . However, he is jumped by thugs and lies bleeding on the street. Meanwhile, their former pal Benny, who married wealthy Alison Grey of
Westport and bought the lot next door to Mark and Roger's apartment building (which he also owns), calls and breaks his promise to let them live in the apartment for free and asks for the rent, which he knows they don't have (Tune Up #2).
Mark and Roger complain about their past and about not being able to pay the rent. We also meet Maureen, Mark's bisexual ex-girlfriend, and Joanne, her uptight lawyer girlfriend. Joanne is working on the sound system for Maureen's protest at the lot when the sound system blows. Maureen then calls Mark to come fix it, since he was the only one who knew how to use it. Frustrated, Mark and Roger decide to rebel against Benny and say that they are not going to pay the rent (Rent).
Back on the street, Angel, a
Transvestite drag queen and street drummer, spots Collins and comes to his aid. They are attracted to one another and quickly discover that they both have
AIDS . They leave the alley to tend to Collins' wounds (You Okay Honey). Meanwhile, Mark asks Roger to join him in going to Maureen's protest and out to dinner, but Roger declines. Mark reminds Roger to take his
AZT , making the audience aware that Roger is also HIV positive. He also reveals that Roger's girlfriend, April, committed
Suicide after finding out that the two of them were HIV-positive (Tune Up #3). After Mark leaves, Roger laments wanting to write one great song before he dies from AIDS, as he believes he will, when he hears a knock on the door (One Song Glory). He opens it to find Mimi, a nineteen-year-old junkie who lives in the apartment below. We learn that she is a dancer at an
S&M club called The "Cat Scratch Club." She asks him to light a candle for her, because her electricity has been shut off. Although sparks fly (Light My Candle), Roger is afraid to get involved with her because of the tragic ending to his last relationship.
In Maureen and Joanne's loft, Joanne's parents call (Voice Mail #2), but she is not home to hear it.
Hours later, Collins finally makes it to Mark and Roger's apartment, bearing gifts. He introduces Angel, who, now dressed in drag, flashes a large stack of money. When Mark questions where (s)he earned it, Angel explains that a wealthy woman paid him to play his drums outside her apartment to annoy her neighbor's yappy
Akita , Evita, and cause it to jump off a window ledge (Today 4 U). Benny arrives and tells Mark and Roger that he will let the rent slide and sign papers saying that they can live in the apartment rent-free if they get Maureen, a performance artist, to cancel her protest against his plan to develop the lot, which is currently the site of a homeless tent city. However, Mark decides not to agree to the deal. After Benny leaves, Angel and Collins invite Mark and Roger to attend a Life Support (a local HIV
Support Group ) meeting (You'll See).
Mark arrives at the lot, meets Joanne, and they agree that living with Maureen is like dancing a complicated tango (Tango Maureen), in that Maureen plays her lovers for all they are worth. After successfully fixing the sound system, Mark joins Collins and Angel at the Life Support meeting, where members share their thoughts and fears about living with AIDS (Life Support). Meanwhile, Mimi wants Roger to take her out (Out Tonight), and returns to Roger and Mark's apartment. Roger roughly turns her down and drives her out of the apartment (Another Day). The scene then shifts back to the Life Support meeting, where the attendees are singing of the fear and uncertainty that comes in facing an imminent death (Will I).
Collins, Angel, Roger, and Mark leave Life Support and save a homeless person from a beating by a police officer, only to be reprimanded by that same person, who says she doesn't need their help ("On The Street"). As they walk away, contemplating her response, Collins get them all to think about what it would be like to live in
Santa Fe, New Mexico , where the climate and the people are much warmer (Santa Fe).
Mark leaves to convince Roger to go to Maureen's show, and Collins and Angel sing about their romance ("I'll Cover You"). Joanne gets ready for the protest and her upcoming legal case (We're Okay), and Roger finds Mimi again and asks her to go to the protest and the dinner party planned for afterward (Christmas Bells). Mimi accepts Mark's invitation. Collins, Angel, Mark, Roger, Mimi, and Joanne attend Maureen's protest and watch as Maureen insults Benny for trying to evict the
Homeless from the lot just so he can build a cyber studio (Over The Moon). Afterward, the group goes to the
Life Cafe , where they spot Benny and his investor, Mr. Grey, who is also Benny's father-in-law. Benny mocks the protest and tells them that they need to grow up, that
Bohemia is dead. Mark gets up and delivers an amusing
Eulogy for Bohemia; then all the bohemians in the cafe rise up and tell Benny and his companions what
La Vie Boheme (the
Bohemian life) is about. Through song, the bohemians explain that acceptance, love, and fun are critical parts of life. We discover that Benny and Mimi used to be in a relationship (La Vie Boheme A).
During the song, Mimi and Roger's beepers go off simultaneously, reminding them to take their AZT. They discover they are both HIV-positive and bond immediately, promising not to keep secrets and to love each other openly (I Should Tell You). Meanwhile Joanne who has been cleaning up after the protest, enters and says that a riot has broken out in the lot and the police have been called in, sparking a new round of celebration (La Vie Boheme B).
The cast gathers to sing about "measuring their lives in love" (Seasons of Love).
Mimi, Mark, and Roger's building has been padlocked as a result of Maureen's protest. On
New Year's Eve , Roger, Mark and Mimi try to break into their building with the help of Angel, Collins, Joanne, and Maureen. Mimi decides to give up her
Heroin addiction and go back to school, while Roger says that he is happy again because Mimi is in his life.
Mark, Maureen, and Joanne scale the fire escape and break in through a window. When they enter the apartment, they find that the electricity is on again (Happy New Year). They listen to an answering machine message from Alexi Darling of "Buzzline," a tabloid news show. She has seen Mark's footage of the riots on TV and wants to offer him a contract (Voice Mail #3). Maureen, excited, decides that she will plan another protest and Mark can film it as a documentary. They go downstairs to meet up with the others.
Benny shows up as soon as the lock is broken and, after suggesting that Mark begin taping, offers Mark and Roger a new lease, rent free. When Mark says that his batteries were dead, Benny wants to reshoot, prompting Roger and Maureen to say that he only wants the good press that having this action on film would get him. Benny, incensed, implies that Mimi showed up at his place and had sex with him to get him to change his mind, while Mimi denies everything. Roger gets extremely upset, but Angel convinces everyone to calm down and make a New Year's resolution to always remain friends. They all toast Benny and go inside. Mimi, however, remains outside. She sneaks off to get some heroin from a dealer (Happy New Year B)
On Valentine's Day, the happy New Year's couples become not so happy. While rehearsing for the new protest, Maureen and Joanne have a fight and break up again (Take Me or Leave Me). Mimi comes into her apartment to find Roger waiting for her, tired of her excuses and convinced that she is cheating on him with Benny, her ex-boyfriend. However, they make up.
In the spring, everyone senses that something is wrong and asks,"how do you measure a last year on Earth?" (Seasons of Love B). Roger leaves Mimi, deciding that she is definitely unfaithful.
All the while, Angel is growing more ill. Collins tries to nurse him back to health while Roger and Mimi and Maureen and Joanne get back together again (Without You).
Alexi keeps calling Mark to try to convince him to join Buzzline (Voice Mail #4) and all of the couples perform the risque dance of love that ends in the separation of all. Unfortunately, Collins and Angel's separation is permanent. After a long struggle to hold onto life and the ones he loves, Angel dies (Contact). At Angel's funeral, the cast laments the passing of the one person who held all of the friends together (I'll Cover You Reprise). Mark wonders how so much could have happened in only a year, and finally accepts Alexi's offer (Halloween). A fight breaks out between Mimi, Roger, Maureen, and Joanne. Mimi and Joanne exclaim that they have done nothing but love Roger and Maureen, respectively, and they would be "happy to die for a taste of what Angel had -- someone to live for, unafraid to say 'I love you.'" Maureen and Joanne make up yet again, but Roger is leaving for
Santa Fe . Roger and Mark fight because Roger is leaving; Roger accuses Mark of hiding in his work because he won't admit that he lives a lie. Mark accuses Roger of running away because he is afraid of watching Mimi die. They hear Mimi arrive in the middle of the fight; she admits that she heard it all, says goodbye to Roger and breaks down. Mark suggests that she go away to a clinic, and Benny offers to pay (Goodbye Love).
In Santa Fe, Roger mourns the fact that he is all alone, and back in New York, Mark is thinking the same. Roger returns just in time for
Christmas and Mark quits Buzzline (What You Own). In his time away, Roger has realized how much he loves Mimi and he found his "one song", but though he scours the city for her he cannot find her. Everyone's parents call to try and find their children (Voice Mail #5). On Christmas Eve, Collins shows up with money. He explains that he has rewired an
ATM so that anyone with the
PIN "Angel" can get money. Maureen and Joanne arrive, calling for help. They are carrying Mimi, who has been living on the street and has caught a fever. They bring her into the apartment; Collins calls
911 but is put on hold. Mimi and Roger talk. She tells him that she has always loved him (Finale A). Roger sings Mimi the song that he had been trying to write all year, which he was finally able to write after he realized that he loved her. Mimi faints (Your Eyes). Roger and the others believe that she is dead, but suddenly she comes to life. She says that she was heading into a warm, white light and that Angel was there, telling her to turn back and listen to Roger's song. Touched and relieved, the group breaks into song (Finale B).
- Prologue - Mark Cohen
- Tune Up #1 - Mark Cohen, Roger Davis
- Voice Mail #1 - Mrs. Cohen
- Tune Up #2 - Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Tom Collins, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III
- Rent - Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Joanne Jefferson, Tom Collins, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III, Ensemble
- You Okay Honey? - Angel Dumott Schunard, Tom Collins
- Tune Up #3 - Mark Cohen, Roger Davis
- One Song Glory - Roger Davis
- Light My Candle - Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez
- Voice Mail #2 - Mr. Jefferson, Mrs. Jefferson
- Today 4 U - Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Tom Collins, Angel Dumott Schunard
- You'll See - "Benny" Coffin III, Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Angel Dumott Schunard, Tom Collins
- Tango: Maureen- Joanne Jefferson, Mark Cohen
- Life Support- Paul, Gordon, Roger Davis, Ensemble
- Out Tonight - Mimi Marquez
- Another Day - Mimi Marquez, Roger Davis, Ensemble
- Will I? - Steve, Ensemble
- On the Street - Homeless, Police, Mark Cohen, Angel Dumott Schunard
- Santa Fe - Angel Dumott Schunard, Tom Collins, Roger Davis, Mark Cohen, Homeless
- I'll Cover You- Angel Dumott Schunard, Tom Collins
- We're Okay - Joanne Jefferson
- Christmas Bells - Roger Davis, Mark Cohen, Mimi Marquez, Angel Dumott Schunard, Tom Collins, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III, Joanne Jefferson, Maureen Johnson, Vendors, Homeless, Police, The Man, Ensemble
- Over the Moon - Maureen Johnson
- La Vie Boheme - Mark Cohen, Ensemble
- I Should Tell You - Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez
- La Vie Boheme B- Mark Cohen, Ensemble
- Seasons Of Love - Ensemble, Soloist 1 & 2
- Happy New Year - Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez, Maureen Johnson, Joanne Jefferson, Tom Collins, Angel Dumott Schunard
- Voice Mail #3 - Mrs. Cohen, Alexi Darling
- Happy New Year B - Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez, Maureen Johnson, Joanne Jefferson, Tom Collins, Angel Dumott Schunard, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III
- Take Me or Leave Me - Maureen Johnson, Joanne Jefferson
- Seasons of Love B - Ensemble
- Without You - Mimi Marquez, Roger Davis
- Voice Mail #4- Alexi Darling
- Contact- Angel Dumott Schunard, Ensemble
- I'll Cover You (Reprise)- Tom Collins, Joanne Jefferson, Ensemble
- Halloween - Mark Cohen
- Goodbye Love - Mimi Marquez, Roger Davis, Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III, Maureen Johnson, Joanne Jefferson, Mark Cohen
- What You Own - Mark Cohen, Roger Davis
- Voice Mail #5 - Mrs. Cohen, Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Marquez, Mr. Jefferson
- Finale - Roger Davis, Mark Cohen, Tom Collins, Mimi Marquez, Maureen Johnson, Joanne Jefferson
- Your Eyes - Roger Davis
- Finale B - Roger Davis, Mimi Marquez, Ensemble
Larson pulled together multiple, diverse sources for
Rent. Most of the characters and many plot elements are drawn directly from the opera ''
La Bohème ''. Several scenes are adapted nearly line-for-line in a playful translation from 1840s Paris on the
Left Bank to 1980s New York in Alphabet City. The political components are based on actual events in Alphabet City, and the riot in ''Rent'' is based on an actual riot in
Tompkins Square Park in August 1988.
Larson also drew from his own life experience in writing the show. Larson and his roommates lived in a run-down apartment, and for a while kept an illegal wood-burning stove. Like the one in "Rent", his apartment did not have a doorman and he had to throw down the key to guests. He also dated a dancer for four years who sometimes left him for other men and eventually left him for another woman. Finally, he lived through the
AIDS Epidemic and lost friends to it (a number of whom are paid tribute as group members in the song ''Life Support'').
In her 1998 book ''Stagestruck: Theater, AIDS, and the Marketing of Gay America'' (ISBN 0822322641), author
Sarah Schulman contends that plot elements from ''Rent'' were lifted from her 1990 book ''People In Trouble''. In an interview, she said, "The gay part of ''Rent'' is basically the plot of my novel". Schulman claims that upon reading her novel, Larson stole her ideas and altered them to make them more consumer oriented and "gay friendly" in order to turn the best profit. As many scenes are adapted directly from ''La Boheme'', this is an improbable claim.
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The original cast, as appeared in the Broadway production from April 16, 1996 through opening night and several months after (with some cast members staying around for over a year), and the album recording, was as follows:
The show was a massive success on Broadway; however, the original London production didn't achieve the same success.
There have been three very successful United States national tours -- the "Angel Tour" and the "Benny Tour," both of which launched soon after the Broadway production opened, as well as a recent non-
Equity tour -- plus a Canadian tour (often referred to as the "Collins Tour"). There have also been various international productions, including productions in
Australia ,
Ireland ,
Italy ,
Finland ,
Germany ,
Japan ,
Bolivia ,
Korea , the
Philippines and the
UK .
In order to provide theatergoing opportunities to those who might otherwise be unable to afford them, the first two rows of the theater (on Broadway and on tour) are reserved for sale by rush (first-come, first-serve, or lottery) two hours before the show for $20 per seat.
Creative control for ''Rent'' and its various tours and satellite shows is held by the family of Jonathan Larson. They also had final say for creative decisions in the motion picture.
In 1996, ''Rent'' won at the
Tony Awards for
Best Musical ,
Best Book Of A Musical , and
Best Original Score . Actor
Wilson Jermaine Heredia won a
Tony Award For Best Performance By A Featured Actor In A Musical for his performance as Angel.
Additionally, actors
Adam Pascal ,
Daphne Rubin-Vega , and
Idina Menzel were nominated in the
Leading Actor ,
Leading Actress , and
Featured Actress in a Musical categories (for their portrayals of Roger, Mimi, and Maureen, respectively). Adam Pascal also acquired a
Drama Desk nomination and won the
Obie Award and
Theatre World Award for his role as Roger. The show itself was nominated for Tonys for its
Lighting Design (
Blake Burba ),
Choreography (
Marlies Yearby ), and
Direction (
Michael Greiif ).
''Rent'' also won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1996.
The musical ''Rent'' has been mentioned elsewhere in pop culture, including (but not limited to) the cartoons ''
The Simpsons '', ''
Family Guy '', the
Puppet musical ''
Avenue Q '', the off-Broadway satiric review ''
Forbidden Broadway Strikes Back '' and the television shows ''
Friends '' and "
NYPD Blue ".
Ths show has gathered a huge following over the years and has obsessive fans that refer to themselves as "
RENT-heads " (usually all in caps, sometimes hyphenated). The name originally referred to people who would camp out for the $20 rush line before each show.
In the 2001 film '''' included a
Parody of the musical entitled ''Lease'', the portion depicted in the film being a showy song entitled "Everyone Has AIDS," a parody of the movie's message with the piano bassline of
La Vie Boheme .
See Also: Rent (film)
''Rent'' was adapted into a movie, filmed on location in
San Francisco ,
New York ,
Los Angeles and
Santa Fe . It was released on November 23, 2005.
Chris Columbus directed, with Diggs, Heredia, Martin, Menzel, Pascal, and Rapp reprising their stage roles. Newcomer
Rosario Dawson appeared in the role of Mimi and
Tracie Thoms played the role of Joanne. Daphne Rubin-Vega and Fredi Walker, the original Mimi and Joanne respectively, were not cast in the film. Rubin-Vega was pregnant at the time of casting. Walker herself stated that she looked too old to play the part of Joanne. Screenplay was written by
Stephen Chbosky . Although the film's take at the box office was mediocre, it has since found popularity on DVD.
